Divergent co-transcriptomes of different host cells infected with Toxoplasma gondii reveal cell type-specific host-parasite interactions

ABSTRACT: The apicomplexan parasite Toxoplasma gondii infects a broad range of different cell types in avian and mammalian hosts including humans. Infection of immunocompetent hosts is mostly asymptomatic or benign, but leads to development of largely dormant bradyzoites that persist for the hosts life predominantly within neurons and muscle cells. Here we have analyzed the impact of the host cell type on the co-transcriptomes of host and parasite using high-throughput RNA sequencing. Murine cortical neurons and astrocytes, skeletal muscle cells (SkMCs) and fibroblasts differed by more than 16,200 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) before and at 24 hours after infection with T. gondii. However, only 157 to 492 of these DEGs were regulated within the different cell types by infection. Intriguingly, largely diverse sets of genes were regulated in neurons, SkMCs, astrocytes and fibroblasts following infection indicating host cell type-specific transcriptional responses. Only a few genes were identified that were commonly regulated in two or three host cell types after infection. The heterogeneous transcriptomes of the host cells before and during infection coincided with the differential expression of ~5,400 genes in T. gondii residing in the different host cells. Expression of these DEGs mostly differed quantitatively but within neurons, T. gondii also expressed 121 genes in a strictly host cell-type specific manner. Interestingly, we identified gene clusters in both T. gondii and its host, which correlated with the predominant parasite persistence in neurons or SkMCs as compared to astrocytes or fibroblasts. Thus, heterogeneous expression profiles of different host cell types and the parasites’ ability to adapt to them may govern the parasite-host cell interaction during toxoplasmosis.

ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus

PROVIDER: GSE94595 | GEO | 2017/08/07

SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA371567

REPOSITORIES: GEO