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Volume 150, Issue 1

Metronidazole induces programmed cell death in the protozoan parasite Free

Abstract

Previous studies by the authors have shown that the protozoan parasite succumbed to a cytotoxic monoclonal antibody with a number of cellular and biochemical features characteristic of apoptosis in higher eukaryotes. The present study reports that apoptosis-like features are also observed in growing cultures of axenic upon exposure to metronidazole, a drug commonly used for the treatment of blastocystosis. Upon treatment with the drug, cells displayed key morphological and biochemical features of programmed cell death (PCD), viz. nuclear condensation and nicked DNA in nucleus, reduced cytoplasmic volume, externalization of phosphatidylserine and maintenance of plasma membrane integrity with increasing permeability. This present study also supports the authors' previously postulated novel function for the central vacuole in PCD; it acts as a repository where apoptotic bodies are stored before being released into the extracellular space. The implications and possible roles of PCD in are discussed.

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  • Published Online:
Keyword(s): PCD, programmed cell death , PI, propidium iodide , PS, phosphatidylserine and TUNEL, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate-biotin nick-end labelling
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2004-01-01
2024-04-25
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Metronidazole induces programmed cell death in the protozoan parasite Blastocystis hominis
Microbiology 150, 33 (2004); https://doi.org/10.1099/mic.0.26496-0
/content/journal/micro/10.1099/mic.0.26496-0
/content/journal/micro/10.1099/mic.0.26496-0
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