Fig. 6.

T. vaginalis shed vesicles of different sizes upon exposure to host cell. Parasites were incubated with HeLa cells and the presence of shedding vesicles on their surface was analyzed using SEM. Representative micrographs show wild-type parasites containing protruding microvesicles (yellow) and parasites without microvesicles on their surface (green) upon incubation with HeLa cells (purple) at a ratio of 5:1 (a); 1:1 (b); and control parasites alone (c). d Quantification of the percentage of parasites containing shedding vesicles on the cell surface under host cell exposure. Two different ratios of parasite:host cells were used. Three independent experiments in duplicate were performed and 500 parasites were randomly counted per sample. Data are expressed as percentage of parasites releasing vesicles related to untreated control parasites ± the standard deviation (SD). ANOVA followed by Dunnet’s post hoc test was used to determine significant differences. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.005