Echinococcus multilocularis (Cestoda, Cyclophyllidea, Taeniidae): functional ultrastructure of the penetration glands and nerve cells within the oncosphere

The fine structure of the infective hexacanths of Echinococcus multilocularis was examined with particular emphasis on the functional ultrastructure of penetration glands and nerve cells directly involved in the mechanism of initial host infection. The oncosphere contains two types of penetration glands, PG1 and PG2, that differ slightly in size and form a large U-shaped bi-nucleated syncytial structure. The arms of each gland at each end of the U, directed towards the hook region, exit into the tegument peripheral layer between the median and lateral hook pairs. The lobate nuclei of PG1 and PG2 contain prominent spherical nucleoli surrounded by several large electron-dense islands of heterochromatin. The syncytial cytoplasm of both types of glands is rich in free ribosomes, polysomes, several mitochondria, and heavy accumulations of discoid secretory granules of moderate to high electron density. The secretory granules, sg1 and sg2, differ in their ultrastructure and electron density; the sg2 are much smaller and more flattened in shape. A common characteristic for sg1 and sg2, evident under high magnification, is their high electron density and discoidal shape, with two bi-concave surfaces. Both sg1 and sg2 are frequently grouped in characteristic parallel stacks, the “rouleau”-shaped assemblages with sometimes six to ten granules. Two nerve cells of neurosecretory type are situated in the central part of the hexacanth, each one in a deep U-shaped invagination between the two penetration glands. The nuclei of nerve cells contain several large heterochromatin islands closely adjacent to their nuclear membranes. Their cytoplasm is characterized by having membrane-bound, dense-cored neurosecretory-like granules not only in nerve cell perikarya but also in the elongated nerve processes frequently adjacent to gland arms and to both somatic or body musculature, including the complex system of hook muscles. The results of the present study, when supported with literature data on oncospheres of other cestode species, allow for a better understanding of the important role and coordinated functions of three structural components, i.e., oncospheral hooks, penetration glands, and nerve cells, in the mechanism of intermediate host infection. Presence or absence of nerve cells in oncospheres of various cestodes is reviewed, and perspectives on the value and application of research on functional morphology of oncospheres are discussed.