Ultrastructure of the early gravid uterus of Corallobothrium fimbriatum (Cestoda: Proteocephalidea)

The ultrastructure of the uterine epithelium and underlying extracellular matrices has been studied in several cyclophyllideans, but relatively little has been published on uterine fine structure in other cestode orders. To develop comparative data, we initiated a study focusing on a common and widespread genus of the order Proteocephalidea. Adult specimens of Corallobothrium fimbriatum were removed from the small intestine of brown bullhead catfish, Ameiurus nebulosus, from the St. Lawrence River in North America. Early gravid proglottids were examined by light microscopy as whole mounts or diced in buffered glutaraldehyde, processed by standard techniques and examined by as stained sections by light microscopy and by transmission electron microscopy. Voucher specimens were deposited in the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University. The uterus consisted of an epithelial wall supported basally by an extracellular matrix and parenchyma cells, which together formed epitheliomesenchymal villi at many points. The uterine epithelium consisted of a single thin syncytial layer, folded distally into long epithelial villi that protruded into the lumen at some points. The epithelium's numerous nuclei were very close to the lumen, but bulged along with the perinuclear cytoplasm proximally into the surrounding medullary parenchyma. Each nucleus contained small amounts of evenly dispersed heterochromatin and euchromatin, with a central nucleolus. Numerous mitochondria occurred in the cytoplasm, which was densely filled with free ribosomes but contained scant endomembrane components and showed little evidence of secretory activity. The uterine cells possessed few of the apical microvilli that are typical of some cyclophyllidean species, but the apical plasma membrane and cortical cytoplasm were extensively developed into long microlamellae similar to other species. The basic syncytial nature of the epithelium is similar to that of other cestodes studied previously, but the specific combination of features is unlike any previously described. Based on this one proteocephalidean species, we discerned no pattern that would distinguish between Proteocephalidea and Cyclophyllidea based on uterine structure.