Toll-Like Receptor 2 is Involved in Abnormal Pregnancy in Mice Infected with Toxoplasma gondii During Late Pregnancy.

ABSTRACT: Infection with Toxoplasma gondii during pregnancy causes failure of pregnancy maintenance, resulting in fetal death, abortion, stillbirth, or premature birth, but the mechanism of disease onset remains unclear. Although Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) is expressed on antigen-presenting cells and trophoblasts, the role of TLR2 in T. gondii infection during pregnancy is unknown. In this study, we investigated the role of TLR2 in congenital toxoplasmosis using TLR2-deficient (TLR2^-/-) mice. T. gondii infection on gestational day 12.5 (Gd12.5) induced more abnormal pregnancy, including premature birth and stillbirth, in wild-type mice than in TLR2^-/- mice. Multiple calcifications were observed in the placentas of the infected wild-type mice. At Gd18.5 (6d

SUBMITTER: Ikeda R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8524087 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature