This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Ferro, E. A. V.
Right arrow Articles by Mineo, J. R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Ferro, E. A. V.
Right arrow Articles by Mineo, J. R.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Infection and Immunity, December 2002, p. 7089-7094, Vol. 70, No. 12
0019-9567/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.70.12.7089-7094.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Effect of Toxoplasma gondii Infection Kinetics on Trophoblast Cell Population in Calomys callosus, a Model of Congenital Toxoplasmosis

E. A. V. Ferro,1,2 D. A. O. Silva,2 E. Bevilacqua,1 and J. R. Mineo2*

Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo-SP, Brazil 05508-900,1 Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade Federal de UberlÂndia, UberlÂndia-MG, Brazil 38400-9022

Received 10 June 2002/ Returned for modification 20 July 2002/ Accepted 24 August 2002

This work evaluated the kinetics of events that occur in the placenta of Calomys callosus after Toxoplasma gondii infection. Animals on the first day of pregnancy (dop) and virgin nonpregnant females were perorally infected with 20 cysts of T. gondii strain ME49. After 100 days of infection, the virgin animals were mated and received an additional 20 cysts on the first dop. The placentas and the embryos from both acutely and chronically infected animals were analyzed up to day 20 of pregnancy by morphological and immunocytochemical assays. Noninfected and infected animals exhibited placenta with normal morphology. From the seventh dop and infection onwards, liver and spleen cells of the infected animals contained several parasitophorous vacuoles. On the 13th day, the maternal blood present at the placental blood spaces contained T. gondii-infected leukocytes. Infected placental cells were only seen on the 15th dop, being the trophoblast giant cells, the first cell type to contain signs of the parasite internalization, followed by labyrinth zone cells 24 h later and spongiotrophoblast cells only after the 19th dop. Fetal liver and brain were infected by T. gondii concomitantly to the labyrinth cell infection. No signals of infection were observed on placentas and embryos from chronically infected animals. Therefore, considering the sequence of events leading to the infection of the various organs, it could be hypothesized that the placenta is infected later on during pregnancy, which may be related to the defense roles played by this structure. However, trophoblast giant cells are unable to completely stop the progression of T. gondii infection towards the fetal tissues. C. callosus was demonstrated to be a suitable experimental model to study the dynamics of congenital toxoplasmosis.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade Federal de UberlÂndia, Av. Pará, 1720, UberlÂndia, Minas Gerais, Brazil 38.405-320. Phone: 55 34 3218 2195. Fax: 55 34 3232 9871. E-mail: jrmineo{at}ufu.br.

Editor: W. A. Petri, Jr.

Infection and Immunity, December 2002, p. 7089-7094, Vol. 70, No. 12
0019-9567/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.70.12.7089-7094.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»