<I>Toxoplasma gondii</I> (IMAGE)

WashU Medicine

<I>Toxoplasma gondii</I>

Caption

Toxoplasma gondii and other related parasites surround themselves with a membrane to protect against factors in host cells that would otherwise kill them. Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a parasite protein that protects this membrane from host proteins that can rupture it. Accoding to the researchers, disabling the parasite's defensive protein could help give hosts an advantage in the battle against infection.

Credit

Wandy Beatty/Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis

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