The World Health Organization estimates that at least 30 percent of the world’s population is infected with Toxoplasma gondii. Scientists have discovered the mechanism of how Toxoplasma gondii spreads to the brain, according to a study published in the journal Cell Host & Microbe. Researchers have discovered a protein that reprograms the immune system in Toxoplasma gondii. The parasite injects the protein into the nucleus of immune cells, changing the cell’s identity. Immune cells are tricked by the parasite into thinking they are another type of cell. This changes the gene expression and behavior of immune cells. Toxoplasma causes the rapid movement of infected cells that shouldn’t be spreading in the body, allowing the parasite to spread to different organs.
This article is transferred from: https://www.solidot.org/story?sid=73687
This site is only for collection, and the copyright belongs to the original author.