Effect of Toxoplasma gondii infection on glucose metabolism in the brain of pregnant rats by [F]FDG microPET imaging.

Toxoplasma gondii ( T. gondii) is a pathogenic protozoan parasite, infection of which in early pregnancy increases the risk of serious sequelae in fetus. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of T. gondii infection on glucose metabolism in the brain of pregnant rats by microPET using F-fluorodeoxygulcose (F-FDG) as the tracer. Thirty female SD rats were divided into the T. gondii infection and control group. After set for pregnancy, the body weight was assessed, T. gondii infection was identified by PCR, ELISA technology and immunohistochemistry, and glucose metabolism in brain of rats was monitored by microPET scan. Our results showed that brain glucose metabolism was significantly increased in T. gondii-infected group comparing to the control, indicating microPET scan is more sensitive to detect the abnormality than traditional measurements. In addition, bio-distribution of F-FDG in T. gondii-infected rats was assessed by using another twenty female SD rats, which has higher uptake of F-FDG at 30 min after injection in whole brain. Furthermore, the expression profile of GLUT1 was also higher in the brain of pregnant rats of the infected group. Therefore, microPET can be effectively applied to in vivo assessment of small animals and contributes to early diagnosis of T. gondii infection, which also assists in understanding birth defects caused by T. gondii infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]