Toxoplasma gondii News and Research

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USF researchers uncover how malaria-related parasites spread at explosive rates

A University of South Florida College of Public Health professor and his team of researchers have become the first to uncover part of the mysterious process by which malaria-related parasites spread at explosive and deadly rates inside humans and other animals.

5 Mar 2015

INRS researchers to use new specialized equipment to study environmental equity, male infertility

With the acquisition of new specialized equipment, INRS researchers Philippe Apparicio, Géraldine Delbès, and Maritza Jaramillo and their teams will be able to advance knowledge and train highly qualified people in the fields of environmental equity, reproductive toxicology, and the treatment of infections. They received a total of over $1 million from the Quebec government and the John R. Evans Leaders Fund of the Canadian Foundation for Innovation.

22 Jan 2015

Penn, UGA scientists awarded new contract to develop genome database for microbial pathogens

At the turn of the millennium, the cost to sequence a single human genome exceeded $50 million, and the process took a decade to complete. Microbes have genomes, too, and the first reference genome for a malaria parasite was completed in 2002 at a cost of roughly $15 million. But today researchers can sequence a genome in a single afternoon for just a few thousand dollars. Related technologies make it possible to capture information about all genes in the genome, in all tissues, from multiple individuals.

18 Dec 2014

Engineering single-celled parasite in cat's intestine as cancer vaccine

Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is a single-celled parasite that is happiest in a cat's intestines, but it can live in any warm blooded animal. Found worldwide, T. gondii affects about one-third of the world's population, 60 million of which are Americans.

16 Jul 2014

USF Health receives $2.1M grant to study on new factors required for growth of malaria-related parasites

Animal cells similar to those of humans contain a "control room," called the centrosome, which regulates cell replication. Disrupt this core hub and you kill cell division.

24 Jan 2014

Marker for inflammatory bowel disease linked to bipolar disorder

Researchers have found evidence that the gastrointestinal tract plays a role in the inflammatory pathology of bipolar disorder, suggesting the need to consider dietary modification and anti-inflammatory treatment for some patients.

12 Dec 2013

Mice exploit IRG proteins to create resistance mechanism against toxoplasma infection

One of the commonest parasites in the world is Toxoplasma gondii. Toxoplasma can infect most warm-blooded animals, including humans, and causes significant damage to the unborn child if a woman becomes infected for the first time during pregnancy.

30 Oct 2013

Specific antibody patterns predict schizophrenia risk

The presence of antibodies to multiple foods and infectious agents is a risk marker for new-onset schizophrenia, a case-control study suggests.

23 Oct 2013

Atorvastatin drug plus zoledronic acid may help treat toxoplasmosis

Researchers at the University of Georgia have discovered that a combination of two commonly prescribed drugs used to treat high cholesterol and osteoporosis may serve as the foundation of a new treatment for toxoplasmosis, a parasitic infection caused by the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii. They published their findings recently in PLOS Pathogens.

18 Oct 2013

T. gondii antibodies implicated in mania

Infection with Toxoplasma gondii may confer an increased risk for mania, say researchers.

26 Sep 2013

Toxoplasma infection makes mice fearless

The Toxoplasma parasite can be deadly, causing spontaneous abortion in pregnant women or killing immune-compromised patients, but it has even stranger effects in mice.

19 Sep 2013

Researchers identify new cellular source for disease-fighting protein

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center report the identification of a new cellular source for an important disease-fighting protein used in the body's earliest response to infection.

11 Jul 2013

Research sheds light on malaria-related parasite's transition from acute to chronic stage

A new discovery about the malaria-related parasite Toxoplasma gondii -- which can threaten babies, AIDS patients, the elderly and others with weakened immune function -- may help solve the mystery of how this single-celled parasite establishes life-long infections in people.

10 Apr 2013

Biophysical Society Annual Meeting to highlight innovations in medicine, physics, and more

Honeybee silk-inspired materials; a deconstruction of the Ebola virus; how microbes evolve resistance to antibiotics; and a possible connection between Alzheimer's disease and type II diabetes are just some of the intriguing topics that will be presented at the 57th Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society (BPS).

22 Jan 2013

Researchers identify signaling pathway used by malarial parasites to destroy host cells

One of the most insidious ways that parasitic diseases such as malaria and toxoplasmosis wreak their havoc is by hijacking their host's natural cellular processes, turning self against self.

18 Jan 2013

T. gondii infection linked to bipolar disorder risk

Results from a French study support an association between Toxoplasma gondii infection and bipolar disorder.

2 Jan 2013

Uncharacterized TLR plays key role in Toxoplasma gondii response

A previously uncharacterized toll-like receptor appears to play a crucial role in the innate immune response to Toxoplasma gondii infection and may promote host resistance, potentially leading to anti-parasite vaccines, say US researchers.

28 Dec 2012

Zoo data show low incidence of animal–human infection

Zoonotic transmission rates are low and the risk for animal–human infection is well managed, show zoo data spanning 19 years.

19 Dec 2012

Ancient algae may hold key to treating malaria and related parasites

Researchers have discovered that parasites of the Apicomplexa taxon, such as Plasmodium falciparum and Toxoplasma gondii, reproduce within host cells using a structure that evolved from a flagellum.

12 Dec 2012

Boston College professor to research into new drugs that can prevent onset of toxoplasmosis

The American Cancer Society has awarded a four-year, $720,000 grant to Boston College Associate Professor of Biology Marc-Jan Gubbels for research into potential new drugs that can prevent the onset of toxoplasmosis in cancer patients with weakened immune systems.

10 Dec 2012