%0 Journal Article
%T Contrasting Disease Progression, Microglia Reactivity, Tolerance, and Resistance to Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Two Mouse Strains.
%A Diniz DG
%A de Oliveira JHP
%A Guerreiro LCF
%A de Menezes GC
%A de Assis ACL
%A Duarte TQ
%A Dos Santos IBD
%A Maciel FD
%A Soares GLDS
%A Araújo SC
%A Franco FTC
%A do Carmo EL
%A Morais RDAB
%A de Lima CM
%A Brites D
%A Anthony DC
%A Diniz JAP
%A Diniz CWP
%J Biomedicines
%V 12
%N 7
%D 2024 Jun 26
%M 39061995
%F 4.757
%R 10.3390/biomedicines12071420
%X Our study investigated the innate immune response to Toxoplasma gondii infection by assessing microglial phenotypic changes and sickness behavior as inflammatory response markers post-ocular tachyzoite instillation. Disease progression in Swiss albino mice was compared with the previously documented outcomes in BALB/c mice using an identical ocular route and parasite burden (2 × 105 tachyzoites), with saline as the control. Contrary to expectations, the Swiss albino mice displayed rapid, lethal disease progression, marked by pronounced sickness behaviors and mortality within 11-12 days post-infection, while the survivors exhibited no apparent signs of infection. Comparative analysis revealed the T. gondii-infected BALB/c mice exhibited reduced avoidance of feline odors, while the infected Swiss albino mice showed enhanced avoidance responses. There was an important increase in microglial cells in the dentate gyrus molecular layer of the infected Swiss albino mice compared to the BALB/c mice and their respective controls. Hierarchical cluster and discriminant analyses identified three microglial morphological clusters, differentially affected by T. gondii infection across strains. The BALB/c mice exhibited increased microglial branching and complexity, while the Swiss albino mice showed reduced shrunken microglial arbors, diminishing their morphological complexity. These findings highlight strain-specific differences in disease progression and inflammatory regulation, indicating lineage-specific mechanisms in inflammatory responses, tolerance, and resistance. Understanding these elements is critical in devising control measures for toxoplasmosis.