Abstract
The protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii is an important human and veterinary pathogen. Asexual replication of T. gondii in humans and intermediate hosts is characterized by two forms: rapidly growing ‘tachyzoites’ and latent ‘bradyzoite ’ tissue cysts. Tachyzoites are responsible for acute illness and congenital neurological birth defects, while bradyzoites can remain latent within the tissues for many years, representing a threat to immunocompromised patients. In this chapter I discuss the function of a T. gondii non-coding RNA (ncRNA) that has a major role in the critical transition from tachyzoites to bradyzoites. In addition, I discuss how T. gondii infection affects the expression of human and mouse microRNAS (miRNAs), in particular, the dysregulation of host miRNA-132 by T. gondii infection, and it’s implications for dopamine signaling and neuropathology.
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Matrajt, M. (2016). Function of Non-coding RNA in Toxoplasma gondii Infection. In: Leitão, A., Enguita, F. (eds) Non-coding RNAs and Inter-kingdom Communication. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39496-1_12
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39496-1_12
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