Structure, composition, and roles of the Toxoplasma gondii oocyst and sporocyst walls

Wesley Freppel,David J.P Ferguson,Karen Shapiro,Jitender P Dubey,Pierre-Henri Puech,Aurélien Dumètre

doi:10.1016/j.tcsw.2018.100016

Abstract

Toxoplasma gondii is a coccidian parasite with the cat as its definitive host but any warm-blooded animal, including humans, may act as intermediate hosts. It has a worldwide distribution where it may cause acute and chronic toxoplasmosis. Infection can result from ingestion either of tissue cysts in infected meat of intermediate hosts or oocysts found in cat faeces via contaminated water or food. In this review, we highlight how the oocyst and sporocyst walls sustain the persistence and transmission of infective T. gondii parasites from terrestrial and aquatic environments to the host. We further discuss why targeting the oocyst wall structure and molecules may reduce the burden of foodborne and waterborne T. gondii infections.

Highlights

Toxoplasma gondii is a coccidian parasite with the cat as its definitive host, but any warm-blooded animal, including humans, can act as intermediate hosts
In the light of available structural and molecular studies on T. gondii oocysts and related coccidian species, we review how the oocyst walls secure the transport of the oocysts from the environment to the host and discuss why targeting these walls could be critical for control of T. gondii infections in humans and animals
Indepth transcriptomic and proteomic analyses indicate that T. gondii oocysts contain E. maxima-unrelated Tyr-rich proteins, which appear to compose both layers of the T. gondii oocyst and sporocyst walls (Fritz et al, 2012a,b; Zhou et al, 2017)

Summary

Introduction

Toxoplasma gondii is a coccidian parasite with the cat as its definitive host, but any warm-blooded animal, including humans, can act as intermediate hosts. Indepth transcriptomic and proteomic analyses indicate that T. gondii oocysts contain E. maxima-unrelated Tyr-rich proteins, which appear to compose both layers of the T. gondii oocyst and sporocyst walls (Fritz et al, 2012a,b; Zhou et al, 2017).

Results

Conclusion