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A large proportion of the population on the planet is infected with the Toxoplasma parasite
.
Now, a study led by scientists at Stockholm University has demonstrated how this tiny parasite can successfully spread throughout the body, such as the brain
.
The parasite infects immune cells and hijacks their identity
.
The study was recently published in the journal Cell Host & Microbe
.
In order to fight infection, various functions of immune cells in the body are strictly regulated
.
How Toxoplasma infects so many human and animal species and spreads quickly has been a mystery
to scientists.
Arne ten Hoeve, a researcher at the Wynner-Glenn Institute for Molecular Biosciences at Stockholm University, said: "We have now discovered a protein
that parasites use to reprogram the immune system.
"
According to the study, the parasite injected this protein into the nucleus of immune cells, changing the cell's identity
.
Immune cells are tricked by parasites into thinking they are another kind of cell
.
This alters gene expression and behavior
in immune cells.
Toxoplasma gondii causes infected cells that should not be transmitted in the body to move rapidly, allowing the parasite to spread to different organs
.
Toxoplasma gondii has been described as turning immune cells into Trojan horses or wandering "zombies" that spread the parasite
.
Recently published studies provide a molecular explanation for this phenomenon and demonstrate that parasites are more targeted during transmission than previously thought
.
"It's amazing how clever the parasite has managed to hijack the identity
of immune cells.
We believe these findings may explain why Toxoplasma gondii can spread so efficiently in the body when infecting humans and animals," said Professor Antonio Barragan, who led the study, in collaboration with researchers in France and the United States
.
Toxoplasmosis is probably the most common parasitic infection
in humans worldwide.
Toxoplasma gondii also infects many animal species (zoonotic diseases), including our pets
.
The World Health Organization estimates that at least 30% of the world's population is a carrier of this parasite
.
Studies have shown that 15-20% of Swedes carry this parasite (the vast majority of people are unaware).
The incidence is higher
in several other European countries.
Felines, not just domestic cats, have a special place in the life cycle of Toxoplasma gondii: because it only sexually reproduces
in the cat's intestines.
In other hosts, such as humans, dogs, or birds, reproduction takes place
through the division of the parasite.
Toxoplasma gondii is spread
through food and contact with cats.
In nature, parasites preferentially spread from rodents to cats, to rodents and so on
.
Parasites "sleep" in rodent brains, and when cats eat mice, they multiply in the cat's intestines and are excreted through feces
.
Parasites eventually enter vegetation and become infected
when rodents eat it.
Humans become infected
through eating meat or coming into contact with cats, especially cat feces.
This parasite causes toxoplasmosis
.
When a person is first infected, they develop mild flu-like symptoms, similar to a cold or flu
.
After the first stage of infection, the parasite transitions into the "sleep" phase in the brain and begins a chronic silent infection, which may last for decades or life
.
This chronic infection usually has no symptoms
in healthy people.
However, Toxoplasma gondii can cause life-threatening brain infections (encephalitis) in people with weakened immune systems (HIV, organ transplant recipients, after chemotherapy) and can pose a danger
to the fetus during pregnancy.
Eye infections can occur in
otherwise healthy people.
References:
The Toxoplasma effector GRA28 promotes parasite dissemination by inducing dendritic cell-like migratory properties in infected macrophages” by Arne L.ten Hoeve, Laurence Braun, Matias E.
Rodriguez, Gabriela C.
Olivera, Alexandre Bougdour, Lucid Belmudes, Yohann Couté, Jeroen P.
J.
Saeij, Mohamed-Ali Hakimi and Antonio Barragan, 28 October 2022, Cell Host & Microbe.
