ArticleDisease models & mechanisms2014
Chronic murine toxoplasmosis is defined by subtle changes in neuronal connectivity.
Article in Disease models & mechanisms, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 57 papers.
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Who cites it
57 citing papers in PubMed, 96 citations in OpenAlex.
- Toxoplasma gondii infection is associated with changes in chronic outcomes in traumatic brain injury.Translational psychiatry · 2026Observational
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- Cytoskeletal alterations in neuronal cells implicate Toxoplasma gondii secretory machinery and host microRNA-containing extracellular vesicles.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Resveratrol Alleviates the Prenatally Intermittent Hypoxia-Induced Cognitive Impairment in Male Offspring Mice Through Modulating the SIRT1/HIF-1α Pathway.Brain and behavior · 2025Article
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- A comprehensive assessment of toxoplasmosis and its dormant impact on psychotic disorders (Review).Biomedical reports · 2024Review
- Elevated matrix Metalloproteinase-9 associated with reduced cerebellar perineuronal nets in female mice with toxoplasmosis.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2024Article
- Pathological mechanisms of glial cell activation and neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders caused byFrontiers in microbiology · 2024Review
- Lentinan has a beneficial effect on cognitive deficits induced by chronic Toxoplasma gondii infection in mice.Parasites & vectors · 2023Article
- Changes in the Proliferation of the Neural Progenitor Cells of Adult Mice Chronically Infected withMicroorganisms · 2023Article
- Latent toxoplasmosis impairs learning and memory yet strengthens short-term and long-term hippocampal synaptic plasticity at perforant pathway-dentate gyrus, and Schaffer collatterals-CA1 synapses.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Dimethyl itaconate ameliorates the deficits of goal-directed behavior in Toxoplasma gondii infected mice.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2023Article
- Immunotherapy targeting the PD-1 pathway alleviates neuroinflammation caused by chronic Toxoplasma infection.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Behavioral Changes Induced by Latent Toxoplasmosis Could Arise from CNS Inflammation and Neuropathogenesis.Current topics in behavioral neurosciences · 2023Article
- Chronic Toxoplasma gondii infection contributes to perineuronal nets impairment in the primary somatosensory cortex.Parasites & vectors · 2022Article
- The neuropeptide PACAP alleviates T. gondii infection-induced neuroinflammation and neuronal impairment.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2022Article
- Immune response and pathogen invasion at the choroid plexus in the onset of cerebral toxoplasmosis.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2022Article
- A metabolite attenuates neuroinflammation, synaptic loss and cognitive deficits induced by chronic infection ofFrontiers in immunology · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Recent studies correlate chronic Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) infection with behavioral changes in rodents; additionally, seropositivity in humans is reported to be associated with behavioral and neuropsychiatric diseases. In this study we investigated whether the described behavioral changes in a murine model of chronic toxoplasmosis are associated with changes in synaptic plasticity and brain neuronal circuitry. In mice chronically infected with T. gondii, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data analysis displayed the presence of heterogeneous lesions scattered throughout all brain areas. However, a higher density of lesions was observed within specific regions such as the somatosensory cortex (SSC). Further histopathological examination of these brain areas indicated the presence of activated resident glia and recruited immune cells accompanied by limited alterations of neuronal viability. In vivo diffusion-tensor MRI analysis of neuronal fiber density within the infected regions revealed connectivity abnormalities in the SSC. Altered fiber density was confirmed by morphological analysis of individual, pyramidal and granule neurons, showing a reduction in dendritic arbor and spine density within the SSC, as well as in the hippocampus. Evaluation of synapse efficacy revealed diminished levels of two key synaptic proteins, PSD95 and synaptophysin, within the same brain areas, indicating deficits in functionality of the synaptic neurotransmission in infected mice. Our results demonstrate that persistent T. gondii infection in a murine model results in synaptic deficits within brain structures leading to disturbances in the morphology of noninfected neurons and modified brain connectivity, suggesting a potential explanation for the behavioral and neuropsychiatric alterations.
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