Influence of Two Major Toxoplasma Gondii Virulence Factors (ROP16 and ROP18) on the Immune Response of Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells to Human Toxoplasmosis Infection

Toxoplasma gondii ROP16 and ROP18 proteins have been identified as important virulence factors for this parasite. Here, we describe the effect of ROP16 and ROP18 proteins on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from individuals with different clinical status of infection. We evaluated IFN-?, IL-10, and IL-1? levels in supernatants from PBMCs cultures infected with tachyzoites of the T. gondii wild-type RH strain or with knock-out mutants of the rop16 and rop18 encoding genes (RH?rop16 and RH?rop18). Cytokine secretion was compared between PBMCs obtained from seronegative individuals (n = 10), with those with chronic asymptomatic (n = 8), or ocular infection (n = 12). We also evaluated if polymorphisms in the genes encoding for IFN-?, IL-10, IL-1?, Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9), and purinoreceptor P2RX7 influenced the production of the encoded proteins after ex vivo stimulation. In individuals with chronic asymptomatic infection, only a moderate effect on IL-10 levels was observed when PBMCs were infected with RH?rop16, whereas a significant difference in the levels of inflammatory cytokines IFN-? and IL-1? was observed in seronegative individuals, but this was also dependent on the host's cytokine gene polymorphisms. Infection with ROP16-deficient parasites had a significant effect on IFN-? production in previously non-infected individuals, suggesting that ROP16 which is considered as a virulence factor plays a role during the primary infection in humans, but not in the secondary immune response. © Copyright © 2019 Hernández-de-los-Ríos, Murillo-Leon, Mantilla-Muriel, Arenas, Vargas-Montes, Cardona, de-la-Torre, Sepúlveda-Arias and Gómez-Marín

Strength Assessment Under Dual Task Conditions in Women with Fibromyalgia: A Test–Retest Reliability Study

The present study aimed to: (1) analyze the test–retest reliability of the 30 s chair stand test and the 30 s arm curl test under dual-task conditions; (2) analyze the test–retest reliability of a new variable which assesses the total performance (cognitive + physical) in both tests. A total of 37 women with fibromyalgia participated in the study. Participants completed the 30 s arm curl test and 30 s chair stand test in both simple and dual-task conditions. These tests were repeated after seven days. In the 30 s chair stand dual-task test the reliability was low to good whereas that of the total performance variable was low to moderate. The reliability in both the 30 s arm curl dual-task test and the total performance variable were good to moderate. Both the 30 s chair stand test and 30 s arm curl test under dual-task conditions and the total performance variables had good test–retest reliability. However, it is necessary to consider the fluctuations of the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC)

Molecular mechanism for the control of virulent Toxoplasma gondii infections in wild-derived mice

Some strains of the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii (such as RH) are virulent in laboratory mice because they are not restricted by the Immunity-Related GTPase (IRG) resistance system in these mouse strains. In some wild-derived Eurasian mice (such as CIM) on the other hand, polymorphic IRG proteins inhibit the replication of such virulent T. gondii strains. Here we show that this resistance is due to direct binding of the IRG protein Irgb2-b1(CIM) to the T. gondii virulence effector ROP5 isoform B. The Irgb2-b1 interface of this interaction is highly polymorphic and under positive selection. South American T. gondii strains are virulent even in wild-derived Eurasian mice. We were able to demonstrate that this difference in virulence is due to polymorphic ROP5 isoforms that are not targeted by Irgb2-b1(CIM), indicating co-adaptation of host cell resistance GTPases and T. gondii virulence effectors

Influence of Two Major Toxoplasma Gondii Virulence Factors (ROP16 and ROP18) on the Immune Response of Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells to Human Toxoplasmosis Infection

Toxoplasma gondii ROP16 and ROP18 proteins have been identified as important virulence factors for this parasite. Here, we describe the effect of ROP16 and ROP18 proteins on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from individuals with different clinical status of infection. We evaluated IFN-?, IL-10, and IL-1? levels in supernatants from PBMCs cultures infected with tachyzoites of the T. gondii wild-type RH strain or with knock-out mutants of the rop16 and rop18 encoding genes (RH?rop16 and RH?rop18). Cytokine secretion was compared between PBMCs obtained from seronegative individuals (n = 10), with those with chronic asymptomatic (n = 8), or ocular infection (n = 12). We also evaluated if polymorphisms in the genes encoding for IFN-?, IL-10, IL-1?, Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9), and purinoreceptor P2RX7 influenced the production of the encoded proteins after ex vivo stimulation. In individuals with chronic asymptomatic infection, only a moderate effect on IL-10 levels was observed when PBMCs were infected with RH?rop16, whereas a significant difference in the levels of inflammatory cytokines IFN-? and IL-1? was observed in seronegative individuals, but this was also dependent on the host's cytokine gene polymorphisms. Infection with ROP16-deficient parasites had a significant effect on IFN-? production in previously non-infected individuals, suggesting that ROP16 which is considered as a virulence factor plays a role during the primary infection in humans, but not in the secondary immune response. © Copyright © 2019 Hernández-de-los-Ríos, Murillo-Leon, Mantilla-Muriel, Arenas, Vargas-Montes, Cardona, de-la-Torre, Sepúlveda-Arias and Gómez-Marín