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Updated: Jun 6, 2026
12:17
Detection and Isolation of Apoptotic Bodies to High Purity
Published on: August 12, 2018
Apoptotic markers in protozoan parasites.
Antonio Jiménez-Ruiz1, Juan Fernando Alzate, Ewan Thomas Macleod
1Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Universidad de Alcalá, 28871 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain. antonio.jimenez@uah.es.
Parasites & Vectors
|November 11, 2010
Summary
This review examines cell death markers in protozoan parasites, highlighting differences from metazoan apoptosis. It focuses on morphological and biochemical changes, and regulators like caspase-like and nuclease activities.
Area of Science:
- Parasitology
- Cell Biology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Apoptosis in multicellular organisms (metazoans) involves specific morphological and biochemical changes.
- Protozoan parasites exhibit some, but not all, of these metazoan apoptosis markers during cell death.
- Existing detection methods are often optimized for metazoan cells, potentially missing parasite-specific nuances.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review common cell death markers in protozoan parasites.
- To highlight adaptations and differences compared to metazoan apoptosis.
- To discuss the current understanding of apoptosis regulators in these organisms.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on cell death in protozoan parasites.
- Focus on morphological changes: cell shrinkage, chromatin condensation, nuclear fragmentation.
- Analysis of biochemical markers: mitochondrial activity, plasma membrane permeability, phosphatidylserine exposure.
Main Results:
- Protozoan cell death shares markers like chromatin condensation and mitochondrial alterations with metazoan apoptosis.
- Key differences include the absence of membrane blebbing and apoptotic body formation in many protozoa.
- Caspase-like and nuclease activities are discussed as potential regulators in protozoan cell death.
Conclusions:
- Understanding protozoan cell death requires adapted methodologies sensitive to unicellular organism differences.
- Further research into parasite-specific cell death pathways and regulators is crucial.
- This review provides a foundation for analyzing cell death in diverse protozoan parasites.
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