Toxoplasma gondii-infected natural killer cells display a hypermotility phenotype in vivo.

ABSTRACT: Toxoplasma gondii is a highly prevalent intracellular protozoan parasite that causes severe disease in congenitally infected or immunocompromised hosts. T. gondii is capable of invading immune cells and it has been suggested that the parasite harnesses the migratory pathways of these cells to spread through the body. Although in vitro evidence suggests that the parasite further enhances its spread by inducing a hypermotility phenotype in parasitized immune cells, in vivo evidence for this phenomenon is scarce. Here we use a physiologically relevant oral model of T. gondii infection, in conjunction with two-photon laser scanning microscopy, to address this issue. We found that a small proportion of natural killer (NK) cells in mesenteric lymph nodes contained parasites. Compared with uninfe

SUBMITTER: Ueno N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4446200 | biostudies-literature | 2015 May-Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature