Testosterone Augments Propagation of Toxoplasma gondii in Glioblastoma Cells In Vitro.

Abstract

Toxoplasmosis can induce various hormonal and behavioral alterations in humans and rodents. Previous studies revealed alterations of sex hormones; especially testosterone, in infected humans and rodents, but little is known about the effects of sex hormones on the propagation of T. gondii. Hence, we aimed to investigate whether testosterone and progesterone influence on T. gondii propagation in neural cells. The glioblastoma cells (U-87MG) were treated with different concentrations of testosterone and progesterone and the infection was done by tachyzoites of the RH strain of T. gondii. The number of infected cells, viability of T. gondii-infected cells, and parasite burden were measured by direct counting under a light microscope, MTT assay, and quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR), respectively. The results showed that testosterone at concentrations of 100 and 250nM significantly increased the number of infected cells and parasite burden 24 and 48h post-treatment compared to untreated controls. Progesterone had no significant effects in the same manner. The results indicated that testosterone could augment the propagation of T. gondii in in vitro.