4.8 Article

Chronic Toxoplasma gondii infection enhances to colitis

Publisher

NATL ACAD SCIENCES
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2106730118

Keywords

monocytes; disbiosis; toxoplasmosis; nitric oxide; inflammation

Funding

  1. Digestive Disease Research Core Center [P30DK052574]
  2. NCI Cancer Center Support Grant [P30 CA91842]
  3. Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences/CTSA from the National Center for Research Resources [UL1TR002345]
  4. NIH [AI118426]
  5. German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina [LPDS 2012-10]

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Oral infection with Toxoplasma gondii exacerbates damage to the colon caused by chemical irritant and impairs wound healing by suppressing stem cell regeneration. Enhanced tissue damage is due to inflammatory monocytes releasing inflammatory mediators.
Oral infection with Toxoplasma gondii results in dysbiosis and enteritis, both of which revert to normal during chronic infection. However, whether infection leaves a lasting impact on mucosal responses remains uncertain. Here we examined the effect of the chemical irritant dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) on intestinal damage and wound healing in chronically infected mice. Our findings indicate that prior infection with T. gondii exacerbates damage to the colon caused by DSS and impairs wound healing by suppressing stem cell regeneration of the epithelium. Enhanced tissue damage was attributable to inflammatory monocytes that emerge preactivated from bone marrow, migrate to the intestine, and release inflammatory mediators, including nitric oxide. Tissue damage was reversed by neutralization of inflammatory monocytes or nitric oxide, revealing a causal mechanism for tissue damage. Our findings suggest that chronic infection with T. gondii enhances monocyte activation to increase inflammation associated with a secondary environmental insult.

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