{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]],"date-time":"2026-08-26T08:02:38Z","timestamp":1787731358609,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,21]],"date-time":"2025-05-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1747785600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Special Fund for Science and Technology Innovation of Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University","award":["KFb22059XA"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["KFb22059XA"]}]},{"name":"Special Fund for Science and Technology Innovation of Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University","award":["2022J01131"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2022J01131"]}]},{"name":"Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province of China","award":["KFb22059XA"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["KFb22059XA"]}]},{"name":"Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province of China","award":["2022J01131"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2022J01131"]}]},{"name":"Fujian Province Modern Poultry Industry Technology System Construction Project","award":["KFb22059XA"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["KFb22059XA"]}]},{"name":"Fujian Province Modern Poultry Industry Technology System Construction Project","award":["2022J01131"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2022J01131"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Cells"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is an intracellular parasite that extensively infects warm-blooded animals, causing toxoplasmosis and posing a significant threat to global public health. In this study, we investigated the association between T. gondii infection and ferroptosis in host cells, as well as the regulatory role of glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4). Our findings revealed that mice infected with RH and PRU strains of T. gondii exhibited significantly elevated levels of reactive oxygen species and malondialdehyde in brain and liver tissues. Concurrently, the expression of GPX4, a critical negative regulator of ferroptosis, was downregulated, which correlated with the elevated parasite burden. In Vero cells, T. gondii infection similarly inhibited GPX4 expression, whereas GPX4 overexpression suppressed T. gondii proliferation. These results indicate that T. gondii infection can promote ferroptosis in host cells and that GPX4 plays a pivotal role in regulating infection and proliferation. This study provides novel insights into the pathogenic mechanisms of T. gondii and identifies GPX4 as a regulatory factor that constrains parasite proliferation, offering new approaches for toxoplasmosis prevention and control.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/cells14100756","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,21]],"date-time":"2025-05-21T13:59:43Z","timestamp":1747835983000},"page":"756","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["Inhibition of GPX4 by Toxoplasma gondii Promotes Ferroptosis and Enhances Its Proliferation in Acute and Chronic Infection"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Yanlong","family":"Gu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Fujian-Taiwan Animal Pathogen Biology, College of Animal Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhipeng","family":"Niu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Fujian-Taiwan Animal Pathogen Biology, College of Animal Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hui-Hong","family":"Lu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Fujian-Taiwan Animal Pathogen Biology, College of Animal Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Si-Ang","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Fujian-Taiwan Animal Pathogen Biology, College of Animal Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dong-Hui","family":"Zhou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Fujian-Taiwan Animal Pathogen Biology, College of Animal Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"190","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pt.2010.01.009","article-title":"Toxoplasma gondii: Epidemiology, feline clinical aspects, and prevention","volume":"26","author":"Elmore","year":"2010","journal-title":"Trends Parasitol."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1965","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(04)16412-X","article-title":"Toxoplasmosis","volume":"363","author":"Montoya","year":"2004","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"41","DOI":"10.1079\/AHR2005100","article-title":"Biology and epidemiology of Toxoplasma gondii in man and animals","volume":"6","author":"Hill","year":"2005","journal-title":"Anim. 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