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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2015 Jul 1.
Published in final edited form as: J Immunol. 2014 May 23;193(1):139–149. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1303284

Figure 3. Inhibiting astrocytic TGFβ signaling does not affect Toxoplasma parasite burden in the brain, weight loss, or mortality.

Figure 3

A–F. Toxoplama burden in the brain during acute (2wpi) and chronic (4wpi) infection. A, B. Representative images of brain cysts at 2 wpi and 4wpi. Panels: mCherry signal from parasites (upper left), Dolichos biflorus agglutinin (upper right) which stains the cyst wall, DAPI (lower left) and merge (lower right). Arrowheads point to cysts. Arrows point to free tachyzoites (2 wpi). No free tachyzoites were seen in 4 wpi brain sections. Scale bars, 20 μm. C, D. mCherry+ Dolichos+ Toxoplasma cysts were counted at 2wpi and 4wpi. Bars, mean ± SEM. N=7–9 mice per genotype at 2 wpi, 11–12 mice per genotype at 4 wpi. E, F. At 2 and 4 wpi brain homogenates were used to isolate Toxoplasma and mouse genomic DNA for quantitative real-time PCR for the Toxoplasma specific gene B1 and loading control GAPDH for quantification of Toxoplasma genomic DNA. Bars, mean ± SEM. N=6 mice per genotype at 2 wpi, 11 mice per genotype 4 wpi. G, H. Weight loss in Ast-Tbr2DN mice and wildtype controls. Bars, mean ± SEM. G. Combined data from three independent experiments, N=19–21 mice per genotype. H. N=11–12 mice per genotype. I, J. Mortality in Ast-Tbr2DN mice and wildtype controls. Mantel-Cox (log-rank) test to compare mortality between genotypes. I. Combined data from five independent experiments, N=34 mice per genotype. (J) N=12 mice per genotype.