Abstract
Toxoplasma gondii is a ubiquitous, intracellular protozoan parasite with a broad range of intermediate hosts, including humans and rodents. In many hosts, T. gondii establishes a latent long-term infection by converting from its rapidly dividing or lytic form to its slowly replicating and encysting form. In humans and rodents, the major organ for encystment is the central nervous system (CNS), which has led many to investigate how this persistent CNS infection might influence rodent and human behavior and, more recently, neurodegenerative diseases. Given the interest in this topic, here we seek to take a global approach to the data for and against the effects of latent T. gondii on behavior and neurodegeneration and the proposed mechanisms that might underlie behavior modifications.
Highlights
Toxoplasma gondii is a ubiquitous, intracellular protozoan parasite with a broad range of intermediate hosts, including humans and rodents
Much work has been devoted to determining if infection with T. gondii can lead to changes in rodent and human behavior and cognition and, more recently, neurodegeneration
These data suggest that T. gondii infection does not universally cause changes in rodent behaviors and that the underlying mechanism(s) for the observed behavioral changes remains unclear
Summary
Toxoplasma gondii is a ubiquitous, intracellular protozoan parasite with a broad range of intermediate hosts, including humans and rodents. While a number of studies have investigated this possibility, with reports in both humans and rodents linking T. gondii infection to a wide range of behavioral modifications and, March/April 2020 Volume 11 Issue 2 e02164-19 Especially to cat urine, has been postulated to increase the chance of predation of rodents by the definitive host, offering a potentially plausible reason for T. gondii infection to alter this behavior.
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