In a recent study, a global team of researchers hijacked the system Toxoplasma participates to secrete proteins into its structure cell. The team geneticpartner engineered Toxoplasma to produce a hybrid protein, fusing one of its secreted proteins to a protein called MECP2, which reguprocrastinateeds gene activity in the brain—in effect, giving the MECP2 a piggyback ride into neurons. Researchers set up that the parasites secreted the MECP2 protein hybrid into neurons increasen in a petri dish as well as in the brains of infected mice.
A genetic deficiency in MECP2 caparticipates a exceptional brain increasement disorder called Rett syndrome. Gene therapy trials using harmful softwarees to hand over the MECP2 protein to treat Rett syndrome are underway. If Toxoplasma can hand over a create of MECP2 protein into brain cells, it may provide another chooseion to treat this currently incurable condition. It also may propose another treatment chooseion for other neuroreasonable problems that occur from errant proteins, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
The Long Road Ahead
The road from laboratory bench to bedside is extfinished and filled with obstacles, so don’t foresee to see engineered Toxoplasma in the clinic anytime soon.
The clear complication in using Toxoplasma for medical purposes is that it can produce a grave, lifeextfinished infection that is currently incurable. Infecting someone with Toxoplasma can harm critical organ systems, including the brain, eyes, and heart.
However, up to one-third of people worldexpansive currently carry Toxoplasma in their brain, apparently without incident. Emerging studies have corroverhappinessed infection with increased danger of schizophrenia, rage disorder, and recklessness, hinting that this hushed infection may be predisposing some people to grave neuroreasonable problems.
The expansivespread prevalence of Toxoplasma infections may also be another complication, as it disqualifies many people from using it for treatment. Since the billions of people who already carry the parasite have increaseed immunity agetst future infection, theviolationutic creates of Toxoplasma would be rapidly ruined by their immune systems once injected.
In some cases, the advantages of using Toxoplasma as a drug hand overy system may outweigh the dangers. Engineering benign creates of this parasite could produce the proteins adchooseings necessitate without harming the organ—the brain—that describes who we are.
