Open Access

REVIEW

Intracellular life of protozoan Toxoplasma gondii: Parasitophorous vacuole establishment and survival strategies

by JULIANA A. PORTES¹, ROSSIANE C. VOMMARO¹, LUCIO AYRES CALDAS², ERICA S. MARTINS-DUARTE^3,*

1 Laboratório de Ultraestrutura Celular Hertha Meyer, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2 Núcleo Multidisciplinar de Pesquisa UFRJ–Xerém em Biologia, Campus Duque de Caxias, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Duque de Caxias, Brazil
3 Laboratório de Quimioterapia de Protozoários Egler Chiari, Departamento de Parasitologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

* Corresponding Author: ERICA S. MARTINS-DUARTE. Email:

BIOCELL 2023, 47(4), 929-950. https://doi.org/10.32604/biocell.2023.026629

Received 16 September 2022; Accepted 12 December 2022; Issue published 08 March 2023

Abstract

Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan of worldwide distribution and the agent of toxoplasmosis. It is estimated that 30%–50% of the world population could be infected with this parasite. Although the infection in immunocompetent individuals is mostly asymptomatic, the disease in immunosuppressed and pregnant is a risk condition. As a member of the phylum Apicomplexa, T. gondii has an obligatory intracellular lifestyle; therefore, invading a host cell and establishing it inside a parasitophorous vacuole (PV) are mandatories for the survival of this parasite. The construction of a perfect intracellular niche for T. gondii requires the secretion of an arsenal of proteins from unique secretory organelles. These proteins will remodel the vacuolar environment and the host cell organization and functions, allowing the parasite to access essential nutrients and stay “invisible” inside a host cell. In the present review, we will discuss the main steps involved in the PV formation and its differentiation to tissue cyst, focusing mainly on the strategies employed in the acquisition of nutrients and proteins involved in host cell modification.

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