Cyclophilin 18 regulates the proliferation and migration of murine macrophages and spleen cells

Clin Vaccine Immunol. 2010 Jul 21. [Epub ahead of print]

Toxoplasma gondii cyclophilin 18 regulates the proliferation and migration of murine macrophages and spleen cells

Ibrahim HM, Xuan X, Nishikawa Y.

National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Inada-cho, Obihiro, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan; Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Minufiya University, Shibin El Kom, Egypt.

Abstract
Toxoplasma gondii is an intracellular parasite showing a unique capacity to infect a variety of cell types in warm-blooded animals. It can invade and survive well inside immune cells, such as macrophages, that disseminate the parasite around the body because of their migratory properties. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the role of T. gondii cyclophilin 18 (TgCyp18) on the proliferation, and migration of macrophages and spleen cells (mainly T lymphocytes) in order to understand the effects of TgCyp18 on the dynamics of the infection. The high dose of TgCyp18 enhanced the proliferation of macrophages and spleen cells in a cysteine-cysteine chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5)-independent way. In contrast, TgCyp18 controlled the migration of macrophages and spleen cells in dose and CCR5-dependent manners. Our data suggest that TgCyp18 recruits cells and enhances the growth of host cells at the site of infection for maintenance of the interaction between the parasite and host.

PMID: 20660134 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]