Toxoplasma gondii infection of fibroblasts causes the production of exosome-like vesicles containing a unique array of mRNA and miRNA transcripts compared to serum starvation.

ABSTRACT: Until recently thought to be of little significance unless occurring during pregnancy, Toxoplasma gondii infection of human hosts is now known to play a larger role in mental health and is a growing concern in the health care community. We sought to elucidate a possible mechanism by which Toxoplasma infection may cause some of the behavioural pathology now associated with infection. We hypothesized that exosomes may be playing a role. We utilized electron microscopy to detect the presence and size of extracellular vesicles in the supernatants of Toxoplasma-infected human foreskin fibroblasts (HFF). We then utilized microarray analysis to discern mRNA and miRNA content of the vesicles isolated from supernatants of Toxoplasma-infected (Toxo) and serum-starved (SS) HFF. We recovered extracell

SUBMITTER: Pope SM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3862870 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature