Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jn8rn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T05:29:28.647Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Histochemical localization of key glycolytic and related enzymes in adult Onchocerca fasciata

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2009

M.S. Omar
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Microbiology and Parasitology
A.M.S. Raoof
Affiliation:
Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine, King Saud University, PO Box 641, Abha, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The activities of some key enzymes of the glycolytic and pentose phosphate pathways were investigated histochemically in adult female Onchocerca fasciata (Nematoda: Filarioidea). The distribution patterns of phosphofructokinase (PFK), aldolase (ALD), glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (G3PDH) and glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) in different tissues of the worm were determined by employing NitroBlue Tetrazolium (NBT). The glycolytic enzymes PFK, ALD, and G3PDH were distributed throughout the hypodermal tissue, somatic muscles and reproductive organs. These enzyme activities were predominantly expressed in the hypodermal and reproductive tissues, both of which appeared to be metabolically more active than adjacent tissues. The high activities of the enzymes studied in the hypodermal tissue when compared with the minimal or low activity in the intestinal epithelium support the assumption that the worm's intestine, in contrast to the body wall, plays no significant role in the nutrient acquisition process. The results emphasize that both the glycolytic and hexose monophosphate pathways of carbohydrate metabolism are active components in energy production and biosynthetic processes in the various tissues of the worm. The functional significance of these glucose-metabolizing enzymes has been discussed with regard to their location in the tissues concerned.

Type
Research Papers
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1994

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Barrett, J. (1981) Catabolism and energy production. pp. 72148 in Biochemistry of parasitic helminths. London, MacMillan.Google Scholar
Barrett, J. (1983) Biochemistry of filarial worms. Helminthological Abstracts Series A, 52, 118.Google Scholar
Barrett, J., Mendis, A.H.W. & Butterworth, P.E. (1986) Carbohydrate metabolism in Brugia pahangi (Nematoda: Filarioidea). International Journal for Parasitology 16, 465469.Google Scholar
Dunn, T.S., Raines, P.S., Barrett, J. & Butterworth, P.E. (1988) Carbohydrate metabolism in Onchocerca gutturosa and Onchocerca lienalis (Nematoda: Filarioidea). International Journal for Parasitology 18, 2126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Filipe, M.I. & Lake, B.D. (1990) Enzymes, pp. 459474 in Histochemistry in pathology. New York, Churchill Livingstone.Google Scholar
Franz, M. & Büttner, D.W. (1983) The fine structure of adult Onchocerca volvulus. V. The digestive tract and the reproductive system of the female worm. Tropical Medicine and Parasitology 34, 155161.Google ScholarPubMed
Omar, M.S. & Raoof, A.M.S. (1994) Histochemical distribution of hydrolytic enzymes in adult Onchocerca fasciata (Filarioidea: Onchocercidae). Parasitology Research 80, 216222.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Omar, M.S., Raoof, A.M.S. & Al-Amari, O.M. (1993) Histochemical distribution of esterases in adult Onchocerca fasciata (Filarioidea: Onchocercidae). Tropical Medicine and Parasitology 44, 295298.Google Scholar
Saz, H.J. & Dunbar, G.A. (1975) The effects of stibophen on phosphofructokinases and aldolases of adult filariids. Journal of Parasitology 61, 794801.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Starling, J.A., Allen, B.L., Kaeini, M.R., Payne, D.M., Blytt, H.J. & Hoffer, H.W. (1982) Phosphofructokinase from Ascaris suum: Purification and properties. Journal of Biological Chemistry 257, 37953800.Google Scholar
Stoward, P.J. & Van Noorden, C.J.F. (1991) Histochemical methods for dehydrogenases. pp. 537557 in Stoward, P.J. & Pearse, A.G.E. (Eds) Histochemistry. Theoretical and applied. Vol. 3. New York, Churchill Livingstone.Google Scholar
Yarbough, P.O. & Hecht, R.M. (1984) Two isoenzymes of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase in Caenorhabditis elegans. Journal of Biological Chemistry 259, 1471114720.Google Scholar
Van Noorden, C.J., Kooij, A., Ogels, I.M.C. & Frederiks, W.M. (1985) On the nature of the ‘nothing dehydrogenase’ reaction. Histochemical Journal 17, 11111118.Google Scholar