Host response profile of human brain proteome in toxoplasma encephalitis co-infected with HIV

Apeksha Sahu, Satwant Kumar, Sreelakshmi K Sreenivasamurthy, Lakshmi Dhevi N Selvan, Anil K Madugundu, Soujanya D Yelamanchi, Vinuth N Puttamallesh, Gourav Dey, Abhijith K Anil, Anand Srinivasan, Kanchan K Mukherjee, Harsha Gowda, Parthasarathy Satishchandra, Anita Mahadevan, Akhilesh Pandey, Thottethodi Subrahmanya Keshava Prasad, Susarla Krishna Shankar

Toxoplasma encephalitis is caused by the opportunistic protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii. Primary infection with T. gondii in immunocompetent individuals remains largely asymptomatic. In contrast, in immunocompromised individuals, reactivation of the parasite results in severe complications and mortality. Molecular changes at the protein level in the host central nervous system and proteins associated with pathogenesis of toxoplasma encephalitis are largely unexplored. We used a global quantitative proteomic strategy to identify differentially regulated proteins and affected molecular networks in the human host during T. gondii infection with HIV co-infection.