Dire Dawa University

College of Medicine and Health Sciences

Department of Medical Laboratory Science

Medical Protozoology for BSc Medical

Laboratory Science students

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 Chapter One:
Introduction to Medical Protozoology
 Learning objectives
 Upon completion of this unit , you should be able to:
• Describe the general characteristics of Protozoans
• Describe the basic structure of protozoa
• Describe the basic properties of protozoa
• Describe the classification of parasitic protozoa

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 Outline
• General Introduction to protozoa

o Definition

o Diversity and importance of protozoa

• General morphology protozoa

• Basic structure of protozoa

• Basic properties of protozoa

• Protozoan life cycle stages

• Protozoan taxonomy

• General characteristics of the five main groups of protozoa

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What are Protozoa?
 General introduction to protozoa

• Single-celled eukaryotic organisms

• Kingdom protista

• Vary in size (1 -150um )

• Unknown until the invention of the microscope in 1675

• First recognized by Antony Van Leewenhoek in 1676

• He described it as little animal or animacula

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 Diversity and importance of protozoa
Diversity
• Protozoa are extremely diverse organisms and found in a variety
of niches
• 200,000 named species
• Most species are free-living in: freshwater, marine environments,
decaying organic matter and soil
• Few are adapted to a parasitic life but all plant and animal
species have at least one protozoan parasite

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 Cont…
• ~10,000 are parasites in a wide range of hosts

o Vertebrate

o Invertebrate

o Plants

o ~20 human pathogens

• Adapted to life in a wide range of sites within the host

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 Ecological niches in the human body:
o Skin: Leishmania

o Eye: Acanthamoeba

o Mouth: Amoebae and flagellates (usually non-pathogenic)

o Gut: Giardia, Entamoeba (and invasion to liver),

Cryptosporidium, Isospora, Balantidium

o G.U. tract: Trichomonas

o Bloodstream: Plasmodium, Trypanosoma

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 Cont…
o Spleen: Leishmania

o Liver: Leishmania, Entamoeba

o Muscle: Trypanosoma cruzi

o CNS: Trypanosoma, Naegleria, Toxoplasma, Plasmodium

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 Importance of protozoa
• Medical importance

o Cause of more sickness and death than any other disease-

causing organisms

o Significant damage to specific organs

Brain (African sleeping sickness),

Eyes (Acanthamoeba keratitis),

Heart (toxoplasmosis)

o Reduce working capacity

o Loss of productivity
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 Cont. Imp…
• Veterinary importance

o Death

o Potential losses

• Coccidiosis costs £8 million/yr.. Prophylactics

• Animal trypanosomiasis

o Zoonoses

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 General morphology of protozoa

• Protozoa exhibit a wide variety of morphologies

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 Morp…
• Size: range from 1 to 150um

o • The smaller members, 1-10um

• include most of the intracellular parasites (e.g. Plasmodia,

Leishmania …

o The biggest in size belongs to ciliate

e.g. Balantidium coli

• Shape:

 No single shape that represent all

 Ranges from amorphous shapeless amoeba to relatively rigid

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 Basic structure of protozoa
1. Cell membrane
2. Cytoplasm
ectoplasm
endoplasm

3. Nucleus: two kinds of nuclei:

vesicular;
compact

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 Stru …
• 1. Cell membrane: chemically similar to all eukaryotic cells

• Thin & flexible layer called plasmalemma (sarcodina)

• Also called pellicle or ectoderm or outer membrane

• More rigid wall , usually supported by microtubules

(subpellicular microtubules)

• Results in more constant and uniform shape than that of

amorphous amoeba

• Characteristics some flagellates and most ciliates

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 Stru…
2. Cytoplasm : divided in two areas

• Ectoplasm: outer transparent layer

– Locomotion,

– Protection

– Sensation, respiration

– Excretion, Ingestion of food & etc.

• Endoplasm: inner granular layer

– More fluid than ectoplasm, contains nuclei ,mitochondria,

vacuoles & etc.

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 Stru…
3. Nucleus

• Well defined nuclei bounded by nuclear envelop

• Most easily identifiable structure in protozoan cell

o Single/multiple

o Important for reproduction

o Similar in size or not

E.g. G. lambilia, ciliate (micronuclei & macronuclei)

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 Stru…
• Two morphologically distinct nuclei:

– Vesicular

• With a clearly defined internal space resulting from irregular

distribution of chromatin

• Nucleoplasm contains one or more Karyosome

• Karyosome

– Nucleoli-like body

• Most protozoa of humans exhibit the vesicular type

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 Stru…
o Compact

• Appears to be a solid mass

• Densely packed chromatin

• Larger than vesicular nucleus

• Are found in ciliates

• Other structures like

• Mitochondria: sites for aerobic metabolism

• Lysosomes: degradation ingested materials

• Ribosome: sites for protein synthesis

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 Prop…
A. Locomotion : Structures that mediate

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 Prop…
B. Reproduction
-General Protozoan Reproduction

Binary Fission
Asexual Mutiple Fission
Reproduction
Endodyogeny

Sexual Conjugation
Reproduction
Singamy
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 Prop…

1. Asexual reproduction

o Fission

• Division follows a sequence:

– organelles then nucleus then cytoplasm

A. Binary fission

• Each parent gives rise to two progeny

• Seen in amoeba, flagellates, ciliates

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 Prop…

B. Multiple fission/ Schizogony/ Merogony

o Rapid organelle and nuclear divisions occur at the cell periphery

o Cytoplasmic segmentation to form separate organisms called

merozoites

o The Parent or multinucleated cell is called the schizont or

segmenter and the daughter cells are merozoites

o Seen in apicomplexan

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 Prop…
C. ENDOPOLYOGENY
• Daughter cells form in the center of the mother cell (internal
budding) rather than at the periphery

• Endodyogeny is a form of endopolyogeny where two

daughters are formed

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 Prop…
2. Sexual Reproduction

A. Conjugation

o Specialized sexual reproduction (mostly in ciliates)

o Involves nuclear exchange and union after cells join

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Sexual Recombination in Paramecium
 Prop…

B. Syngamy
Union of the entire cell (gametes fuse),seen in apicomplexan

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 Prop…
C. Feeding
• Most parasitic protozoa are heterotrophic

 Ingest particulates (phagotrophy)

 Phagocytosis

Engulfment of solid material

Predation on bacteria or other protozoa

 Pinocytosis

Invagination of membrane surrounding liquids

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 Prop…

 Peristome or cytostomal feeding

Food is ingested at a definite site, using a specialized feeding

structure

 Diffusion: absorb solutes (osmotrophy) through cell membrane

• Food may be retained in special intracellular reserves, or vacuoles

• Some protozoan are photosynthetic (autotrophy) or combination

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 Prop…
D. Excretion
• Undigested particles and wastes are extruded at the cell surface by
mechanisms that are the reverse of those used in ingestion

o Diffusion (primary mechanism)

o Contractile vacuole (osmo-regulation)

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 Prop…
E. Respiration

• Aerobic (malaria) and

• Anaerobic respiration (dysenteric amoeba)

• Most parasitic protozoa are facultative anaerobes

• They can live in reduced oxygen environments

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 Prop…
Protozoa life cycle stages/terms
1. Vegetative form: trophozoites, zoitos

o Stage of active feeding and reproduction

o Commonly the pathogenic protozoan form

• Excystation: for the completion of life cycle, cysts ingested by the

definitive host has to change to vegetative form

2. Resístant form: cyst

o Stage of inactivity

o Most resistant stage: hard to kill (no medication)

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 Prop…
Encystation
• Many protozoa form cysts – round cytoplasmic mass surrounded by
a rigid or semi-rigid cyst wall secreted by organism

• Function:

1. Protect against unfavorable external environmental conditions

2. Are the infective or transmissible form of parasite

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 Prop…
Conditions for encystment
• Deficiency of host nutrient essential to the parasites

• Desiccation

• Increase in osmotic pressure

• Accumulation of waste product in the medium

• Crowding

• Low pH

• Temperature change

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 Prop…
3. Oocyst:

o Results from fusion of gametes in the Sporozoa

o Infective stage in most cases:

• Passed in host feces in case of intestinal protozoans or

• In gut of the mosquito vector in the case of Plasmodium

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 Prop…

4. Sporozoite:

• Formed within oocyst via asexual fission & infects new host
cells of:

o Intestinal epithelial cells in intestinal protozoans or

o Hepatocytes in case of Plasmodium

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 Prop…
5. Merozoite:

• Resulted from Schizogony of sporozoites

• May infect

• Intestinal epithelial cells in intestinal coccidian or

• Red blood cells in the case of Plasmodium. …

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 Prop…
6. Gametocyte:

• Result of merozoite cell fission

o Fusion of these results in formation of oocyst

• Other life cycle stages

o Amastigote, Promastigote, Epimastigote, Trypomastigote &

Metacyclic Trypomastigote

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 Example of protozoa life cycle

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The life cycle of Plasmodium species
 Protozoan taxonomy

• Confused, controversial and constantly changing

• No universal agreement= many systems & frequent changes
 Several bases of classification,
 Light microscope= Originally based on motility
 Electron microscope =Ultrastructural criteria used since 1960’s
• 4-6 phyla……. In the kingdom protista
 Molecular technique: DNA sequences

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 General characteristics of five main groups of protozoa

1. Amoebas (Subphylum Sarcodina)

= Move by extending blunt, lobe like projections -pseudopodia

(false feet)

= Amoebas engulf food with pseudopods & phagocytize it

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 Char…

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 Char…

Several genera:
•Entamoeba,
•Iodamoeba,
•Endolimax,
•Naegleria (CNS),
•Acanthamoeba (CNS)

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 Char…
2. The Flagellates (Mastigophora)

= Move by means of rotation of a whip-like organelle called a

Flagellum (plural: flagella)

= The flagella can also be used for gathering and sorting food

= Some species have organelles for the purpose of food ingestion

(gullet or cytostome), and for excretion (cytopyge)

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 Char…

Several genera

 Giardia

 Chilomastix

 Dientamoeba

 Trypanosoma

 Leishmania

 Trichomonas

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 Char…
Giardia intestinalis

Cyst Trophozoite

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 Char…
Trichomonas

T. vaginalis T. intestinalis

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 Char…
Trypanosoma

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 Char…
Leishmania

Amastigote
Promastigote

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 Char…
C. Apicomplexans (Phylum
Apicomplexa)

• Have specialized organelles at tip

(apex) of cells that penetrate
host tissues

• Locomotion of mature form by

body flexion or gliding

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 Char…
• Obligate intracellular parasites

• Usually 2 or more hosts

• Their life cycles have asexual and sexual phases

• Several forms (sporozoites, trophozoites, merozoites,

gametocytes, oocyst & cyst

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 Char…
Toxoplasma gondii (Toxoplasmosis)

Bradyzoite
Sporulated oocyst

Oocyst

Gamete Merozoite

Sporocyst
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 Char…
• Includes
o 1. Intestinal coccidian
• Cryptosporidium
• Isospora
• Cyclospora
o 2. Blood and tissue coccidian
• Plasmodium
• Toxoplasma
• Babesia
• Sarcocystis
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 Char…
D. Ciliates (Phylum Ciliophora)

• Move and obtain food using cilia

• Distinct cytostome (mouth)
Structure
• Dimorphic nuclei, typically
larger macronuclei and smaller
micronuclei
• Only known human pathogen is
Balantidium coli

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 Char…
E. Microsporans (Phylum Microsporidia)

• Obligate intracellular spore forming parasites

• Discovered in 1984 to cause chronic diarrhea and conjunctivitis,

mainly in AIDS patients

• At least 14 microsporidian species identified as human pathogens:

Enterocytozoon bieneusi, Encephalitozoon intestinalis,
Encephalitozoon hellem ….

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 Protozoans associated with HIV/AIDS
• Cryptosporidium parvum, [Link] and Cyclospora cayatenensis :
causing enteritis

• Microsporidia species : causing a diarrhea with wasting, eye

disease, and disseminated disease

• Pneumocystis carnii: causing life threatening pneumonia

• Blastocystis hominis : cause severe enteritis

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 Pro …
o T. gondii: causing cerebral toxoplasmosis

o Leishmania species: emerging as a major pathogens in HIV

infected persons

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 Summary protozoa
• Unicellular eukaryote organisms

• Kingdom Protista

• Extremely diverse and found in a variety of niches

• Have complex internal structure

• Several modes of reproduction

• Cause of more sickness and death, than any other disease-causing

organisms

• No universal agreement on classification there are many systems &

frequent changes

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 Review questions
1. Explain the characteristics of Protozoans ?
2. List and discuss about the structure of protozoa ?
3. Explain the properties of protozoa?
4. Discuss about the classification of parasitic protozoa?

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 References
[Link] M., Cheneke W. Medical Parasitology for Medical laboratory
Technology students. Upgraded lecture Notes Series .2006.

2. Cheesbrough M. District laboratory practice in tropical countries United

Kingdom, Cambridge university press, 2000, part I

3. Jaffeey and Leach. Atlas of Medical Helminthology and Protozoology 2nd

edition

4. Murray P.R., Rosenthal K.S., Kobayashi G.S., Pfaller M.A., Medical

Microbiology, 4th edition. Mosby, 2002

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[Link]

6. Guerrant R.L.,Walker D.H.,Weller P.F. Tropical infectious Diseases

Elsevir Inc. 2nd, 2006

7. Gillespie S,Pearson R.D. Principles and practice of Clinical

Parasitology .John Wiley and Sons Ltd, 2001

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