Host-parasite relationship in the brains of mice with congenital toxoplasmosis.

The wall of intact tissue cysts in the brains of mice with congenital toxoplasmosis was investigated using light and electron microscopy. Impregnation of the wall with reduced silver salts and protargol silver suggested that it was composed, at least in part, of components derived from the neuronal cytoskeleton. Electron microscopy extended these observations and revealed that intact cysts were separated from the extracellular compartment by a layer of neurofibrillae enclosed within the host cell membrane. It is suggested that this may be a means whereby intact Toxoplasma tissue cysts are protected from the host's immune response.