Transcriptomes of Toxoplasma gondii-infected primary brain cells from mice deficient in TLR2, CCR5, and CXCR3.

The obligate intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii infects warm-blooded animals including humans. T. gondii latently infects the brain of its hosts, suggesting the association with neurological disorders and behavioral changes caused by the infection. The infection with T. gondii in mice causes immune response-associated genes to be upregulated. TLR2, CCR5, and CXCR3 are receptors reportedly associated with peripheral immune responses against T. gondii. To know their functions in the central nervous system during the infection, primary brain cells (astrocytes, microglia, and neurons) and macrophages were isolated from mice deficient in each receptor. The cells were exposed to tachyzoites of Toxoplasma gondii (PLK strain, type II), and their transcriptomes during the infection were sequenced with Illumina HiSeq 3000.