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Open research questions in Toxoplasma gondii Research Studies

101 gap statements mined from Toxoplasma gondii Research Studies papers in our 4.5M-paper local library, which holds 552 papers on the topic — drawn mostly from each paper's own stated research gap, future-work, challenge and limitation notes, and its abstract. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one.

What the literature leaves open

  • The complexity of the parasite's life cycle and metabolism. The difficulty of deleting the gene and analyzing the effects on parasite growth and fatty acid synthesis. The need to develop a CRISPR-Cas9 system specific to Toxoplasma gondii.

    The apicoplast localized isocitrate dehydrogenase is needed for de novo fatty acid synthesis in the apicoplast of Toxoplasma gondii · 2025 · DOI

  • Investigate the role of ICDH1 in other apicomplexan parasites, - Explore the effects of ICDH1 deletion on other aspects of parasite biology, - Develop drugs targeting the FASII pathway

    The apicoplast localized isocitrate dehydrogenase is needed for de novo fatty acid synthesis in the apicoplast of Toxoplasma gondii · 2025 · DOI

  • Estimating the economic losses due to neosporosis requires consideration of various factors, including production costs and future production loss. The model must account for differences in the proportions of cattle that abort after vertical or horizontal transmission of N. caninum.

    Estimation of direct economic and productive losses due to abortions caused by Neospora caninum in the primary dairy sector of Uruguay · 2025 · DOI

  • the short time frame of in vitro culture, - the limited number of isolates investigated, - the study only analyzed proteomic changes

    Proteome changes during in vitro culture adaptation of Toxoplasma gondii archetypal II and III field isolates · 2025 · DOI

  • The economic losses caused by neosporosis in Uruguay are unknown. Prior studies have not estimated economic losses using a bioeconomic model.

    Estimation of direct economic and productive losses due to abortions caused by Neospora caninum in the primary dairy sector of Uruguay · 2025 · DOI

  • Yet, the mechanisms governing the interaction between parasitized phagocytes and the brain endothelium remain elusive.

    Toxoplasma effector GRA15-driven CCL5 secretion enhances brain parasite load through microvascular sequestration of phagocytes · 2026 · DOI

  • It is not well understood how parasitized immune cells interact with blood vessel walls, a process that ultimately helps Toxoplasma colonize the brain tissue.

    Toxoplasma effector GRA15-driven CCL5 secretion enhances brain parasite load through microvascular sequestration of phagocytes · 2026 · DOI

  • Calcium signaling plays a crucial role in driving these processes; however, the molecules that control calcium storage and release remain poorly understood.

    A protein disulfide isomerase coordinates redox homeostasis and ER calcium regulation for optimal lytic cycle progression in Toxoplasma gondii · 2026 · DOI

  • IMPORTANCE Sexual development in Toxoplasma gondii is essential for transmission, but remains poorly understood, largely because pre-sexual stages are restricted to the feline intestine and have only recently become experimentally accessible.

    Proliferating toward sex: characterization of cell division of Toxoplasma gondii ’s pre-sexual stages · 2026 · DOI

  • Currently, effective control measures remain elusive, largely due to the unclear mechanisms underlying T.

    TRIM26-mediated regulation of TRAF6 ubiquitination enhances host immune response during Toxoplasma gondii infection · 2026 · DOI

  • Mounting evidence implicates pathogen infections in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD), yet the cellular mechanisms underlying infection-induced neurodegeneration remain poorly understood.

    PTP1B in astrocytes drives pathogen-induced neurodegeneration · 2026 · DOI

  • The obligate intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii infects nearly one-third of the global population, yet its impact on human blood-brain barrier (BBB) function remains poorly defined.

    IFN-γ protects the human blood-brain barrier from Toxoplasma gondii-mediated dysfunction via CCL2 suppression · 2026 · DOI

  • gondii during chronic infection through both cytokine production and cytolytic killing, the CNS-resident cells that functionally present antigen in the brain to promote T cell function or serve as cytolytic targets remain incompletely defined.

    Astrocytic but not microglial antigen presentation shapes protective immunity to Toxoplasma gondii in the brain · 2026 · DOI

  • Although many advances have been made, little is known about the earliest steps of scaffold formation.

    Co-dependent formation of the Toxoplasma gondii subpellicular microtubules and inner membrane skeleton · 2025 · DOI

  • Despite its clinical importance, little is known about the apicomplexan cell cycle that controls parasite division rates.

    Deciphering cell cycle organization of Toxoplasma endodyogeny · 2025 · DOI

  • gondii infection elicits a protective immune response, the nature of the monocyte response in the immediate vicinity of parasites during initial brain infection is not well understood.

    Toxoplasma gondii parasites induce a localized myeloid cell immune response surrounding parasites in the brain during acute infection · 2025 · DOI

  • ABSTRACT Toxoplasma gondii cannot synthesize purines de novo and must import them; however, the functional interplay among its four equilibrative nucleoside transporters (ENTs) homologs remains unclear.

    Impact of equilibrative nucleoside transporters on Toxoplasma gondii infection and differentiation · 2025 · DOI

  • However, the regulatory mechanisms governing these life cycle transitions are not well understood.

    AP2X-1 is a negative regulator of Toxoplasma gondii sexual commitment · 2025 · DOI

  • The parasite encodes diverse enzymes of glutathione and peroxide metabolism, but their physiological roles remain poorly understood.

    Toxoplasma survives the loss of key enzymes of peroxide and glutathione metabolism · 2025 · DOI

  • Although the mechanisms governing bradyzoite differentiation have been partially elucidated, they remain incompletely understood.

    AP2XII‐9 is essential for parasite growth and suppresses bradyzoite differentiation in Toxoplasma gondii · 2025 · DOI

  • Pathogens also establish MCS with host organelles, but the mechanisms underlying these interactions and their role in infection remain poorly understood.

    Toxoplasma effector TgROP1 establishes membrane contact sites with the endoplasmic reticulum during infection · 2025 · DOI

  • The molecular mechanisms coordinating conversion between proliferative parasites (tachyzoites) and latent cysts (bradyzoites) are not fully understood.

    mRNA cap-binding protein eIF4E1 is a novel regulator of Toxoplasma gondii latency · 2024 · DOI

  • ABSTRACT Toxoplasma gondii is an intracellular parasite that can activate the NLRP1 inflammasome leading to macrophage pyroptosis in Lewis rats, but the underlying mechanism is not well understood.

    Host E3 ubiquitin ligase ITCH mediates Toxoplasma gondii effector GRA35-triggered NLRP1 inflammasome activation and cell-autonomous immunity · 2024 · DOI

  • However, how microbes orchestrate the hijacking of complex cellular processes, such as host cell migration, remains poorly understood.

    Hypermigration of macrophages through the concerted action of GRA effectors on NF-κB/p38 signaling and host chromatin accessibility potentiates Toxoplasma dissemination · 2024 · DOI

  • TgAP2XII-9 is a cell cycle-regulated transcription factor, but its specific role in the parasite cell cycle is not fully understood.

    Cell cycle-regulated transcription factor AP2XII-9 is a key activator for asexual division and apicoplast inheritance in Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoite · 2024 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Toxoplasma gondii Research Studies

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101 gap statements have been mined from Toxoplasma gondii Research Studies papers in our 4.5M-paper local library, which holds 552 papers on the topic; the gaps come from whichever of those papers state one. They are mostly the research gaps the authors state and the papers' abstracts, plus future-work, limitations and challenges passages. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one, so you can read the original claim in context.

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