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Experimental infection of Calomys callosus with atypical strains of Toxoplasma gondii shows gender differences in severity of infection

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Abstract

There is a significant genetic diversity of Toxoplasma gondii in Brazil. Two parasite isolates were recently obtained from chickens in Uberlândia, Minas Gerais state, Brazil, namely, TgChBrUD1 and TgChBrUD2. In this study, we investigated Calomys callosus susceptibility to these atypical T. gondii strains. Male and female animals were intraperitoneally infected with tachyzoites and monitored to evaluate body weight change, morbidity, and mortality. Immunohistochemical assay and qPCR were performed to determine the parasitism in liver, spleen, and brain. Our data showed that TgChBrUD2-infected males died earlier than TgChBrUD1-infected males and 100 % of mortality was observed after 10 and 12 days of infection, respectively. Also, TgChBrUD1-infected females died earlier than TgChBrUD1-infected males and 100 % of mortality was observed after 9 and 12 days of infection, respectively. Both strains were able to induce a decrease in body weight of males, but only the TgChBrUD1 strain induced an increase in body weight of females. TgChBrUD2-infected females had significantly higher parasite load in both liver and spleen in comparison to TgChBrUD1-infected females, but no significant difference was found between genders or strains when males were infected. There was higher parasitism in the liver than the brain from both males and females infected with either strain. In conclusion, C. callosus specimens are susceptible to both T. gondii atypical strains with differences between males and females in severity of infection. These findings open new prospects for understanding different aspects of T. gondii infection, including reinfection and vertical transmission with these atypical strains when utilizing this experimental model.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Brazilian Research Funding Agencies (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa de Minas Gerai (FAPEMIG) and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnológico (CNPq)).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Immunophysiology of Reproduction, Department of Histology and Embryology, Federal University of Uberlândia, Av. Pará, 1720, Uberlândia, 38400-902, Brazil

    Priscila Silva Franco, Mayara Ribeiro, Janice Buiate Lopes-Maria, Bellisa de Freitas Barbosa, Angelica de Oliveira Gomes & Eloisa Amália Vieira Ferro

  2. Laboratory of Immunoparasitology, Department of Immunology, Microbiology and Parasitology, Federal University of Uberlândia, Av. Pará, 1720, Uberlândia, 38400-902, Brazil

    Lourenço Faria Costa, Deise Aparecida Oliveira Silva & José Roberto Mineo

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  1. Priscila Silva Franco
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  2. Mayara Ribeiro
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  3. Janice Buiate Lopes-Maria
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  4. Lourenço Faria Costa
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  5. Deise Aparecida Oliveira Silva
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  6. Bellisa de Freitas Barbosa
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  9. Eloisa Amália Vieira Ferro
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Correspondence to Eloisa Amália Vieira Ferro.

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Franco, P.S., Ribeiro, M., Lopes-Maria, J.B. et al. Experimental infection of Calomys callosus with atypical strains of Toxoplasma gondii shows gender differences in severity of infection. Parasitol Res 113, 2655–2664 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-014-3920-y

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