ArticlePLoS pathogens2016
Neurons are the Primary Target Cell for the Brain-Tropic Intracellular Parasite Toxoplasma gondii.
Article in PLoS pathogens, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 127 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
127 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 216 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Targeting the cGAS-STING pathway alleviates neuroinflammation and cognitive impairment induced by chronic infection of Toxoplasma gondii.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2026Article
- Getting on your last nerve: IFNs and resistance to infection.Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950) · 2026Review
- Astrocytic but not Microglial Antigen Presentation Shapes Protective Immunity to Toxoplasma gondii in the Brain.Research square · 2026Article
- ZBP1 mediated restriction of Toxoplasma gondii in both the early acute and chronic brain stages of infection.ImmunoHorizons · 2026Article
- Article
- Concurrent Toxoplasma gondii infection and neuroinflammation in traumatic brain injury patients in a referral hospital in Douala Cameroon.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Physical exercise protects against Toxoplasma gondii infection-induced muscle atrophy and microvascular rarefaction.Communications biology · 2026Article
- Toxoplasma gondii drives myeloid immune cell recruitment to amyloid plaques in Alzheimer's model mice.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2026Article
- Caspase-8 expression in CD8Science advances · 2025Article
- Article
- Toxoplasma gondii and the Brain: Frenemies? Or Just Outright Foes?Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society · 2025Review
- The role of maternal infections in neurodevelopmental psychiatric disorders: focus on the P2X7/NLRP3/IL-1β signalling pathway.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2025Review
- Article
- Comprehensive analysis of Toxoplasma gondii migration routes and tissue dissemination in the host.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2025Review
- Defining neuronal responses to the neurotropic parasitemSphere · 2025Article
- Article
- Article
- Cytoskeletal alterations in neuronal cells implicate Toxoplasma gondii secretory machinery and host microRNA-containing extracellular vesicles.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Immune targeting and host-protective effects of the latent stage of Toxoplasma gondii.Nature microbiology · 2025Article
67 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Toxoplasma gondii, a common brain-tropic parasite, is capable of infecting most nucleated cells, including astrocytes and neurons, in vitro. Yet, in vivo, Toxoplasma is primarily found in neurons. In vitro data showing that interferon-γ-stimulated astrocytes, but not neurons, clear intracellular parasites suggest that neurons alone are persistently infected in vivo because they lack the ability to clear intracellular parasites. Here we test this theory by using a novel Toxoplasma-mouse model capable of marking and tracking host cells that directly interact with parasites, even if the interaction is transient. Remarkably, we find that Toxoplasma shows a strong predilection for interacting with neurons throughout CNS infection. This predilection remains in the setting of IFN-γ depletion; infection with parasites resistant to the major mechanism by which murine astrocytes clear parasites; or when directly injecting parasites into the brain. These findings, in combination with prior work, strongly suggest that neurons are not incidentally infected, but rather they are Toxoplasma's primary in vivo target.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.