title: The involvement of heparin in retinal infection by Toxoplasma gondii in a chick model revealed an ontogenetic-dependent pattern.
abstract: This work aimed to test the influence of heparin on the susceptibility of retinal cells to Toxoplasma gondii infection. Primary cultures of retinas from chick embryos of 8 (E8) or 11 (E11) days and fibroblasts (control) were used. To determine the influence of heparin in T. gondii infection, tachyzoites of the RH strain were treated with heparin before addition in the culture. A monoclonal anti-heparin antibody was used to analyze the heparin distribution on fibroblast and retinal cell surfaces. Our results showed that retinal cells (E8 and E11) had a higher infection rate than fibroblasts (91% and 24% versus 13%, respectively). Pre-treatment of T. gondii with heparin decreased infection of E8 retinal cells when compared with non-treated parasites (45% versus 91%, respectively), but not of E11 cells (35% versus 48%). In accordance, retinal cells presented an intense heparin staining by immunofluorescence assay. In conclusion, retinal cells from chick embryos were more susceptible to infection by T. gondii compared to fibroblasts and, pre-treatment of tachyzoites with heparin decreased the number of infected cells and parasite burden particularly for E8 retinal cells.
authors: Laboratório de Imunologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Brazil.
authors: Eneida César
authors: EC
authors: Mastrantonio
authors: Laboratório de Imunologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Brazil.
authors: Carla Duque
authors: CD
authors: Lopes
authors: Laboratório de Imunologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Brazil.
authors: Cristiano Gonçalves
authors: CG
authors: Pereira
authors: Laboratório de Histologia e Embriologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Brazil.
authors: Neide Maria
authors: NM
authors: Silva
authors: Universidade de Uberaba, Brazil.
authors: Belchiolina Beatriz
authors: BB
authors: Fonseca
authors: Laboratório de Histologia e Embriologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Brazil.
authors: Eloísa Amália Vieira
authors: EA
authors: Ferro
authors: Laboratório de Imunologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Brazil.
authors: José Roberto
authors: JR
authors: Mineo
authors: Laboratório de Imunologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Brazil. Electronic address: bialucas@yahoo.com.br.
authors: Janethe Deolina Oliveira
authors: JD
authors: Pena
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D002642:Chick Embryo; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000469:parasitology*; D006493:Heparin / Q000378:metabolism*; D012160:Retina / Q000166:cytology*; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D006493:Heparin
keywords: Chick embryo; Heparin; Retinal cells; Toxoplasma gondii