Metabolic interactions between Toxoplasma gondii and its host

Abstract

<i>Toxoplasma gondii</i> is an obligate intracellular parasite belonging to the phylum Apicomplexa that infects all warm-blooded animals, including humans. <i>T. gondii</i> can replicate in every nucleated host cell by orchestrating metabolic interactions to derive crucial nutrients. In this review, we summarize the current status of known metabolic interactions of <i>T. gondii</i> with its host cell and discuss open questions and promising experimental approaches that will allow further dissection of the host-parasite interface and discovery of ways to efficiently target both tachyzoite and bradyzoite forms of <i>T. gondii</i>, which are associated with acute and chronic infection, respectively.