title: Toxoplasma gondii: One Organism, Multiple Models.
abstract: Toxoplasma gondii is an intensely studied protozoan parasite. It is also used as a model organism to research additional clinically relevant human and veterinary parasites due to ease of in vitro culture and genetic manipulation. Recently, it has been developed as a model of inflammatory bowel disease, due to their similar pathologies. However, researchers vary widely in how they use T. gondii, which makes study comparisons and interpretation difficult. The aim of this review is to provide researchers with a tool to: (i) determine the appropriateness of the different T. gondii models to their research, (ii) interpret results from the wide range of study conditions, and (iii) consider new advances in technology which could improve or refine their experimental setup.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: Edina K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Szabo
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Electronic address: constance.finney@ucalgary.ca.
authors.forename: Constance A M
authors.initials: CAM
authors.lastname: Finney
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D012106:Research / Q000639:trends*; D013672:Technology / Q000639:trends; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000502:physiology*; D014123:Toxoplasmosis / Q000473:pathology*
keywords: Toxoplasma; in vitro models; in vivo models; mouse models; parasites