Presence of Toxoplasma gondii tissue cysts in human semen: Toxoplasmosis as a potential sexually transmissible infection.

Autor: Tong WH; School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 60 Nanyang Drive, 637551, Singapore., Hlaváčová J; Department of Philosophy and History of Science, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, CZ - 128 44 Prague, Czechia., Abdulai-Saiku S; School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 60 Nanyang Drive, 637551, Singapore., Kaňková Š; Department of Philosophy and History of Science, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, CZ - 128 44 Prague, Czechia., Flegr J; Department of Philosophy and History of Science, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, CZ - 128 44 Prague, Czechia., Vyas A; School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 60 Nanyang Drive, 637551, Singapore. Electronic address: avyas@ntu.edu.sg.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: The Journal of infection [J Infect] 2023 Jan; Vol. 86 (1), pp. 60-65. Date of Electronic Publication: 2022 Nov 05.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jinf.2022.10.034
Abstrakt: Objectives: Toxoplasma gondii is a widely prevalent protozoan parasite in human populations. This parasite is thought to be primarily transmitted through undercooked meat and contamination by cat feces. Here, we seek to determine if Toxoplasma gondii cysts can be found within human semen.
Methods: We used a mixture of histological and immunofluorescence stains to visualize Toxoplasma gondii cysts in thin smears of human semen. Further, we probed for presence of bradyzoite-specific mRNA transcription using in-situ hybridization.
Results: We visualized Toxoplasma gondii cysts in ejaculates of immune-competent and latently infected human volunteers. We confirmed the encystment by probing transcription of a bradyzoite-specific gene in these structures. These observations extend previous observations of the parasite in semen of several non-human host species, including rats, dogs, and sheep.
Conclusions: Toxoplasma gondii infection is a clinically significant infection, in view of its high prevalence, its purported role in neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, as well as in the more serious form of congenital toxoplasmosis. Our demonstration of intact Toxoplasma gondii cysts in the ejaculate supports the possibility of sexual transmission of the parasite and provides an impetus for further investigations.
Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest Authors declare an absence of any competing interests.
(Copyright © 2022 The British Infection Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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