Fine structure and cytochemical evidence for the presence of polysaccharide surface coat of Dirofilaria immitis microfilariae

Cherian P. V., Stromberg B. E., Weiner D. J. and Soulsby E. J. L. 1980. Fine structure and cytochemical evidence for the presence of polysaccharide surface coat of Dirofilaria immitis microfilariae. International Journal for Parasitology 10: 227-233. Cytochemical staining techniques were employed at the fine structural level using ruthenium red, ruthenium violet and Alcian blue-lanthanum nitrate to demonstrate the polysaccharide rich surface coat of Dirofilaria immitis microfilariae. The coat matrix present at the external surface of the cuticle of microfilariae stained densely with each of the polycationic dyes. The reaction products were restricted to the outer surface of the cuticle suggesting that the polycationic dyes did not penetrate the cuticle. The junctions of the cuticular annulations lacked surface coat matrix and reaction products which might be indicative of the absence of carbohydrate residues or the masking of reactive sugar molecules in these areas. The speciflcity of the reaction was indicated by the absence of reaction products in untreated organisms. These carbohydrate moieties probably represent glycoproteins as structural constituents of the parasite surface. Ultrastructural analysis of the surface of microfilariae is of signiflcance in elucidating both the molecular dynamics of the parasite surface and its immunological function in the host.