Kiss and spit: the dual roles of Toxoplasma rhoptries.
Toxoplasma gondii is a single-celled, eukaryotic parasite that can only reproduce inside a host cell. Upon entry, this Apicomplexan parasite co-opts host functions for its own purposes. An unusual set of apical organelles, named rhoptries, contain some of the machinery that is used by T. gondii both for invasion and to commandeer host functions. Of particular interest are a group of injected protein kinases that are among the most variable of all the T. gondii proteins. At least one of these kinases has a major effect on host-gene expression, including the modulation of key regulators of the immune response. Here, we discuss these recent findings and use them to propose a model in which an expansion of host range is a major force that drives rhoptry-protein evolution.
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305-5124, USA. john.boothroyd@stanford.edu
John C
JC
Boothroyd
Jean-Francois
JF
Dubremetz
D000818:Animals; D015388:Organelles / Q000469:parasitology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D014123:Toxoplasmosis / Q000469:parasitology*
D015800:Protozoan Proteins