More than 2 billion people are infected! Research shows that parasites can turn human cells into zombies

Science Fiction Network, December 19 (Xu Mingyang) According to Sina.com, more than 2 billion people worldwide are infected with Toxoplasma gondii. Recently, a study led by scientists from Stockholm University in Sweden found that this tiny parasite hijacks human immune cells by injecting a protein into them and then reprogramming them, turning them into zombies, helping the parasite to quickly and successfully infect the entire body, even the brain. The relevant research has been published in the recent journal Cell Host & Microbe.

Toxoplasma gondii, also known as the three corpses worm, is an intracellular parasite. Mammals, birds, reptiles and humans may become intermediate hosts of Toxoplasma, while its final hosts are cats and felines. After infection, Toxoplasma will parasitize in cells, and then reach various parts of the body with the flow of blood in the human body, and rapidly divide and proliferate, destroying the human brain, heart, fundus, etc., thereby causing various diseases such as diffuse meningoencephalitis, splenomegaly, glaucoma, etc.

Why can Toxoplasma gondii infect so many people and animals and spread so quickly? In this study, scientists found that Toxoplasma gondii injects a protein into the nucleus of macrophages in the human immune system, and the macrophages whose gene expression and behavior are changed will abandon their job of fighting infection and help Toxoplasma gondii spread rapidly to various organs in the human body. This discovery explains why Toxoplasma gondii can spread rapidly in humans or animals.

Toxoplasma gondii usually stays dormant in the brain of an infected individual for decades or even a lifetime, and can kill an infected person if their immune system is weak. During pregnancy, Toxoplasma gondii can be transmitted to the fetus through the placenta, and if infection occurs in the early or mid-term of pregnancy, it can cause problems such as miscarriage or fetal malformations.