Intravital Observation of Plasmodium berghei Sporozoite Infection of the Liver
Figure 8
Sporozoites, Surrounded by a Parasitophorous Vacuole Membrane, Can Be Found in Intact Hepatocytes
(A) Six hours after infection by bite of 50 P. yoelii–infected mosquitoes, electron microscopic examination of a mouse liver shows a sporozoite inside an intact hepatocyte. Note that the parasite is enclosed in a parasitophorous vacuole (insert). The neighboring hepatocyte shows signs of cytoplasmic swelling.
(B and C) P. yoelii–infected mouse livers contain hepatocytes that exhibit various degrees of necrosis, ranging from hydropic swelling to near-complete disintegration of the cell, adjacent to parenchymal cells with a normal ultrastructure (arrows). The normal hepatocytes did not contain a sporozoite in the plane of the section.
L, lipid droplet; M, mitochondrium; N, nucleus; S, sinusoid. Bars = 1 μm.