TY - JOUR
T1 - Toxoplasma invasion of mammalian cells is powered by the actin cytoskeleton of the parasite
AU - Dobrowolski, J. M.
AU - Sibley, L. D.
N1 - Funding Information:
Correspondence should be addressed to L. D. S. We are grateful to Eduardo Groisman, John Cooper, and David Russell for their helpful comments and advice; to Sumi Toyama for providing the KB and Cyt-1 cells; and to Gabriel Soto for assistance with the molecular modeling. This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (AI34036). J. M. D. was partially supported by an NIH predoctoral fellowship (AI07172). L. D. S. is a Burroughs Wellcome Fund New Investigator in Molecular Parasitology.
PY - 1996
Y1 - 1996
N2 - Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite that invades a wide range of vertebrate host cells. We demonstrate that invasion is critically dependent on actin filaments in the parasite, but not the host cell. Invasion into cytochalasin D (CD)-resistant host cells was blocked by CD, while parasite mutants invaded wild-type host cells in the presence of drug. CD resistance in Toxoplasma was mediated by a point mutation in the single-copy actin gene ACT1. Transfection of the mutant act1 allele into wild-type Toxoplasma conferred motility and invasion in the presence of CD. We conclude that host cell invasion by Toxoplasma, and likely by related Apicomplexans, is actively powered by an actin-based contractile system in the parasite.
AB - Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite that invades a wide range of vertebrate host cells. We demonstrate that invasion is critically dependent on actin filaments in the parasite, but not the host cell. Invasion into cytochalasin D (CD)-resistant host cells was blocked by CD, while parasite mutants invaded wild-type host cells in the presence of drug. CD resistance in Toxoplasma was mediated by a point mutation in the single-copy actin gene ACT1. Transfection of the mutant act1 allele into wild-type Toxoplasma conferred motility and invasion in the presence of CD. We conclude that host cell invasion by Toxoplasma, and likely by related Apicomplexans, is actively powered by an actin-based contractile system in the parasite.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0029869791&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/S0092-8674(00)81071-5
DO - 10.1016/S0092-8674(00)81071-5
M3 - Article
C2 - 8601316
AN - SCOPUS:0029869791
SN - 0092-8674
VL - 84
SP - 933
EP - 939
JO - Cell
JF - Cell
IS - 6
ER -