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Ocular toxoplasmosis: in the storm of the eye
Author(s) -
JONES L. A.,
ALEXANDER J.,
ROBERTS C. W.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
parasite immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.795
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1365-3024
pISSN - 0141-9838
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3024.2006.00874.x
Subject(s) - immune privilege , biology , immunology , toxoplasmosis , toxoplasma gondii , immune system , pathogenesis , disease , major histocompatibility complex , antibody , pathology , medicine
SUMMARY Ocular toxoplasmosis (OT) can occur in the children of mothers infected with Toxoplasma gondii during pregnancy. It is not limited to the congenitally infected, but can also occur following adult‐acquired infection or as a result of disease reactivation in immune‐compromised and pregnant individuals. Many aspects of immune privilege in the eye, including constitutive TGF‐β expression and reduced MHC class 1 expression, would appear at first to favour parasite survival. Conversely, many of the mechanisms that control parasite multiplication in other anatomical sites, such as nitric oxide expression, IFN‐γ and TNF‐α, are known to disrupt immune privilege and are associated with ocular damage. Taking into account the opposing needs of limiting parasite multiplication and minimizing tissue destruction we review the pathogenesis of OT in the murine model.