Toxoplasma gondii chronic infection decreases visceral nociception through peripheral opioid receptor signaling.
作者信息
Audibert Alexis, Mas-Orea Xavier, Rey Léa, Belloy Marcy, Bassot Emilie, Battut Louise, Marodon Gilles, Masson Frederick, Serino Matteo, Cenac Nicolas, Dietrich Gilles, Bonnart Chrystelle, Blanchard Nicolas
机构信息
Toulouse Institute for Infectious and Inflammatory Diseases, Infinity, Inserm, CNRS, University of Toulouse, Toulouse, France.
IRSD, Inserm, INRAE, ENVT, University of Toulouse, Toulouse, France.
出版信息
PLoS Pathog. 2025 Apr 29;21(4):e1013106. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1013106. eCollection 2025 Apr.
By eliciting immune activation in the digestive tract, intestinal pathogens may perturb gut homeostasis. Some gastrointestinal infections can indeed increase the risk of developing post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome (PI-IBS). Intriguingly, the prevalent foodborne parasite Toxoplasma gondii has not been linked to the development of PI-IBS and the impact of this infection on colon homeostasis remains ill-defined. We show in a mouse model that latent T. gondii decreases visceral nociceptive responses in an opioid signaling-dependent manner. Despite the accumulation of Th1 and cytotoxic T cells in the colon of latently infected mice, the selective invalidation of enkephalin gene in T cells ruled out the involvement of T cell-derived enkephalins in hypoalgesia. These findings provide clues about how this widespread infection durably shapes the gut immune landscape and modifies intestinal physiological parameters. They suggest that in contrast to other gut microbes, T. gondii infection could be negatively associated with abdominal pain.