Dynamics of amylopectin granule accumulation during the course of chronic <i>Toxoplasma</i> infection is linked to intra-cyst bradyzoite replication.

ABSTRACT: The contribution of amylopectin granules (AG), a branched chain storage homopolymer of glucose, to the maintenance and progression of the chronic Toxoplasma gondii infection has remained undefined. Here, we describe the role of AG in the physiology of encysted bradyzoites using a purpose-developed imaging-based application, AmyloQuant, which permitted the quantification of relative levels of AG within in vivo-derived tissue cysts during the initiation and maturation of chronic infection. Our findings establish that AG are dynamic, exhibiting considerable heterogeneity among tissue cysts at all post-infection time points examined. Quantification of relative steady-state AG levels within tissue cysts reveals a previously unrecognized temporal cycle involving both phases of AG a

SUBMITTER: Tripathi A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12306163 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature