title: Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoite-infected peripheral blood mononuclear cells are enriched in mouse lungs and liver.
abstract: The intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii is thought to disseminate throughout the host by circulation of tachyzoite-infected leukocytes in the blood, and adherence and migration of such leukocytes into solid tissues. However, it is unclear whether T. gondii-infected leukocytes can migrate to solid organs via the general circulation. In this study, we developed a real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) method to determine the rate of infection of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) flowing into and remaining within solid organs in mice. A transgenic T. gondii parasite line derived from the PLK strain that expresses DsRed Express, and transgenic green fluorescent protein-positive PBMCs, were used for these experiments. Tachyzoite-infected PBMCs were injected into mouse tail veins and qRT-PCR was used to measure the infection rates of the PBMCs remaining in the lungs, liver, spleen and brain. We found that the PBMCs in the lungs and liver had statistically higher infection rates than that of the original inoculum; this difference was statistically significant. However, the PBMC infection rate in the spleen showed no such enhancement. These results show that tachyzoite-infected PBMCs in the general circulation remain in the lungs and liver more effectively than non-infected PBMCs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Parasitological Diseases, Faculty of Applied Biological Science, Gifu University, 1-1 Yanagoto, Gifu 501-1193, Japan. unno@med.nagoya-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Akihiro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Unno
authors.forename: Seira
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kachi
authors.forename: Tatiana A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Batanova
authors.forename: Tamio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ohno
authors.forename: Nagwa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Elhawary
authors.forename: Katsuya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kitoh
authors.forename: Yasuhiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takashima
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000302:isolation & purification; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000469:parasitology / Q000473:pathology; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000166:cytology / Q000469:parasitology*; D008099:Liver / Q000469:parasitology / Q000473:pathology*; D049408:Luminescent Agents; D008168:Lung / Q000469:parasitology / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013154:Spleen / Q000469:parasitology / Q000473:pathology; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*; D014124:Toxoplasmosis, Animal / Q000097:blood / Q000469:parasitology / Q000473:pathology*; D014709:Vero Cells
chemical_list: D016054:DNA, Protozoan; D049408:Luminescent Agents; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins