The Sex-Specific Changes in Gene Expression and Behavior Induced by Chronic Toxoplasma Infection in Mice. Mus musculus

The goal of this study was to identify the neural systems that underlie the behavorial changes in intermediate hosts of Toxoplasma gondii. Using a mouse whole genome microarray, we analyzed gene expression in the frontal cortex during the latent stages of infection. We found marked sex-dependent effects on gene transcription in mice. In female mice, Toxoplasma infection altered the expression of genes involved in the development of the forebrain, neurogenesis, sensory and motor coordination. In male mice, infection led mainly to modulation of genes associated with olfaction. Our results indicate that the gender of the host plays a major role in determining variable brain changes following Toxoplasma infection. Overall design: Male and female BALB/c mice (infected female: n=5; infected male: n=5; female control: n=5; male control: n=4) were used in this study. They were sacrificed approximately 6 month post infection and the frontal cortices harvested. RNA transcript levels were quantified by microarray analyses using Illumina Mouse Ref-8 v2.0 Expression BeadChips.

本研究旨在明确刚地弓形虫（Toxoplasma gondii）中间宿主行为改变背后的神经系统调控机制。本研究借助小鼠全基因组微阵列（mouse whole genome microarray）技术，对感染潜伏期内小鼠额叶皮层的基因表达情况展开分析。研究发现，小鼠的基因转录存在显著的性别依赖性差异：在雌性小鼠中，刚地弓形虫感染会改变与前脑发育、神经发生、感觉与运动协调相关的基因表达水平；而在雄性小鼠中，感染主要调控与嗅觉功能相关的基因表达。本研究结果表明，宿主性别是决定刚地弓形虫感染后大脑发生差异性脑变化的关键因素。实验总体设计：本研究使用了雌雄BALB/c小鼠（感染组雌性：n=5；感染组雄性：n=5；雌性对照组：n=5；雄性对照组：n=4），实验小鼠于感染后约6个月处死，采集其额叶皮层组织。通过Illumina Mouse Ref-8 v2.0 Expression BeadChips进行微阵列分析，对RNA转录本水平进行定量检测。