Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

Metabolomic signature of mouse cerebral cortex following Toxoplasma gondii infection

Ma, Jun; He, Jun-Jun; Hou, Jun-Ling; Zhou, Chun-Xue; Zhang, Fu-Kai; Elsheikha, Hany M.; Zhu, Xing-Quan

Authors

Jun Ma

Jun-Jun He

Jun-Ling Hou

Chun-Xue Zhou

Fu-Kai Zhang

Xing-Quan Zhu



Abstract

Background: The protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii infects and alters the neurotransmission in cerebral cortex and other brain regions, leading to neurobehavioral and neuropathologic changes in humans and animals. However, the molecules that contribute to these changes remain largely unknown.
Methods: We have investigated the impact of T. gondii infection on the overall metabolism of mouse cerebral cortex. Mass-spectrometry-based metabolomics and multivariate statistical analysis were employed to discover metabolomic signatures that discriminate between cerebral cortex of T. gondii-infected and uninfected control mice.
Results: Our results identified 73, 67 and 276 differentially abundant metabolites, which were involved in 25, 37 and 64 pathways at 7, 14 and 21 days post-infection (dpi), respectively. Metabolites in the unsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis pathway were upregulated as the infection progressed, indicating that T. gondii induces the biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids to promote its own growth and survival. Some of the downregulated metabolites were related to pathways, such as steroid hormone biosynthesis and arachidonic acid metabolism. Nine metabolites were identified as T. gondii responsive metabolites, namely galactosylsphingosine, arachidonic acid, LysoSM(d18:1), l-palmitoylcarnitine, calcitetrol, 27-Deoxy-5b-cyprinol, l-homophenylalanine, oleic acid and ceramide (d18:1/16:0).
Conclusions: Our data provide novel insight into the dysregulation of the metabolism of the mouse cerebral cortex during T. gondii infection and have important implications for studies of T. gondii pathogenesis.

Citation

Ma, J., He, J., Hou, J., Zhou, C., Zhang, F., Elsheikha, H. M., & Zhu, X. (2019). Metabolomic signature of mouse cerebral cortex following Toxoplasma gondii infection. Parasites and Vectors, 12, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-019-3623-4

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jul 19, 2019
Online Publication Date Jul 29, 2019
Publication Date Jul 29, 2019
Deposit Date Aug 1, 2019
Journal Parasites & Vectors
Electronic ISSN 1756-3305
Publisher Springer Nature
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 12
Article Number 373
Pages 1-11
DOI https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-019-3623-4
Keywords Metabolomics, Neuropathy, Cerebral cortex, Toxoplasma gondii, Host-parasite interaction, Metabolism
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2371668
Publisher URL https://parasitesandvectors.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13071-019-3623-4