Attachment and invasion ofToxoplasma gondiiandNeospora caninumto epithelial and fibroblast cell linesin vitro

Abstract

Attachment and invasion ofToxoplasma gondiiandNeospora caninumto a cat and a dog fibroblast cell line and 2 epithelial cell lines (a cat kidney and Vero) were comparedin vitrousing fluorescence antibody methodology. In addition, trypsin treatment of tachyzoites was used to determine whether protein molecules were essential to the process of invasion. The results show that bothT. gondiiandN. caninuminvaded all 4 cell lines, and that pre-treatment ofT. gondiitachyzoites with trypsin caused an increase in the ability of the parasite to invade these host cells. FurthermoreT. gondii, in comparison toN. caninum, invaded all 4 cell lines at greater levels. The results here support the conclusion that bothT. gondiiandN. caninumhave the ability to invade a variety of cell types including both dog and cat cells, and questions the utility of Vero cells as an appropriate host cell forin vitrostudies on the biology of these taxa.