{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,24]],"date-time":"2026-02-24T10:19:08Z","timestamp":1771928348030,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,30]],"date-time":"2026-01-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1769731200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Immunol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    <jats:italic>Toxoplasma gondii<\/jats:italic>\n                    (\n                    <jats:italic>T. gondii<\/jats:italic>\n                    ) is a ubiquitous protozoan parasite that can infect a wide range of hosts, including humans and rodents. Dental plaque microbiota serves as the initiating factor in periodontal diseases, with\n                    <jats:italic>Porphyromonas gingivalis<\/jats:italic>\n                    (\n                    <jats:italic>P. gingivalis<\/jats:italic>\n                    ) being the principal pathogenic bacterium. Recent studies have suggested a potential link between\n                    <jats:italic>T. gondii<\/jats:italic>\n                    infection, periodontal diseases and neuropsychiatric disorders, although the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate the effects of\n                    <jats:italic>T. gondii<\/jats:italic>\n                    infection on cognitive function and anxiety-like behavior in rats with periodontitis, using a series of behavioral tests, including the Morris water maze, open field test, novel object recognition test, Y-maze test, and elevated plus maze test. We explored whether coinfection of\n                    <jats:italic>P. gingivalis<\/jats:italic>\n                    and\n                    <jats:italic>T. gondii<\/jats:italic>\n                    could impair spatial learning and memory and induce anxiety-like behavior in rats. Our results showed that coinfection of\n                    <jats:italic>P. gingivalis<\/jats:italic>\n                    and\n                    <jats:italic>T. gondii<\/jats:italic>\n                    significantly increased anxiety-like behavior and reduced cognitive function in rats. These findings suggest that the coinfection may disrupt central nervous system (CNS) function, providing new insights into the association between\n                    <jats:italic>T. gondii<\/jats:italic>\n                    infection, periodontitis, and neuropsychiatric comorbidities. Future research should focus on elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying these effects and exploring potential therapeutic strategies to mitigate the impact of\n                    <jats:italic>T. gondii<\/jats:italic>\n                    infection and periodontal diseases on mental health.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fimmu.2026.1728337","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,30]],"date-time":"2026-01-30T06:43:32Z","timestamp":1769755412000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Coinfection of Porphyromonas gingivalis and Toxoplasma gondii impairs neurocognitive function and induces anxiety-like behavior in rats: a behavioral study"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Henglong","family":"Cao","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School and Hospital of Stomatology, Guangdong Engineering Research Center of Oral Restoration and 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China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jianzhao","family":"Luo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School and Hospital of Stomatology, Guangdong Engineering Research Center of Oral Restoration and Reconstruction, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Basic and Applied Research of Oral Regenerative Medicine, Guangzhou Medical University","place":["Guangzhou, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hao","family":"Yuan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Prevention and Control, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University","place":["Guangzhou, Guangdong, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yining","family":"Song","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Prevention and Control, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural 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and Hospital of Stomatology, Guangdong Engineering Research Center of Oral Restoration and Reconstruction, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Basic and Applied Research of Oral Regenerative Medicine, Guangzhou Medical University","place":["Guangzhou, China"]},{"name":"Department of Oral Health Sciences-BIOMAT, KU Leuven and Dentistry, University Hospitals Leuven","place":["Leuven, Belgium"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3390\/brainsci10060369","article-title":"Pathophysiological mechanisms of cognitive impairment and neurodegeneration by Toxoplasma gondii infection","volume":"10","author":"Ortiz-Guerrero","year":"2020","journal-title":"Brain Sci"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.4274\/tpd.galenos.2024.70298","article-title":"Molecular models of Toxoplasma gondii in humans and 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