Microfluidic model for in vitro acute Toxoplasma gondii infection and transendothelial migration

The protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) causes one of the most common human zoonotic diseases and infects approximately one-third of the global population. T. gondii infects nearly every cell type and causes severe symptoms in susceptible populations. In previous laboratory animal studies, T. gondii movement and transmission were not analyzed in real time. In a three-dimensional (3D) microfluidic assay, we successfully supported the complex lytic cycle of T. gondii in situ by generating a stable microvasculature. The physiology of the T. gondii-infected microvasculature was monitored in order to investigate the growth, paracellular and transcellular migration, and transmission of T. gondii, as well as the efficacy of T. gondii drugs.