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A potential new role for bFGF in host-parasite interactions
1St. Boniface General Hospital Research Centre, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.
Growth Factors (Chur, Switzerland)
|January 1, 1990
Summary
Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) structurally connects to Sarcocystis parasites within bovine heart tissue. This finding suggests a novel role for bFGF in host-parasite interactions during invasion.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Biology
- Parasitology
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) is a conserved mitogenic polypeptide involved in regeneration.
- bFGF is known to associate with cardiomyocyte structures like nuclei, extracellular matrix, and intercalated discs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association of bFGF with intramuscular parasitic protozoa, Sarcocystis, in bovine hearts.
- To determine if bFGF plays a role in the structural relationship between Sarcocystis cysts and host cardiac cells.
Main Methods:
- Indirect immunofluorescence was used to detect bFGF.
- Bovine heart tissue infected with Sarcocystis was examined in situ.
Main Results:
- bFGF was detected in association with Sarcocystis parasitic cysts within bovine heart muscle.
- Parasitic cysts showed direct connections to specialized host cell junctions, with bFGF bridging the cyst wall and myocyte intercalated discs.
- Proteins like desmin and desmoplakin, typically found at intercalated discs, were absent in the parasitic cysts.
Conclusions:
- bFGF establishes structural continuity between Sarcocystis cysts and host cardiomyocyte intercalated discs.
- This association suggests a previously unrecognized function for bFGF in the context of parasitic invasion and establishment within host tissues.