The fine structural relationship between Theileria schizonts and infected bovine lymphoblasts from cultures

The fine structure of Theileria-lymphoblast relationship was studied using cultured bovine lymphoblastoid cells infected with Theileria parva, T lawrencei, or T. annulata. The major findings of this study were: (1) the presence of a very active Golgi complex with the associated annulate lamelae; (b) the presence of cytoplasmic microtubules which joined the parasites and host cell centriole during lymphoblast mitosis; and (c) the absence of morphological evidence to suggest that the host cell developed a reaction to the parasitic presence. The significance of these findings is discussed.