Short Term Cultivation of Trypanosoma brucei in vitro at 37° C

Abstract

STUDIES on the African pathogenic trypanosomes have been severely hindered by the failure of the infectious forms of these organisms to grow in vitro. All previous reports of the cultivation of the African trypanosomes refer to non-infectious forms resembling those found during the multiplication of the flagellates in the insect vector (Glossina sp.). Occasional infectivity of such cultures has been reported^1–3. This communication describes the occurrence of a short term multiplication which occurs when trypanosomes are separated from infected blood and maintained at 37° C in the supernatant fluid over a monolayer of L-cells.