Toxoplasma gondii infection of human retinal pigment epithelial cells

We performed RNA-Sequencing (RNA-Seq) of primary human retinal pigment epithelial cells and the ARPE-19 cell line 24 hours following infection with GT-1 strain T. gondii tachyzoites. Gene ontology and pathway enrichment analyses of differentially expressed total RNA identified a strong immunologic transcriptomic signature. There were limited changes in the small RNA transcriptome. We used RT-qPCR for 26 immune response-related protein-coding and long non-coding transcripts in different primary epithelial cell isolates to confirm immunological activity of infected cells. Overall design: Transcriptomic profiles of human retinal pigment epithelial cells 24 hours following infection with T. gondii or mock infection