The proteomic landscape of Toxoplasma gondii extracellular vesicles across diverse host cell types

IntroductionExtracellular vesicles (EVs) are emerging as powerful tools used by pathogens to manipulate host cells, delivering molecular cargo that rewires cellular processes and the immune response. Toxoplasma gondii, a globally distributed parasite capable of infecting nearly all nucleated animal...

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Main Authors: Teresa Cruz-Bustos, Anna Sophia Feix, Karin Hummel, Sarah Schlosser, Ebrahim Razzazi-Fazeli, Anja Joachim
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-03-01
Series:Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2025.1565684/full
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author Teresa Cruz-Bustos
Anna Sophia Feix
Karin Hummel
Sarah Schlosser
Ebrahim Razzazi-Fazeli
Anja Joachim
author_facet Teresa Cruz-Bustos
Anna Sophia Feix
Karin Hummel
Sarah Schlosser
Ebrahim Razzazi-Fazeli
Anja Joachim
author_sort Teresa Cruz-Bustos
collection DOAJ
description IntroductionExtracellular vesicles (EVs) are emerging as powerful tools used by pathogens to manipulate host cells, delivering molecular cargo that rewires cellular processes and the immune response. Toxoplasma gondii, a globally distributed parasite capable of infecting nearly all nucleated animal cells, uses this strategy to thrive in diverse host species and tissue environments.MethodsHere, we reveal the adaptability of T. gondii EVs through proteomic analysis of vesicles released from tachyzoites cultured in four different host cell types: human fibroblasts, green monkey kidney epithelial cells, mouse myoblasts and porcine intestinal epithelial cells.ResultsA core set of 1,244 proteins was consistently identified across TgEVs, defining a conserved signature. Beyond this conserved cargo, host-cell specific variation revealed how T. gondii fine-tunes EV content to exploit different cellular environments. Functional enrichment analyses revealed roles for TgEVs in targeting host protein synthesis and stress response pathways, with implications for immune evasion and infection spread.DiscussionThese findings provide insight into the potential role of EVs in host-pathogen interactions and help us understand the adaptive strategies used by T. gondii to survive and spread.
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publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
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spelling doaj-art-5a18b0f3763d4d3a8ff9a2630866d6eb2025-08-20T02:56:36ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology2235-29882025-03-011510.3389/fcimb.2025.15656841565684The proteomic landscape of Toxoplasma gondii extracellular vesicles across diverse host cell typesTeresa Cruz-Bustos0Anna Sophia Feix1Karin Hummel2Sarah Schlosser3Ebrahim Razzazi-Fazeli4Anja Joachim5Institute of Parasitology, Department of Biological Sciences and Pathobiology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, AustriaInstitute of Parasitology, Department of Biological Sciences and Pathobiology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, AustriaVetCore Facility (Proteomics), University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, AustriaVetCore Facility (Proteomics), University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, AustriaVetCore Facility (Proteomics), University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, AustriaInstitute of Parasitology, Department of Biological Sciences and Pathobiology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, AustriaIntroductionExtracellular vesicles (EVs) are emerging as powerful tools used by pathogens to manipulate host cells, delivering molecular cargo that rewires cellular processes and the immune response. Toxoplasma gondii, a globally distributed parasite capable of infecting nearly all nucleated animal cells, uses this strategy to thrive in diverse host species and tissue environments.MethodsHere, we reveal the adaptability of T. gondii EVs through proteomic analysis of vesicles released from tachyzoites cultured in four different host cell types: human fibroblasts, green monkey kidney epithelial cells, mouse myoblasts and porcine intestinal epithelial cells.ResultsA core set of 1,244 proteins was consistently identified across TgEVs, defining a conserved signature. Beyond this conserved cargo, host-cell specific variation revealed how T. gondii fine-tunes EV content to exploit different cellular environments. Functional enrichment analyses revealed roles for TgEVs in targeting host protein synthesis and stress response pathways, with implications for immune evasion and infection spread.DiscussionThese findings provide insight into the potential role of EVs in host-pathogen interactions and help us understand the adaptive strategies used by T. gondii to survive and spread.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2025.1565684/fullToxoplasma gondiiexovesiclesmicrovesiclesproteomemass-spectrometry
spellingShingle Teresa Cruz-Bustos
Anna Sophia Feix
Karin Hummel
Sarah Schlosser
Ebrahim Razzazi-Fazeli
Anja Joachim
The proteomic landscape of Toxoplasma gondii extracellular vesicles across diverse host cell types
Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology
Toxoplasma gondii
exovesicles
microvesicles
proteome
mass-spectrometry
title The proteomic landscape of Toxoplasma gondii extracellular vesicles across diverse host cell types
title_full The proteomic landscape of Toxoplasma gondii extracellular vesicles across diverse host cell types
title_fullStr The proteomic landscape of Toxoplasma gondii extracellular vesicles across diverse host cell types
title_full_unstemmed The proteomic landscape of Toxoplasma gondii extracellular vesicles across diverse host cell types
title_short The proteomic landscape of Toxoplasma gondii extracellular vesicles across diverse host cell types
title_sort proteomic landscape of toxoplasma gondii extracellular vesicles across diverse host cell types
topic Toxoplasma gondii
exovesicles
microvesicles
proteome
mass-spectrometry
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2025.1565684/full
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