Immunopathological Changes in the Brain of Immunosuppressed Mice Experimentally Infected with Toxocara canis.
- Author:
Mohamed M EID
1
;
Samy I EL-KOWRANY
;
Ahmad A OTHMAN
;
Dina I El GENDY
;
Eman M SAIED
Author Information
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords: Toxocara canis; neurotoxocariasis; immunosuppression; IL-5; glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)
- MeSH: Animals; Brain/*pathology; Disease Models, Animal; Female; Gene Expression Profiling; Histocytochemistry; *Immunocompromised Host; Immunohistochemistry; Interleukin-5/genetics; Male; Mice; Parasite Load; Toxocara canis/*immunology; Toxocariasis/*immunology/*pathology
- From:The Korean Journal of Parasitology 2015;53(1):51-58
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
- Abstract: Toxocariasis is a soil-transmitted helminthozoonosis due to infection of humans by larvae of Toxocara canis. The disease could produce cognitive and behavioral disturbances especially in children. Meanwhile, in our modern era, the incidence of immunosuppression has been progressively increasing due to increased incidence of malignancy as well as increased use of immunosuppressive agents. The present study aimed at comparing some of the pathological and immunological alterations in the brain of normal and immunosuppressed mice experimentally infected with T. canis. Therefore, 180 Swiss albino mice were divided into 4 groups including normal (control) group, immunocompetent T. canis-infected group, immunosuppressed group (control), and immunosuppressed infected group. Infected mice were subjected to larval counts in the brain, and the brains from all mice were assessed for histopathological changes, astrogliosis, and IL-5 mRNA expression levels in brain tissues. The results showed that under immunosuppression, there were significant increase in brain larval counts, significant enhancement of reactive gliosis, and significant reduction in IL-5 mRNA expression. All these changes were maximal in the chronic stage of infection. In conclusion, the immunopathological alterations in the brains of infected animals were progressive over time, and were exaggerated under the effect of immunosuppression as did the intensity of cerebral infection.
