Plasmodium falciparum ookinetes migrate intercellularly throughAnopheles stephensi midgut epithelium

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The migration ofPlasmodium falciparum andP. berghei ookinetes through the midgut epithelium inAnopheles stephensi was studied by transmission electron microscopy. With ruthenium red (RR) staining, the results of previous studies were confirmed:P. falciparum ookinetes take an intercellular route through the midgut epithelium. In the same mosquito species, the rodent parasiteP. berghei appeared to take an intracellular position, as previously suggested by other authors. The intra- or intercellular ookinete migration ofP. berghei orP. falciparum, respectively, can perhaps be related to the higher mortality ofP. berghei-infected mosquitoes within the first 2 days of infection. Evidence is presented that oocyst capsule formation begins as early as during the migration of the ookinete. After localization between the epithelial cells and the midgut basal lamina, the rapidly expanding oocyst stretches the overlying layer of the latter at the haemocoelic surface while a new basal lamina is generated between the oocyst and epithelial cell.