Month: September 2022

AMPLIFIED COMPLEXITY. "The nature of the interaction between the parasite and the host cell's apoptotic machinery is significantly dependent on its biology and the life cycle stage in question. These factors exponentially increase the complexity inherent in mammalian apoptotic regulatory pathways." http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2958.2007.05714.x/full View in LinkedIn

"ARGININE is a crucial amino acid that serves to modulate the cellular immune response during infection. Arginine is also a common substrate for both inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and arginase. The competition between iNOS and arginase for arginine can thus contribute to the outcome of several parasitic and bacterial infections." https://lnkd.in/ecC5-SQ View in LinkedIn

GUNS AND PLOUGHSHARES. "The generation of nitric oxide from arginine is responsible for efficient immune response and cytotoxicity of host cells to kill the invading pathogens. On the other hand, the conversion of arginine to ornithine and urea via the arginase pathway can support the growth of bacterial and parasitic pathogens." https://lnkd.in/ecC5-SQ View in LinkedIn

"TOXOPLASMA GONDII is an obligate intracellular protozoan parasite that can infect most warm-blooded animals. It is ubiquitous throughout the world and estimated to infect approximately half of the world's population. Toxoplasma has a complex life cycle consisting of a sexual cycle in its feline definitive hosts and an asexual cycle in its intermediate hosts. Intermediate hosts, including humans, can be infected by ingestion of oocysts shed in cat feces." https://lnkd.in/egUG5qe View in LinkedIn

MODULATING THE HOST. "The success of Toxoplasma as a widespread pathogen is due to the ease in which it can be transmitted between intermediate hosts. The ability of the parasite to replicate within a host cell, evade immune responses, and undergo bradyzoite development requires that the parasite effectively modulates its host." http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1600-0463.2009.02453.x/full View in LinkedIn

"TOXOPLASMA infection in mice so radically alters the rodent's behavior that instead of being severely afraid of cats, they make themselves available to predation, thereby completing the life cycle of the parasite in the cat host." The parasite completely takes over the host behavior. https://lnkd.in/eqqmfxE View in LinkedIn

MULTIPLE INVASION STEPS. "Toxoplasma hijacks host organelles and cytoskeleton. Toxoplasma invasion is a complex process consisting of multiple, independently regulated steps." http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1600-0463.2009.02453.x/full View in LinkedIn

TRYPTOPHAN STARVATION. "The ability for the host to modulate nutrient pools is not only a property that the parasite may co-opt but also represents a critical mechanism for the host to restrict parasite growth. As an example, a key IFNγ effector gene in humans is indoleamine dioxygenase that functions to catabolize tryptophan, which the parasite cannot synthesize de novo. Thus, tryptophan starvation is a critical anti-toxoplasmotic pathway in some but not all hosts." http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1600-0463.2009.02453.x/full View in LinkedIn

WHOLESCALE GENE HACKING. "Changes in host gene expression are among the most common and widespread that takes place after infection...the expression levels of more than 1000 host genes were modulated. These genes encode proteins involved in many different processes including inflammation, apoptosis, metabolism, and cell growth and differentiation." (Toxoplasma gondii). https://lnkd.in/egUG5qe View in LinkedIn

PARASITE CAMOUFLAGE. "The ability of Toxoplasma to establish a chronic, asymptomatic infection by converting into transmissible tissue cysts that remain hidden from the host's immune system is an important feature of the parasite's life cycle that allows it to be such a successful and wide-spread pathogen." https://lnkd.in/egUG5qe View in LinkedIn