Fosfatasa Alcalina como marcador de células germinales en Echinococcus multilocularis.

ALBANI C. M.; KISS F.; BREHM K.

Mar del Plata

Congreso; LV Reunión Científica Anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Investigación Clínica; 2010

The larval stage of Echinococcus multilocularis (Em) is the causative agent of alveolar echinococcosis (AE), a severe disease that untreated leads to death. Recently, significant advances have been made in the in vitro cultivation of totipotent somatic stem cells (neoblasts) from this parasite. The isolated cells are able to generate mature metacestode vesicles under laboratory conditions in a manner that closely resembles the oncosphere-metacestode transition during natural infections. Alkaline Phosphatase (AP) activity has been used as a convenient marker of undifferentiated totipotent or pluripotent cells in other invertebrate models. Because of this we proposed that AP could be an interesting marker also for Em primary cells. AP positive cells could be detected when in vitro experiments were carried out. Also this pattern was abolished using the DNA synthesis inhibitor Hydroxyurea and the AP specific inhibitor levamisole. A survey in the genomic data of Em revealed the presence of four distinct AP genes: Emap1 – Emap4. On the base of gene expression patterns, Emap1 is the gene most likely encoding the neoblast specific AP and its cDNA was fully characterized. The expression pattern and the results of the in vitro experiments indicate that EmAP1 could be a specific marker for mitotic active cells in Em.