Ultrastructural study of the host-parasite interface of Moniliformis moniliformis (Archiacanthocephala) in...

The fine structure of the host-parasite interface of Moniliformis moniliformis in rats is described, comprising investigations on the ontogenic development of the presomal tegument, on the lesions caused by the worms, and on the host cellular reactions at the points of attachment of the worm. The presomal tegument of the worm contained more fibrous elements than the metasomal tegument. The sclerotization increased with the ages of the worms and toward the tip of the proboscis. The presomal surface coat was more coarsely structured and osmiophilic than that of the metasoma and was neither continuous with the contents of the tegumental crypts nor supported by lipids from necrotic host tissue. The surface coat occasionally detached from the proboscis, probably due to the activity of the surrounding granulocytes of the host. The proboscis hooks lost their tegumental covering during their larval development. Hooks of all worms from rats were invested with a semiliquid lipid coat, apparently derived from tegumental excretions at the base of the hooks. The invaginated area of excretion around the base of the hooks was rich in endoplasmic reticulum. The hooks seemed to renew their lipid coats at certain intervals by dipping into the excreted lipid. In rats all worms, irrespective of their age, attached superficially, penetrating only the intestinal mucosa and the tunica propria. No fibrous connective tissue was found in the lesions caused by the worms, indicating that they frequently changed their site of attachment. At 3-10 days postinfection the host's defense cells observed in the lesions consisted mainly of granulocytes, whereas plasma cells were the predominant leukocytes in lesions of older infections.