Figure 2

T. gondii intracellular proliferation in villous explants treated with azithromycin or PSA. Villous explants were infected and treated for 72 h with azithromycin or PSA at different concentrations. T. gondii proliferation was measured by a colorimetric β-galactosidase assay (A). The bars represent mean ± SEM. Data were analyzed by ANOVA and Bonferroni multiple comparison post hoc test. Significant differences in comparison with untreated villous explants are labeled (^***P < 0.001; ^**P < 0.01). Representative photomicrographs of human villous explants infected or not with T. gondii: uninfected human villous explants as a negative control (B), arrows indicate tachyzoites in untreated human villous explants (C), azithromycin-treated (D) and PSA-treated (E) human villous explants. Arrowheads indicate syncytiotrophoblast layers, and M indicates mesenchymal tissue. Counterstaining with Mayer’s hematoxylin was performed. Scale bar: 10 μm.