Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40973829›Full record

ArticleEMBO reports2025

The invasion pore induced by Toxoplasma gondii.

Yuto Kegawa, Frances Male, Irene Jiménez-Munguía, Paul S Blank, Elena Mekhedov, Gary E Ward, Joshua Zimmerberg

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in EMBO reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Yuto Kegawa *Section on Integrative Biophysics; Division of Basic and Translational Biophysics, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA.ORCID 0009-0009-7497-096X
Frances Male *Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine, Burlington, VT, USA.
Irene Jiménez-MunguíaSection on Integrative Biophysics; Division of Basic and Translational Biophysics, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-1588-9511
Paul S BlankSection on Integrative Biophysics; Division of Basic and Translational Biophysics, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-6285-4277
Elena MekhedovSection on Integrative Biophysics; Division of Basic and Translational Biophysics, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA.
Gary E WardDepartment of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine, Burlington, VT, USA. Gary.Ward@uvm.edu.ORCID 0000-0003-4138-3055
Joshua ZimmerbergSection on Integrative Biophysics; Division of Basic and Translational Biophysics, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA. Joshua.Zimmerberg@nih.gov.ORCID 0000-0002-1707-3789

Funding

Host cell membrane perforation during invasion by Toxoplasma gondiiU01AI169067 · NIAID · UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT & ST AGRIC COLLEGE · PI GARY E WARD · 2023 to 2026
$1.7M
HHS | NIH | Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development National Institutes of Health Division of Intramural ProgramMEXT | Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Research FellowshipNIAID NIH HHS U01 AI169067US Public Health Service U01AI169067
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The parasite Toxoplasma gondii invades its host cell only after secreting proteins such as invasion-requisite RON2 that inserts into the host cell membrane to establish the moving junction. Electrophysiological recordings at sub-200 µs resolution show a transient increase in host cell membrane conductance following parasite exposure. Transients always precede invasion, but parasites depleted of RON2 generate transients without invading. Thus RON2 is not essential for transient generation. Time-series analysis developed here and applied to the 910,000 data point transient dataset reveal multiple quantal conductance changes in the parasite-induced transient, consistent with rapid insertion, then slower removal, blocking, or inactivation of potential pore components. Quantal steps for wild-type RH strain parasites have a principal mode with Gaussian mean of 0.26 nS, similar in step size to the pore forming protein EXP2, part of the PTEX translocon of malaria parasites. Without RON2 the quantal mean (0.19 nS) is significantly different. Because we observe no parasite invasion without poration, the term "invasion pore" is proposed to describe this transient breach in host cell membrane barrier integrity during invasion.

Indexed as

Protozoan ProteinsToxoplasmaAnimalsCell MembraneHost-Parasite InteractionsHumansProtozoan Proteinsrhoptry neck protein 2, Toxoplasma gondiiCell MembraneMembrane PorationParasiteRhoptry SecretionWhole-Cell Patch-Clamp

Identifiers

PMID40973829
PMCPMC12549902

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.