| Budget Amount *help |
¥1,800,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,800,000)
Fiscal Year 2014: ¥900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000)
Fiscal Year 2013: ¥900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000)
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
Toxoplasma gondii infection results in co-option and subversion of host cellular signaling pathways. This process involves discharge of T. gondii effector molecules from parasite secretory organelles such as rhoptries and dense granules. I found that the T. gondii polymorphic dense granule protein GRA6 regulates activation of the host transcription factor nuclear factor of activated T cells 4 (NFAT4). GRA6 overexpression robustly and selectively activated NFAT4 via calcium modulating ligand (CAMLG). Infection with wildtype (WT) but not GRA6-deficient parasites induced NFAT4 activation. Moreover, GRA6-deficient parasites failed to exhibit full virulence in local infection, and the treatment of WT mice with an NFAT inhibitor mitigated virulence of WT parasites. Notably, NFAT4-deficient mice displayed prolonged survival, decreased recruitment of CD11 b+ Ly6G+ cells to the site of infection, and impaired expression of chemokines such as Cxcl2 and Ccl2. In addition, infection with type I parasites culminated in significantly higher NFAT4 activation than type II parasites due to a polymorphism in the C terminus of GRA6. Collectively, these data suggest that GRA6-dependent NFAT4 activation is required for T. gondii manipulation of host immune responses to maximize the parasite virulence in a strain-dependent manner.
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