Early Cellular Responses in the Malpighian Tubules of the Mosquito Aedes taeniorhynchus to Infection with Dirofilaria immitis (Nematoda)

Abstract

Early ultrastructural changes in the Malpighian tubules of the mosquito, A. taeniorhynchus, were examined following infection with the nematode, D. immitis [a parasite of dogs]. After ingestion by the mosquito, the microfilariae enter the cells of the Malpighian tubules, becoming intracellular. During early development, the filarial prelarvae reside in the cell cytoplasm surrounded by a clear zone without a delimiting membrane. Cells infected with prelarvae differed from uninfected cells and from cells in uninfected mosquitoes in that the volume of the apical microvilli was reduced and mitochondria were retracted from these microvilli. Morphometric analysis was used to quantify the ultrastructural consequences of infection. In infected cells, microvillar volume, the percent of microvillar volume occupied by mitochondria, and volume of mitochondria within the microvilli were significantly reduced.