Fig. 3

Toxoplasma gondii infection affects the mitosis rate and the chromosome segregation at the mitosis phase. HUVEC, HFF, FHs74, BSIEC and BCEC were infected with T. gondii tachyzoites, and were fixed 24 h p.i. with PFA and stained against DAPI (chromosome marker, blue), γ-tubulin (centrosome marker, magenta) and T. gondii (green, asterisks). The mitosis index was counted as the total number of cells facing mitosis (see scheme) related to the total number of cells in the field of view. This percentage was calculated for the bovine (A) and human cell lines (B). The results showed that no bovine cell line studied here modified its mitosis rate after infection with T. gondii. However, FHs74 and HFF showed an increased proportion of mitotic cells. C The mitosis phases were followed by chromosome segregation, and the results showed that all cell lines developed chromosome segregation errors mainly due to an abnormal number of centrosomes (white arrows). Thereafter, the proportion of aberrant mitosis was determined in both bovine and human cells by counting the total number of aberrant mitoses relative to the total mitotic cells (normal and aberrant). The scale bar represents 5 µm