Supporting data for: Caspase-8 expression in CD8+ T cells promotes pathogen restriction in the brain during Toxoplasma gondii infection (Casp8Ripk3 KO data)

Cell death is an integral restriction mechanism against intracellular pathogens. We have previously reported extensive cell death in the brain during infection with the intracellular parasite, Toxoplasma gondii. Here we focus on the role of caspase-8, a regulator of extrinsic apoptosis, during T. gondii infection. We find that Casp8-/-Ripk3-/- mice have increased brain parasite burden in comparison to controls and succumb to infection, despite the generation of robust immune responses. We observed that neurons, astrocytes, and CD8+ T cells had high rates of parasite interactions in Casp8-/-Ripk3-/- mice compared to WT mice. While Casp8 deficiency in neurons and astrocytes did not impact control of infection, deletion of Casp8 in CD8+ T cells led to impaired survival, increased parasite burden and direct infection of CD8+ T cells in the brain. We conclude that in addition to well-characterized effector functions, CD8+ T cells utilize caspase-8 to control T. gondii in the brain.This item contains raw data that pertains to Casp8-/-Ripk3-/- mice. Data ranges from naive to various time points post T. gondii infection and include flow cytometry based cell population quantifications, RT-PCR quantifications, ELISA cytokine measurements, and parasite burden quantifications. Information regarding date collected, timepoint, sex, and data type can be found in the file title.