Global miRNA expression profiling of domestic cat livers following acute Toxoplasma gondii infection

Cong, Wei; Zhang, Xiao-Xuan; He, Jun-Jun; Li, Fa-Cai; Elsheikha, Hany M.; Zhu, Xing-Quan

Toxoplasma gondii strain used in this study was the PRU strain (Genotype II), which is maintained in our laboratory by passage through Kunming mice as described previously [49] . T. gondii type II was used in this study because it seems to be the predominant genotype circulating in cats [50] [51] [52] . Also, the PRU strain is able to produce brain tissue cysts in mouse and oocysts in the gut of cats and is thus a suitable candidate for a standardized challenge model in cats. The number of T. gondii cysts was determined using an optical microscope and was adjusted to 100 cysts mL −1 in phosphate buffered saline (PBS), pH 7.4. Each cat was infected by intragrastric inoculation with 100 cysts in 1 mL PBS. Control cats were sham-infected with PBS only. Livers were harvested 7 days post infection (7 dpi) in order to allow sufficient time for the infection to be established in the liver [1] . Collected livers were rinsed extensively in saline, flash frozen in liquid nitrogen, and stored at −80°C until processing.