Cycle of bovine lymphoblastoid cells parasitised by Theileria parva.

The events were studied which occurred during different stages of the cell cycle of bovine lymphoblastoid cells infected with the parasite Theileria parva. The mean number of nuclei in macroschizonts was about 16 for cells in interphase and 30 for those in metaphase. Pulse labelling with 3H thymidine showed that macroschizonts normally incorporated thymidine when the host cell was in early mitosis. Thymidine incorporation by macroschizonts thus occurred at a different stage in the cell cycle to that when the cell nucleus incorporated thymidine in S phase. DNA synthesis by host cell nucleus and macroschizont is thus asynchronous. Division of macroschizonts appears to follow immediately after they have synthesised DNA without a G2 period. This division occurs while the host cell is in metaphase. When the cell divides each daughter cell thus contains its interphase complement of macroschizont nuclei. Some macroschizont division may occur in interphase but this is relatively insignificant when compared with that which occurs in host cell metaphase. This work suggests that T parva regulates its own DNA synthesis independently of the cell. This finding could have application in developing strategies for chemotherapeutic attack on the parasite.