Trypanosoma brucei: A novel system for metacyclogenesis and complete cyclical development in vitro

Abstract

We describe an in vitro system that allows metacyclogenesis of T. brucei ssp. and is not restricted to certain parasite lines. Following the work of Hirumi and co-workers we developed a modified in vitro system which allows metacyclogenesis within 7 to 20 days. The most striking changes were the addition of citrate and cis-aconitate, which triggers transformation from bloodstream to procyclic forms, and the elimination of the remaining bloodstream forms by salicylhydroxamic acid and glycerol. A positive feature of this system is that T. b. gambiense samples isolated from patients, and transformed to procyclic forms for transport, could give rise to infective forms that could be passaged in rodents.