Isolation of coccidian enteroepithelial stages of Toxoplasma gondii from the intestinal mucosa of cats by Percoll density-gradient centrifugation.

A method for isolation of enteroepithelial stages of Toxoplasma gondii from the intestinal mucosa of experimentally infected cats was developed using Percoll density-gradient centrifugation. Gamonts and merozoites were obtained essentially free of host-cell debris. A recovery rate of nearly 30% of the parasites in the original preparations was obtained by this method. Merozoites were separated from gamonts by filtration through a 3-micron polycarbonate filter.