Temporal analysis of in vivo Toxoplasma gondii cysts shows novel and late stage specific transcripts.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
ORGANISM(S): Toxoplasma gondii
PROVIDER: GSE134099 | GEO | 2019/07/11
REPOSITORIES: GEO
Similar Datasets
Project description:Two forms of the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii are associated with intermediate hosts such as humans: rapidly growing tachyzoites are responsible for acute illness, whereas slowly dividing encysted bradyzoites can remain latent within the tissues for the life of the host. In order to identify genetic factors associated with parasite differentiation, we have used a strong bradyzoite-specific promoter (identified by promoter trapping) to drive the expression of T. gondii hypoxanthine-xanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HXGPRT) in stable transgenic parasites, providing a stage-specific positive/negative selectable marker. Insertional mutagenesis has been carried out on this parental line, followed by bradyzoite induction in vitro and selection in 6-thioxanthine to identify misregulation mutants. Two different mutants fail to induce the HXGPRT gene efficiently during bradyzoite differentiation. These mutants are also defective in other aspects of differentiation: they replicate well under bradyzoite growth conditions, lysing the host cell monolayer as effectively as tachyzoites. Expression of the major bradyzoite antigen BAG1 is reduced, and staining with Dolichos biflorus lectin shows reduced cyst wall formation. Microarray hybridizations show that these mutants behave more like tachyzoites at a global level, even under bradyzoite differentiation conditions.
2005-07-21 | E-SMDB-1406 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Two forms of the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii are associated with intermediate hosts such as humans: rapidly growing tachyzoites are responsible for acute illness, whereas slowly dividing encysted bradyzoites can remain latent within the tissues for the life of the host. In order to identify genetic factors associated with parasite differentiation, we have used a strong bradyzoite-specific promoter (identified by promoter trapping) to drive the expression of T. gondii hypoxanthine-xanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HXGPRT) in stable transgenic parasites, providing a stage-specific positive/negative selectable marker. Insertional mutagenesis has been carried out on this parental line, followed by bradyzoite induction in vitro and selection in 6-thioxanthine to identify misregulation mutants. Two different mutants fail to induce the HXGPRT gene efficiently during bradyzoite differentiation. These mutants are also defective in other aspects of differentiation: they replicate well under bradyzoite growth conditions, lysing the host cell monolayer as effectively as tachyzoites. Expression of the major bradyzoite antigen BAG1 is reduced, and staining with Dolichos biflorus lectin shows reduced cyst wall formation. Microarray hybridizations show that these mutants behave more like tachyzoites at a global level, even under bradyzoite differentiation conditions. Set of arrays organized by shared biological context, such as organism, tumors types, processes, etc. User Defined
2005-08-13 | E-GEOD-3119 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Two forms of the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii are associated with intermediate hosts such as humans: rapidly growing tachyzoites are responsible for acute illness, whereas slowly dividing encysted bradyzoites can remain latent within the tissues for the life of the host. In order to identify genetic factors associated with parasite differentiation, we have used a strong bradyzoite-specific promoter (identified by promoter trapping) to drive the expression of T. gondii hypoxanthine-xanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HXGPRT) in stable transgenic parasites, providing a stage-specific positive/negative selectable marker. Insertional mutagenesis has been carried out on this parental line, followed by bradyzoite induction in vitro and selection in 6-thioxanthine to identify misregulation mutants. Two different mutants fail to induce the HXGPRT gene efficiently during bradyzoite differentiation. These mutants are also defective in other aspects of differentiation: they replicate well under bradyzoite growth conditions, lysing the host cell monolayer as effectively as tachyzoites. Expression of the major bradyzoite antigen BAG1 is reduced, and staining with Dolichos biflorus lectin shows reduced cyst wall formation. Microarray hybridizations show that these mutants behave more like tachyzoites at a global level, even under bradyzoite differentiation conditions. Set of arrays organized by shared biological context, such as organism, tumors types, processes, etc. Keywords: Logical Set
2005-08-13 | GSE3119 | GEO
Project description:Toxoplasma has been a useful parasite model for decades because it is relatively easy to genetically modify and culture, however, attempts to generate and study the recrudescence of tissue cysts have come up short with lab-adapted strains generating low numbers of tissue cysts in vivo. Here we have established a new model of Toxoplasma recrudescence using bradyzoites from an unadapted Type II ME49 strain (ME49EW) isolated from murine brain tissue. Ex vivo bradyzoite infection of fibroblasts and astrocytes produced sequential tachyzoite growth stages; a fast-growing stage was followed by formation of a slower-growing stage. In astrocytes, but not in fibroblasts, bradyzoites also initiated a second recrudescent pathway involving bradyzoite to bradyzoite replication. Intraperitoneal infections of mice with either bradyzoites or the fast-growing tachyzoite stage efficiently disseminated to brain tissue leading to high numbers of tissue cysts, while infections with the slow-growing tachyzoite stage were largely retained in the peritoneum. Poor infection and cyst formation of slow-growing tachyzoites was reversible by serial tissue cyst passage, while the poor tissue cyst formation of lab-adapted tachyzoites was not reversible by these approaches. To distinguish strain developmental competency, we identified Toxoplasma genes highly expressed in ME49EW in vivo tissue cysts and developed a qPCR approach that differentiates immature from mature bradyzoites. In summary, the results presented describe a new ex vivo bradyzoite recrudescence model that fully captures the growth and developmental processes during toxoplasmosis reactivation in vivo opening the door to the further study of these important features of the Toxoplasma intermediate life cycle.
2022-07-23 | GSE208647 | GEO
Project description:The apicomplexan parasite Toxoplasma gondii forms bradyzoite-containing tissue cysts that cause chronic and drug-tolerant infections. Here, we developed a human myotube-based in vitro culture model of functionally mature tissue cysts. In contrast to fast replicating tachyzoite forms of T. gondii these tissue cysts tolerate exposure to the aconitase inhibitor sodium fluoroacetate. These data characterize bradyzoites and tachyzoites treated with NaFAc.
2022-01-07 | ST002053 | MetabolomicsWorkbench
Project description:Toxoplasma gondii is an obligatory intracellular parasite that causes persistent infections in birds and mammals including ~30% of the world’s human population. Differentiation from proliferative and metabolically active tachyzoites to largely dormant bradyzoites initiates the chronic phase of infection and occurs predominantly in brain and muscle tissues. Here we used murine skeletal muscle cells (SkMCs) to decipher host cellular factors that favor T. gondii bradyzoite formation in terminally differentiated and syncytial myotubes, but not in proliferating myoblast precursors. Genome-wide transcriptome analyses of T. gondii-infected SkMCs and non-infected controls identified ~6,500 genes which were differentially expressed (DEGs) in myotubes compared to myoblasts, largely irrespective of infection. On the other hand, genes related to central carbohydrate metabolism, to redox homeostasis, and to the Nrf2-dependent stress response pathway were enriched in both infected myoblast precursors and myotubes. Stable isotope-resolved metabolite profiling indicated increased fluxes into the oxidative branch of the pentose phosphate pathway (OxPPP) in infected myoblasts and into the TCA cycle in infected myotubes. High OxPPP activity in infected myoblasts was associated with increased NADPH/NADP+ ratio while myotubes exhibited higher ROS levels and lower expression of anti-oxidants and detoxification enzymes. Pharmacological reduction of ROS levels in SkMCs inhibited bradyzoite differentiation, while increased ROS induced bradyzoite formation. Thus, we identified a novel host cell-dependent mechanism that triggers stage conversion of T. gondii into persistent tissue cysts in its natural host cell type.
2021-11-04 | GSE133952 | GEO
Project description:There were three primary objectives to the overall experiment. I. Describe the transcriptome of the oocyst through its development beginning with the freshly excreted, unsporulated oocyst at “Day 0” to a fully sporulated and mature oocyst at “Day 10” and including a mid-sporulation timepoint at “Day 4”. II. Compare the transcriptomes of in vitro vs. in vivo derived bradyzoites. III. Compare expression data from three life stages (oocyst, bradyzoite and tachyzoite) from the same parasite isolate, M4, which has been been characterized as a Type II strain. Each array represents seperately isolated and processed RNA samples. (Two samples per time point/developmental stage) RNA samples were obtained from: 1. Oocysts harvested from kitten feces and purified for RNA extraction at Day 0, (not sporulated), Day 4 post-induction of sporulation (mid-sporulation) and Day 10 post-induction of sporulation (fully sporulated). Oocysts were collected and combined from two kittens that were infected with the same starting material (mouse brains containing bradyzoite cysts of the same parasite strain). Duplicate samples were obtained from feces collected and purified on separate days. 2. Bradyzoite cysts harvested from the brains of mice that were infected with oocysts from the same strain (obtained from the oocysts harvested from kittens as described for the oocyst RNA). Mice were treated with 0.44 µg/ml sulfadiazine in their water days 11-21 pi. Mice were sacrificed on day 21 for cyst purification. 3. In vitro 4 and 8 dpi bradyzoite and 2 dpi tachyzoite samples are from separately infected cultures of human foreskin fibroblasts (HFFs) (replicates were infected on the same day). The parasites used for the initial infections were derived from the same culture. Samples were harvested independently and kept separate for all the subsequent processing and labeling steps.
2011-09-30 | E-GEOD-32427 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Ingestion of Toxoplasma gondii results in life-long infection due to its ability to convert from the rapidly disseminating tachyzoite stage to the chronic, encysted bradyzoite stage. The control of mRNA translation has been suggested to play a key role in the signaling required to trigger bradyzoite formation. In eukaryotes, translational control primarily operates at two key points during the assembly of translation initiation factors. The phosphorylation of eIF2 affects mRNA start codon recognition and promotes differentiation in a variety of parasites. Modulating eIF4F function is the second pan-eukaryote regulatory point but remains unexplored in Toxoplasma. Here, we uncover the role that eIF4F-centric regulation plays in regulating bradyzoite formation by targeting the cap-binding subunit, eIF4E1. We discover that eIF4E1 coordinates two eIF4F complexes and binds the 5’-end of all mRNAs transcribed in tachyzoites, many of which show evidence of stemming from heterogenous transcriptional start sites. Together, this indicates that eIF4E1 is the predominant cap-binding protein in Toxoplasma tachyzoites. We also demonstrate that eIF4E1 knockdown or its chemical inhibition triggers the efficient formation of bradyzoites in the absence of other stresses and that stress-induced bradyzoites reduce their eIF4E1 expression. This study unearths a role for eIF4F-centric translational control in controlling Toxoplasma differentiation, suggesting that control of cap-dependent translation regulates the process of bradyzoite formation.
2023-11-02 | GSE243206 | GEO
Project description:Ingestion of Toxoplasma gondii results in life-long infection due to its ability to convert from the rapidly disseminating tachyzoite stage to the chronic, encysted bradyzoite stage. The control of mRNA translation has been suggested to play a key role in the signaling required to trigger bradyzoite formation. In eukaryotes, translational control primarily operates at two key points during the assembly of translation initiation factors. The phosphorylation of eIF2 affects mRNA start codon recognition and promotes differentiation in a variety of parasites. Modulating eIF4F function is the second pan-eukaryote regulatory point but remains unexplored in Toxoplasma. Here, we uncover the role that eIF4F-centric regulation plays in regulating bradyzoite formation by targeting the cap-binding subunit, eIF4E1. We discover that eIF4E1 coordinates two eIF4F complexes and binds the 5’-end of all mRNAs transcribed in tachyzoites, many of which show evidence of stemming from heterogenous transcriptional start sites. Together, this indicates that eIF4E1 is the predominant cap-binding protein in Toxoplasma tachyzoites. We also demonstrate that eIF4E1 knockdown or its chemical inhibition triggers the efficient formation of bradyzoites in the absence of other stresses and that stress-induced bradyzoites reduce their eIF4E1 expression. This study unearths a role for eIF4F-centric translational control in controlling Toxoplasma differentiation, suggesting that control of cap-dependent translation regulates the process of bradyzoite formation.
2023-11-02 | GSE243203 | GEO
Project description:The protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii causes serious opportunistic disease due to its ability to persist in patients as latent tissue cysts. The molecular mechanisms coordinating conversion between proliferative parasites (tachyzoites) and latent cysts (bradyzoites) are not fully understood. We previously showed that phosphorylation of eIF2α accompanies bradyzoite formation, suggesting that this clinically relevant process involves regulation of mRNA translation. In this study, we investigated the composition and role of eIF4F multi-subunit complexes in translational control. Using CLIPseq, we find that the cap-binding subunit, eIF4E1, localizes to the 5’-end of all tachyzoite mRNAs, many of which show evidence of stemming from heterogenous transcriptional start sites. We further show that eIF4E1 operates as the predominant cap-binding protein in two distinct eIF4F complexes. Using genetic and pharmacological approaches, we found that eIF4E1 deficiency triggers efficient spontaneous formation of bradyzoites without stress induction. Consistent with this result, we also show that stress-induced bradyzoites exhibit reduced eIF4E1 expression. Overall, our findings establish a novel role for eIF4F in translational control required for parasite latency and microbial persistence.
2024-03-26 | GSE262241 | GEO