AUTHOR=Lucchese Guglielmo 

TITLE=From Toxoplasmosis to Schizophrenia via NMDA Dysfunction: Peptide Overlap between Toxoplasma gondii and N-Methyl-d-Aspartate Receptors As a Potential Mechanistic Link

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2017

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2017.00037

DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2017.00037

ISSN=1664-0640

ABSTRACT=<p>The present work aims at investigating how <italic>Toxoplasma gondii</italic> (<italic>T. gondii</italic>) infection may be linked to <italic>N</italic>-methyl-<sc>d</sc>-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) dysfunction in schizophrenia and related disorders and puts forward the hypothesis that immune responses against <italic>T. gondii</italic> may involve NMDARs. Indeed, the analysis of the protozoan proteome and NMDAR subunits for peptide commonalities shows a massive peptide overlap and supports the possibility that anti-<italic>T. gondii</italic> immune responses raised during active protozoan infection may cross-react with host NMDARs, determining disruption of neural circuits and cognitive deficits. In particular, the NMDA 2D subunit, which is mainly expressed in parvalbumin-positive interneurons, appears to be a hotspot for potential <italic>T. gondii</italic>-induced cross-reactive immune attacks.</p>