Microarray analyses of mouse responses to infection by Neospora caninum identifies disease associated cellular pathways in the host response

▶ Qs and BALB/c mice infected with Neospora caninum differ in their transcriptional responses in the spleen to infection. ▶ Transcriptional changes in the Jak-STAT signaling pathway (as well as Irf and other IFN-γ regulated molecules such as GTPases) confirmed the influence of IFN-γ in the mouse response to N. caninum. ▶ Gene ontology analyses also assigned some of the transcriptional changes to well known cellular pathways associated with cancer, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. ▶ These studies provide new, exciting leads by which to study neosporosis and pathogenesis associated with infection by N. caninum.