Endocytosis in different lifestyles of protozoan parasitism: role in nutrient uptake with special reference to Toxoplasma gondii.

ABSTRACT

A fundamental property of any eukaryotic cell is endocytosis, that is the ability to take up external fluid, solutes and particulate matter into membrane-bound intracellular vesicles by various mechanisms. Toxoplasma gondii is an intracellular protozoan parasite of the phylum Apicomplexa with a wide geographical and host range distribution. Significant progress in studying the cell biology of this parasite has been accomplished over the last few years. Only recently endocytic compartments and endocytic trafficking have come to a closer dissection in T. gondii. In this review, we discuss the evidence for an endocytic compartment and present a model for an endocytic pathway in Toxoplasma against a background of endocytosis in kinetoplastida and the extensive insights gained from mammalian and yeast cells.