Figure 5.

Morphology of blastocyst outgrowths from T. cruzi acutely infected mice. Blastocysts collected at day 3.5 of gestation in acutely infected or age-matched uninfected mice were cultured in vitro for 5 days. To visualize by fluorescence confocal microscopy, the TE and the ovocylinder (corresponding to the ICM)- spread blastocysts were stained with phalloidin (red) and TOTO-3 (blue), which stain actin F and DNA, respectively. A: Normal blastocyst from an uninfected mouse; B and C: blastocysts from an infected mouse; B: TE is correctly spread but the ICM is not well defined; and C: TE is poorly spread but the ICM appears normal.