Abstract
BackgroundToxoplasma gondii is known as the most successful parasite, which can regulate the host immune response through a variety of ways to achieve immune escape. We previously reported that a novel gene wx2 of T. gondii may be a virulence-related molecule. The objective of this study was to explore the mechanism of wx2 regulating host immune response.MethodsThe wx2 knockout strain (RHwx2−/− strain) and complementary strain (RHwx2+/+ strain) were constructed by the CRISPR/Cas9 technique, and the virulence of the wx2 gene was detected and changes in pyroptosis-related molecules were observed.ResultsCompared with the wild RH and RHwx2+/+ strain groups, the survival time for mice infected with the RHwx2−/− strain was prolonged to a certain extent. The mRNA levels of pyroptosis-related molecules of caspase-1, NLRP3, and GSDMD and et al. in mouse lymphocytes in vivo and RAW267.4 cells in vitro infected with RHwx2−/− strain increased to different degrees, compared with infected with wild RH strain and RHwx2+/+ strain. As with the mRNA level, the protein level of caspase-1, caspase-1 p20, IL-1β, NLRP3, GSDMD-FL, GSDMD-N, and phosphorylation level of NF-κB (p65) were also significantly increased. These data suggest that wx2 may regulate the host immune response through the pyroptosis pathway. In infected RAW264.7 cells at 48 h post-infection, the levels of Th1-type cytokines of IFN-γ, Th2-type cytokines such as IL-13, Th17-type cytokine of IL-17 in cells infected with RHwx2−/− were significantly higher than those of RH and RHwx2+/+ strains, suggesting that the wx2 may inhibit the host's immune response.Conclusionwx2 is a virulence related gene of T. gondii, and may be involved in host immune regulation by inhibiting the pyroptosis pathway.Graphical
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