Atypical virulence in a type III Toxoplasma gondii strain isolated in Japan. Issue 5 (October 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Taniguchi, Yuji; Appiah-Kwarteng, Cornelia; Murakami, Mami; Fukumoto, Junpei; Nagamune, Kisaburo; Matsuo, Tomohide; Masatani, Tatsunori; Kanuka, Hirotaka; Hoshina, Tokio; Kitoh, Katsuya; Takashima, Yasuhiro
• Is Part Of: Parasitology international. Volume 67:Issue 5(2018:Oct.)
• Page Start: 587
• Page End: 592
• Publication Date: 2018-10
• Subjects: Toxoplasma gondii -- Virulence -- Atypical virulence -- Genotype -- Rhoptry protein; Parasitology -- Periodicals; Parasites -- Periodicals; Parasitic Diseases -- Periodicals; Parasitology -- Periodicals; Parasitologie -- Périodiques; 571.99905
• DOI: 10.1016/j.parint.2018.05.010
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1383-5769

Abstract

Abstract: The virulence of a type III Toxoplasma gondii strain isolated in Japan and designated here as TgCatJpGi1/TaJ was examined in mice and micro minipigs in this study. Despite its type III genotype, oral or intraperitoneal inoculation of cysts from it resulted in severe virulence in C57BL/6J and BALB/c mice. In contrast, mice inoculated with a high dose of TgCatJpGi1/TaJ tachyzoites showed no obvious clinical signs of infection, and all of them survived for >21 days post-inoculation. Furthermore, no clinical signs of infection were seen when micro minipigs were inoculated with 900 cysts. Interestingly, our allelic type screening of the virulence-related rop5, rop16, rop17, and rop18 genes, as based on restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis (RFLP), revealed that the RFLP patterns for TgCatJpGi1/TaJ were identical to those from nonvirulent type III parasites. These results suggest that TgCatJpGi1/TaJ possesses an unknown virulence factor or factors. Graphical abstract: Highlights: RFLP ROP gene typing of T. gondii TgCatJpGi1/TaJ supports a type III designation. Type III strains are categorized as non-virulent in mice. However, cyst infections with TgCatJpGi1/TaJ were highly virulent in mice. High-dose inoculations with TgCatJpGi1/TaJ tachyzoites did not kill the mice.