From Toxoplasmosis to Schizophrenia NMDA Dysfunction: Peptide Overlap between and -Methyl-d-Aspartate Receptors As a Potential Mechanistic Link.

The present work aims at investigating how () infection may be linked to -methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) dysfunction in schizophrenia and related disorders and puts forward the hypothesis that immune responses against may involve NMDARs. Indeed, the analysis of the protozoan proteome and NMDAR subunits for peptide commonalities shows a massive peptide overlap and supports the possibility that anti- immune responses raised during active protozoan infection may cross-react with host NMDARs, determining disruption of neural circuits and cognitive deficits. In particular, the NMDA 2D subunit, which is mainly expressed in parvalbumin-positive interneurons, appears to be a hotspot for potential -induced cross-reactive immune attacks.