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Marcos A Vannier-Santos^1* and Ulysses Lins²

¹ Lab. Biologia Celular Parasitária, Programa de Biologia Celular e Parasitologia, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, C.C.S. bloco G, Cidade Universitária, Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, 21949-900. Brazil.
² Instituto de Microbiologia Prof. Paulo de Góes. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Brazil.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed: Marcos Vannier-Santos, Lab. Biologia Celular Parasitária, Programa de Biologia Celular e Parasitologia, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, C.C.S. bloco G, Cidade Universitária, Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, 21949-900. Brazil. Email: vannier@biof.ufrj.br

Biol. Proced. Online 2001;3:8-18. doi:10.1251/bpo19
Submitted: May 29, 2001; Accepted: July 30, 2001; Published: August 04, 2001.

Indexing terms: histochemistry; cell compartmentation.

Abbreviations: TEM, transmission electron microscopy; EFTEM, energy-filtering TEM; EELS, electron energy-loss spectroscopy; SBI, sterol biosynthesis inhibitors.

The study of parasitic protozoa plays a major role in cell biology, biochemistry and molecular biology. Numerous cytochemical techniques have been developed in order to unequivocally identify the nature of subcellular compartments. Enzyme and immuno-cytochemistry allow the detection of, respectively, enzymatic activity products and antigens in particular sites within the cell. Energy-filtering transmission electron microscopy permits the detection of specific elements within such compartments. These approaches are particularly useful for studies employing antimicrobial agents where cellular compartments may be destroyed or remarkably altered and thus hardly identified by standard methods of observation. In this regard cytochemical and spectroscopic techniques provide valuable data allowing the determination of the mechanisms of action of such compounds.