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Background  The obligate intracellular protozoan parasite  Toxoplasma gondii  infects humans and other warm-blooded animals and establishes a chronic infection in the central nervous system after invasion. Studies showing a positive correlation between anti- Toxoplasma  antibodies and incidences of brain cancer have led to the notion that  Toxoplasma  infections increase the risk of brain cancer. However, molecular events involved in  Toxoplasma  induced brain cancers are not well understood.    Presentation of the hypothesis   Toxoplasma  gains control of host cell functions including proliferation and apoptosis by channelizing parasite proteins into the cell cytoplasm and some of the proteins are targeted to the host nucleus. Recent studies have shown that  Toxoplasma  is capable of manipulating host micro RNAs (miRNAs), which play a central role in post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression. Therefore, we hypothesize that  Toxoplasma  promotes brain carcinogenesis by altering the host miRNAome using parasitic proteins and/or miRNAs.    Testing the hypothesis  The miRNA expression profiles of brain cancer specimens obtained from patients infected with  Toxoplasma  could be analyzed and compared with that of normal tissues as well as brain cancer tissues from  Toxoplasma  uninfected individuals to identify dysregulated miRNAs in  Toxoplasma- driven brain cancer cells. Identified miRNAs will be further confirmed by studying cancer related miRNA profiles of the different types of brain cells before and after Toxoplasma infection using cell lines and experimental animals.    Expected outcome  The miRNAs specifically associated with brain cancers that are caused by  Toxoplasma  infection will be identified.    Implications of the hypothesis   Toxoplasma  infection may promote initiation and progression of cancer by modifying the miRNAome in brain cells. If this hypothesis is true, the outcome of this research would lead to the development of novel biomarkers and therapeutic tools against  Toxoplasma  driven brain cancers.

Possible role of Toxoplasma gondii in brain cancer through modulation of host microRNAs