Encephalitozoon: Tissue Culture, Cryopreservation, and Murine Infection.

Microsporidia are eukaryotic unicellular parasites that have been studied for more than 150 years. They are found throughout the world and are capable of infecting various invertebrate and vertebrate hosts. They can cause disease in both immune-compromised and immune-competent humans. In immune-compromised individuals, infections can be severe and often fatal. Microsporidia possess a unique, highly specialized invasion mechanism that involves a structure known as the polar tube as well as the spore wall. During spore germination, the polar tube rapidly discharges from the spore and deliver the sporoplasm into the host cell. Spores are the only stage of microsporidia that can survive outside of host cells. Since the first attempt to culture microsporidia in vitro in 1930s, their cultivation has served a critical role in the study and diagnosis of these parasites. In this chapter, we include methods on the cultivation, isolation, and cryopreservation of Encephalitozoon cuniculi, which can infect humans and provides a useful model for other microsporidia. These methods can also be utilized for the culture of Encephalitozoon hellem or Encephalitozoon intestinalis. © 2018 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

微孢子虫是真核单细胞寄生虫，已经被研究了150多年。它们在世界各地都有发现，能够感染各种无脊椎动物和脊椎动物宿主。它们可在免疫功能低下和免疫功能正常的人类中引起疾病。在免疫功能低下的个体中，感染可能很严重，且往往致命。微孢子虫具有一种独特的、高度特化的入侵机制，涉及一种被称为极管的结构以及孢子壁。在孢子萌发过程中，极管从孢子中迅速弹出，并将孢原质输送到宿主细胞内。孢子是微孢子虫在宿主细胞外能够存活的唯一阶段。自20世纪30年代首次尝试在体外培养微孢子虫以来，其培养在这些寄生虫的研究和诊断中起到了关键作用。在本章中，我们介绍了兔脑炎微孢子虫的培养、分离和冷冻保存方法，兔脑炎微孢子虫可感染人类，并为其他微孢子虫提供了一个有用的模型。这些方法也可用于海伦脑炎微孢子虫或肠脑炎微孢子虫的培养。© 2018由约翰威立父子公司出版。