Impact of Plant-Based Foods and Nutraceuticals on Toxoplasma gondii Cysts: Nutritional Therapy as a Viable Approach for Managing Chronic Brain Toxoplasmosis

Tan, Sijie; Tong, Wen Han; Vyas, Ajai

doi:10.3389/fnut.2022.827286

Cited by 4 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 172 publications

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“…When host immunity decreases in the state of T. gondii latent infection, latent infection is activated, causing severe acute toxoplasmosis again. In clinical studies, patients with solid malignant tumors, solid organ transplant (SOT) ( 26 ), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/AIDS, diabetes, and those receiving immunosuppressive agents have a high risk of reactivated toxoplasmosis ( 27 , 28 ). Therefore, reactivation of T. gondii infection is more common in patients with these diseases.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Study on the effect of koumiss on reactivation of Toxoplasma gondii infection

Yan

Sun²,

Yu³

et al. 2022

Front. Nutr.

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Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite that infects nucleated cells of all warm-blooded animals, and most patients have latent infections. The latent infection will be reactivated in the immunocompromised or immunocompromised individuals, which will lead to severe toxoplasmosis. At present, less research has been focused on the reactivation of T. gondii infection. Koumiss is a kind of fermented milk made from fresh mare’s milk through natural fermentation that can be applied to clinical and rehabilitation medicine to mitigate the development of various diseases due to its unique functional characteristics. In this study, we explored the antagonistic effect of koumiss on reactivation of T. gondii infection. Mice were treated with dexamethasone to establish a reactivation model after infection with T. gondii and then treated with koumiss. The survival rate, SHIRPA test, serum cytokine levels, organ parasite burden and intestinal microbiota were measured, respectively. Our results showed that koumiss treatment improved the clinical symptoms of mice, significantly reduced the organ parasite burden of mice, and improved the composition and structure of intestinal flora. This study provides new evidence for the alleviation and treatment of toxoplasmosis and provides a novel idea for the development and utilization of koumiss.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Study on the effect of koumiss on reactivation of Toxoplasma gondii infection

Yan

Sun²,

Yu³

et al. 2022

Front. Nutr.

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“…Excysted bradyzoites transform into tachyzoites that proliferate causing widespread inflammation and critical morbidity. In fact, brain cyst reactivation with toxoplasmic encephalitis (TE) is not commonly reported in immunocompetent individuals with latent toxoplasmosis [8] . In their review [8] , the researchers observed that brain cysts were commonly reported in the cerebral cortex, basal ganglia, and cerebellum based on studies conducted on autopsies of AIDS patients with TE [18] .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In fact, brain cyst reactivation with toxoplasmic encephalitis (TE) is not commonly reported in immunocompetent individuals with latent toxoplasmosis [8] . In their review [8] , the researchers observed that brain cysts were commonly reported in the cerebral cortex, basal ganglia, and cerebellum based on studies conducted on autopsies of AIDS patients with TE [18] . Moreover, the reviewers noticed that latent toxoplasmosis negatively affects neurocognitive functions associated with behavioral changes, e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They also discussed different nanotechnology strategies to increase natural products bioavailability and biosolubility. Due to lack of evidence supporting successful human clinical trials, the reviewers recommended further large-scale clinical trials to confirm the importance of nutritional therapy in prevention and/or treatment of chronic toxoplasmosis by determining the mechanism of action against bradyzoite biology and brain cyst development [8] .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The therapeutic efficacy of curcumin nanoemulsion versus Spiramycin in Toxoplasma gondii (ME49 strain) chronically infected mice

Rageh¹,

Abaza²,

El-Gayar³

et al. 2022

Parasitologists United Journal

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Background: Previously, we showed that curcumin (CUR) nanoemulsion exhibited a promising prophylactic effect on acute toxoplasmosis, and decreased parasite burden. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the peritoneal exudates showed deformed tachyzoites in both prophylactic and treated subgroups. Objective: The present study is designed to evaluate the therapeutic effect of CUR nanoemulsion compared to that of Spiramycin on T. gondii type II, ME49 strain causing chronic toxoplasmosis in experimentally infected mice. Material and Methods: This case-control experimental study included 30 Swiss albino mice, divided into three equal groups. All mice were infected with avirulent ME49 strain to induce chronic toxoplasmosis. The study included group I (infected non-treated), II (infected treated with CUR nanoemulsion), and III (infected and treated with Spiramycin). The assessment parameters included estimation of the mortality rate, and parasite burden (cyst number and size) in livers and spleens impression smears, and in brains homogenates. Results:The mortality rate was 40% in the infected non-treated group with no mortality in all treated mice. There was a significant decrease of cyst number and size in livers, spleens, and brains of both treated groups as compared to the infected non-treated mice. Conclusion: It was concluded that CUR nanoemulsion had a promising therapeutic effect on chronic toxoplasmosis.

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“…The current first-line therapy for toxoplasmosis includes dihydrofolate reductase inhibitors (pyrimethamine or trimethoprime) and dihydropteroate synthetase inhibitors (sulfadiazine, sulfadoxine or sulfamethoxazole) [ 9 ]. Moreover, clindamycin and atovaquone have been adopted as second-line therapy [ 10 ]. Unfortunately, these clinical drugs are only effective in eliminating tachyzoites in the acute stage and are unable to kill cysts in the chronic stage [ 11 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lentinan has a beneficial effect on cognitive deficits induced by chronic Toxoplasma gondii infection in mice

Liu,

Yan,

Peng

et al. 2023

Parasites Vectors

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Background Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is increasingly considered a risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases. However, there is only limited information on the development of drugs for T. gondii infection. Lentinan from Lentinula edodes is a bioactive ingredient with the potential to enhance anti-infective immunity. The present study aimed to investigate the neuroprotective effect of lentinan on T. gondii-associated cognitive deficits in mice. Methods A chronic T. gondii infection mouse model was established by administering 10 cysts of T. gondii by gavage. Lentinan was intraperitoneally administered 2 weeks before infection. Behavioral tests, RNA sequencing, immunofluorescence, transmission electron microscopy and Golgi-Cox staining were performed to assess the effect of lentinan on cognitive deficits and neuropathology in vivo. In vitro, the direct and indirect effects of lentinan on the proliferation of T. gondii tachyzoites were evaluated in the absence and presence of BV-2 cells, respectively. Results Lentinan prevented T. gondii-induced cognitive deficits and altered the transcriptome profile of genes related to neuroinflammation, microglial activation, synaptic function, neural development and cognitive behavior in the hippocampus of infected mice. Moreover, lentinan reduced the infection-induced accumulation of microglia and downregulated the mRNA expression of proinflammatory cytokines. In addition, the neurite and synaptic ultrastructural damage in the hippocampal CA1 region due to infection was ameliorated by lentinan administration. Lentinan decreased the cyst burden in the brains of infected mice, which was correlated with behavioral performance. In line with this finding, lentinan could significantly inhibit the proliferation of T. gondii tachyzoites in the microglial cell line BV2, although lentinan had no direct inhibitory effect on parasite growth. Conclusions Lentinan prevents cognitive deficits via the improvement of neurite impairment and synaptic loss induced by T. gondii infection, which may be associated with decreased cyst burden in the brain. Overall, our findings indicate that lentinan can ameliorate T. gondii-related neurodegenerative diseases. Graphical Abstract

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Impact of Plant-Based Foods and Nutraceuticals on Toxoplasma gondii Cysts: Nutritional Therapy as a Viable Approach for Managing Chronic Brain Toxoplasmosis

Cited by 4 publications

References 172 publications

Study on the effect of koumiss on reactivation of Toxoplasma gondii infection

Study on the effect of koumiss on reactivation of Toxoplasma gondii infection

The therapeutic efficacy of curcumin nanoemulsion versus Spiramycin in Toxoplasma gondii (ME49 strain) chronically infected mice

Lentinan has a beneficial effect on cognitive deficits induced by chronic Toxoplasma gondii infection in mice

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