Toxoplasmic indigestion

A team from the University of Michigan Medical School has discovered a new strategy and target for clearing out persistent reservoirs of the parasite Toxoplasma gondii. The approach involves disrupting lysosomal consumption of autophagosomes in the parasites by blocking the vacuolar enzyme T. gondii cathepsin CPL (T. gondii CPL).

T. gondii is an intracellular protozoan that can infect humans and lead to toxoplasmosis. While most healthy adults do not experience any symptoms, the infection has been linked to cognitive disorders and mental illness, and can cause severe complications in immunocompromised patients...