Monavar Selseleh, Mohammad Hossein Modarressi, Mehdi Mohebali, Saeedeh Shojaee, Mohammad Reza Eshragian, Mina Selseleh, Ebrahim Azizi, Hossein Keshavarz
Korean J Parasitol 2012;50(3):199-205. Published online August 13, 2012
Toxoplasmic encephalitis is caused by reactivation of bradyzoites to rapidly dividing tachyzoites of the apicomplexan parasite Toxoplasma gondii in immunocompromised hosts. Diagnosis of this life-threatening disease is problematic, because it is difficult to discriminate between these 2 stages. Toxoplasma PCR assays using gDNA as a template have been unable to discriminate between an increase or decrease in SAG1 and BAG1 expression between the active tachyzoite stage and the latent bradyzoite stage. In the present study, real-time RT-PCR assay was used to detect the expression of bradyzoite (BAG1)- and tachyzoite-specific genes (SAG1) during bradyzoite/tachyzoite stage conversion in mice infected with T. gondii Tehran strain after dexamethasone sodium phosphate (DXM) administration. The conversion reaction was observed in the lungs and brain tissues of experimental mice, indicated by SAG1 expression at day 6 after DXM administration, and continued until day 14. Bradyzoites were also detected in both organs throughout the study; however, it decreased at day 14 significantly. It is suggested that during the reactivation period, bradyzoites not only escape from the cysts and reinvade neighboring cells as tachyzoites, but also converted to new bradyzoites. In summary, the real-time RT-PCR assay provided a reliable, fast, and quantitative way of detecting T. gondii reactivation in an animal model. Thus, this method may be useful for diagnosing stage conversion in clinical specimens of immunocompromised patients (HIV or transplant patients) for early identification of tachyzoite-bradyzoite stage conversion.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Human Retinal Organoid Model of Ocular Toxoplasmosis Liam M. Ashander, Grace E. Lidgerwood, Amanda L. Lumsden, João M. Furtado, Alice Pébay, Justine R. Smith Pathogens.2025; 14(3): 286. CrossRef
Comprehensive diagnostic approaches to feline toxoplasmosis: Bridging traditional methods and emerging technologies Dan Zhao, Yanzhen Liao, Hao Liu, Jianwei Wang, Ruiying Liang, Rongqiong Zhou, Jiabo Ding, Sixin Zhang, Xinming Tang Virulence.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
High Efficacy of Green Synthesized Silver Nanoparticles for Treatment of Toxoplasma Gondii Infection Through Their Immunomodulatory, Anti-Inflammatory, and Antioxidant Potency Qais A.H. Majeed, Sultan F. Alnomasy, Abdullah F. Shater, Abdullah D. Alanazi Acta Parasitologica.2024; 69(2): 1201. CrossRef
Diagnosis of Toxoplasmosis Using Surface Antigen Grade 1 Detection by ELISA, Nano-Gold ELISA, and PCR in Pregnant Women Nagwa SM Aly, Hye-Sook Kim, Yasmin M Marei, Azza S Elhamshary, Ibrahim R Bayoumi, Rabab E Omar, Dina A Mohammed, Shin-Ichi Miyoshi, Gehan A Rashed International Journal of Nanomedicine.2023; Volume 18: 1335. CrossRef
Assessment of tissue levels of miR-146a and proinflammatory cytokines in experimental cerebral toxoplasmosis following atovaquone and clindamycin treatment: An in vivo study Nima Zouei, Abdolhossein Dalimi, Majid Pirestani, Fatemeh Ghaffarifar Microbial Pathogenesis.2023; 184: 106340. CrossRef
Detection of Toxoplasma gondii oocysts on organic and conventionally grown produce Emily L. Lilly, Nathan J. Webster Food Microbiology.2021; 99: 103798. CrossRef
Temporal expression of Toxoplasma stage-specific genes in brain tissue: coincidence with parasitological and histopathological findings in mice models Mona H. El-Sayad, Neveen A. Hussein, A. H. Kazem, Omnya A. El Geddawi, Enas M. Rizk, Hend A. El-Taweel Parasitology Research.2020; 119(7): 2299. CrossRef
Micronemal protein 13 contributes to the optimal growth of Toxoplasma gondii under stress conditions Shu Ye, Ningbo Xia, Pengfei Zhao, Jichao Yang, Yanqin Zhou, Bang Shen, Junlong Zhao Parasitology Research.2019; 118(3): 935. CrossRef
Nanoemulsion of atovaquone as a promising approach for treatment of acute and chronic toxoplasmosis Sanaz Jafarpour Azami, Amir Amani, Hossein Keshavarz, Roqya Najafi-Taher, Mehdi Mohebali, Mohammad Ali Faramarzi, Mahmood Mahmoudi, Saeedeh Shojaee European Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences.2018; 117: 138. CrossRef
ANK1 and DnaK-TPR, Two Tetratricopeptide Repeat-Containing Proteins Primarily Expressed in Toxoplasma Bradyzoites, Do Not Contribute to Bradyzoite Differentiation Jichao Yang, Lihong Zhang, Huiyan Diao, Ningbo Xia, Yanqin Zhou, Junlong Zhao, Bang Shen Frontiers in Microbiology.2017;[Epub] CrossRef
Deletion of mitogen-activated protein kinase 1 inhibits development and growth of Toxoplasma gondii Lili Cao, Zedong Wang, Shuchao Wang, Jiping Li, Xinglong Wang, Feng Wei, Quan Liu Parasitology Research.2016; 115(2): 797. CrossRef
Brain cystogenesis capacity of Toxoplasma gondii, avirulent Tehran strain in mice Mehrzad Saraei, Yosef Ghaderi, Tahereh Mosavi, Mojtaba Shahnazi, Hossein Keshavarz, Saeedeh Shojaee Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Disease.2014; 4: S739. CrossRef
First
Prev
