Microglial STAT1-deficiency results in a skewing of T. gondii toward its replicative form.

WT and MG^STAT1Δ mice were intraperitoneally infected with 10 cysts of the Me49 strain of T. gondii and brains were analyzed by confocal microscopy and RT-qPCR at 15 DPI. (A-B) Representative 10x immunofluorescent confocal Z-stack images of T. gondii inflammatory foci in infected brains. White square indicates example foci, with insets providing zoomed detail. (C-E) RT-qPCR analysis of T. gondii relative gene expression of Sag1 (tachyzoite-specific gene), Bag1 (bradyzoite-specific gene), and Act1 (non-stage-specific gene) analyzed using t tests. (F-G) Representative 40x Immunofluorescent images of microglial-parasite interactions in infected brains. White square indicates T. gondii vacuole(s) in maximum projection view, with insets providing zoomed detail in single-plane view (Slice). (A-B) and (F-G) ZsGreen is indicated green, and anti-Me49 staining is indicated in magenta. Scale bar = 150 μm (A-B) and 40 μm (F-G). n = 3-4 mice per group (C-E). ns = not significant, * = p < 0.05, *** = p < 0.001.