ULTRASTRUCTURAL DETECTION INVITRO OF WGA-BINDING, RCA I-BINDING, AND CON A-BINDING SITES INVOLVED IN THE INVASION OF HEART-MUSCLE CELLS BY TRYPANOSOMA-CRUZI

The presence of carbohydrate residues in the plasma membrane of normal and Trypanosoma cruzi-infected heart muscle cells was investigated cytochemically using ruthenium red, lanthanum nitrate, periodic acid-Schiff/thiocarbahydrazide/silver, and gold- and ferritin-lectin complexes. The study combined conventional electron microscopy with the new analytical technique of electron spectroscopic imaging (ESI). Galactosyl, mannosyl, and sialyl residues were detected in regions of host-cell plasma membrane that undergo interiorization together with the parasite. Lectin-binding sites were sometimes found to show a punctate or patchy distribution in the endocytic vacuole membrane. These findings suggest the that glycoconjugates cytochemically detected in the host-cell plasma membrane participate in the invasion of heart muscle cells by T cruzi.