A New Ex Vivo Model Based on Mouse Retinal Explants for the Study of Ocular Toxoplasmosis

Ocular toxoplasmosis is the most prevalent clinical manifestation of <i>T. gondii</i> infection, which causes irreversible retinal damage. Different experimental models have been developed to study this pathology. In the present study, a new, ex vivo model is proposed to contribute to the elucidation of disease mechanisms and to possible therapeutic solutions. Ex-vivo retinal explants, prepared from mouse retinas following established protocols, were incubated with <i>T. gondii</i> tachyzoites maintained in Vero cells. At different times, starting at 12 h up to 10 days of incubation, the explants were analyzed with immunofluorescence and Western blot to investigate their responses to parasite infection. <i>T. gondii</i> invasion of the retinal thickness was evident after 3 days in culture, where parasites could be detected around retinal cell nuclei. This was paralleled by putative cyst formation and microglial activation. At the same time, an evident increase in inflammatory and oxidative stress markers was detected in infected explants compared to controls. Cell death also appeared to occur in retinal explants after 3 days of <i>T. gondii</i> infection, and it was characterized by increased necroptotic but not apoptotic markers. The proposed model recapitulates the main characteristics of <i>T. gondii</i> retinal infection within 3 days of incubation and, therefore, allows for studying the very early events of the process. In addition, it requires only a limited number of animals and offers easy manipulation and accessibility for setting up different experimental conditions and assessing the effects of putative drugs for therapy.