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British Medical Journal (Clinical Research Ed.) logoLink to British Medical Journal (Clinical Research Ed.)
. 1982 Nov 13;285(6352):1380–1382. doi: 10.1136/bmj.285.6352.1380

Cryptic stage of sleeping-sickness trypanosome developing in choroid plexus epithelial cells.

M O Abolarin, D A Evans, D G Tovey, W E Ormerod
PMCID: PMC1500428  PMID: 6814567

Abstract

Electronmicrographs of the choroid plexus from rats infected with Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense showed that trypomastigotes from the perivascular spaces may penetrate and undergo multiple division in the ependymal cells which locally constitute the blood-brain barrier. Progressive degeneration of the ependymal cell liberates trypomastigotes back into the perivascular space, from which re-entry into the blood may occur. Re-entry to the blood does not take place from any tissues other than the brain and its membranes. These findings suggest that the ependymal cells of the choroid plexus are the site of the cryptic stage of the sleeping-sickness trypanosome.

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Selected References

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