Increased CD11b+ Gr‐1+ cell population in the placenta after infection with Toxoplasma gondii |
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| Authors: | Kinuko Takeshima Kazuki Sato Tsukasa Nabekura Kisaburo Nagamune Hiromi Hamada Hiroyuki Yoshikawa Akira Shibuya Kazuko Shibuya |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Immunology;2. Obstetrics and GynecologyFaculty of Medicine;3. Life Science Center of Tsukuba Advanced Research Alliance;4. Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences;5. Department of Parasitology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan;6. Japan Science and Technology Agency, Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki |
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| Abstract: | Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular protozoan pathogen that can cross the placenta, resulting in congenital toxoplasmosis with severe fetal brain abnormalities. The molecular mechanisms of immune responses against T. gondii infection in the placenta have largely remained unclear. An analytical method for characterizing phenotypes of immune cells in the placenta by flow cytometry was established and it was found that numbers of CD11b+ Gr‐1+ cells in the placenta increased significantly after T. gondii infection. These results suggest that innate immune responses play an important role in immunity against T. gondii infection via the feto‐maternal interface. |
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| Keywords: | CD11b+ Gr‐1+ cell flow cytometry analysis placenta |
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