Murine cerebral malaria: how far from human cerebral malaria?
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Carvalho LJ
PROVIDER: S-EPMC2883649 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jun
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Murine cerebral malaria: how far from human cerebral malaria?
Trends in parasitology 20100323 6
Similar Datasets
Project description:P.berghei ANKA infection in CBA or CB57BL/6 mice is used widely as a murine 'model' of human cerebral malaria (HCM), despite markedly different histopathological features. The pathology of the murine model is characterised by marked inflammation with little or no intracerebral sequestration of parasitised erythrocytes, whereas HCM is associated with intense intracerebral sequestration, often with little inflammatory response. There are now more than ten times as many studies each year of the murine model than on HCM. Of 48 adjunctive interventions evaluated in the murine model, 44 (92%) were successful, compared with only 1 (6%) of 17 evaluated in HCM during the same period. The value of the mouse model in identifying pathological processes or therapeutic interventions in human cerebral malaria is questionable.
| S-EPMC2807032 | biostudies-literature
Project description:CD8+ T cells have been shown to play a critical role in the pathogenesis of experimental cerebral malaria (ECM) in mice, but their role in development of human cerebral malaria (HCM) remains unclear. Thus, in this study we have provided the first direct contrast of the accumulation of CD8+ T cells in the brain during HCM and ECM. HCM cases were from children who died of Plasmodium falciparum cerebral malaria at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (Malawi) between 2003 and 2010. ECM was induced by infecting C57BL/6J mice with P. berghei ANKA. We demonstrate similarities in the intracerebral CD8+ T cell responses in ECM and HCM, in particular an apparent shared choroid plexus-meningeal route of CD8+ T cell accumulation in the brain. Nevertheless, we also reveal some potentially important differences in compartmentalization of CD8+ T cells within the cerebrovascular bed in HCM and ECM.
| S-EPMC6668485 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundCerebral malaria (CM) is a neurological syndrome that includes coma and seizures following malaria parasite infection. The pathophysiology is not fully understood and cannot be accounted for by infection alone: patients still succumb to CM, even if the underlying parasite infection has resolved. To that effect, there is no known adjuvant therapy for CM. Current murine CM (MCM) models do not allow for rapid clinical identification of affected animals following infection. An animal model that more closely mimics the clinical features of human CM would be helpful in elucidating potential mechanisms of disease pathogenesis and evaluating new adjuvant therapies.Methodology/principal findingsA quantitative, rapid murine coma and behavior scale (RMCBS) comprised of 10 parameters was developed to assess MCM manifested in C57BL/6 mice infected with Plasmodium berghei ANKA (PbA). Using this method a single mouse can be completely assessed within 3 minutes. The RMCBS enables the operator to follow the evolution of the clinical syndrome, validated here by correlations with intracerebral hemorrhages. It provides a tool by which subjects can be identified as symptomatic prior to the initiation of trial treatment.Conclusions/significanceSince the RMCBS enables an operator to rapidly follow the course of disease, label a subject as affected or not, and correlate the level of illness with neuropathologic injury, it can ultimately be used to guide the initiation of treatment after the onset of cerebral disease (thus emulating the situation in the field). The RMCBS is a tool by which an adjuvant therapy can be objectively assessed.
| S-EPMC2948515 | biostudies-literature
Project description:We hypothesized that differential gene expression contributes to phenotypic variation of parasites which results in specific interaction of Plasmodium falciparum with its human host. In this study we used microarray hybridization to analyse the transcriptomes of P.falciparum isolated from asymptomatic carriers and from cerebral and uncomplicated malaria patients. We also investigated the transcriptomes of the 3D7 clone and the selected 3D7-Lib line.
2014-12-01 | E-MTAB-2139 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:In patients with cerebral malaria (CM), higher levels of cell-specific microparticles (MP) correlate with the presence of neurological symptoms. MP are submicron plasma membrane-derived vesicles that express antigens of their cell of origin and phosphatidylserine (PS) on their surface, facilitating their role in coagulation, inflammation and cell adhesion. In this study, the in vivo production, fate and pathogenicity of cell-specific MP during Plasmodium berghei infection of mice were evaluated. Using annexin V, a PS ligand, and flow cytometry, analysis of platelet-free plasma from infected mice with cerebral involvement showed a peak of MP levels at the time of the neurological onset. Phenotypic analyses showed that MP from infected mice were predominantly of platelet, endothelial and erythrocytic origins. To determine the in vivo fate of MP, we adoptively transferred fluorescently labelled MP from mice with CM into healthy or infected recipient mice. MP were quickly cleared following intravenous injection, but microscopic examination revealed arrested MP lining the endothelium of brain vessels of infected, but not healthy, recipient mice. To determine the pathogenicity of MP, we transferred MP from activated endothelial cells into healthy recipient mice and this induced CM-like brain and lung pathology. This study supports a pathogenic role for MP in the aggravation of the neurological lesion and suggests a causal relationship between MP and the development of CM.
| S-EPMC3961352 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Malaria pigment hemozoin was reported to activate the innate immunity by Toll-like receptor (TLR)-9 engagement. However, the role of TLR activation for the development of cerebral malaria (CM), a lethal complication of malaria infection in humans, is unknown. Using Plasmodium berghei ANKA (PbA) infection in mice as a model of CM, we report here that TLR9-deficient mice are not protected from CM. To exclude the role of other members of the TLR family in PbA recognition, we infected mice deficient for single TLR1, -2, -3, -4, -6, -7, or -9 and their adapter proteins MyD88, TIRAP, and TRIF. In contrast to lymphotoxin alpha-deficient mice, which are resistant to CM, all TLR-deficient mice were as sensitive to fatal CM development as wild-type control mice and developed typical microvascular damage with vascular leak and hemorrhage in the brain and lung, together with comparable parasitemia, thrombocytopenia, neutrophilia, and lymphopenia. In conclusion, the present data do not exclude the possibility that malarial molecular motifs may activate the innate immune system. However, TLR-dependent activation of innate immunity is unlikely to contribute significantly to the proinflammatory response to PbA infection and the development of fatal CM.
| S-EPMC1854958 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Cerebral malaria is still a deleterious health problem in tropical countries. The wide spread of malarial drug resistance and the lack of an effective vaccine are obstacles for disease management and prevention. Parasite and human genetic factors play important roles in malaria susceptibility and disease severity. The malaria parasite exerted a potent selective signature on the human genome, which is apparent in the genetic polymorphism landscape of genes related to pathogenesis. Currently, much genomic data and a novel body of knowledge, including the identification of microRNAs, are being increasingly accumulated for the development of laboratory testing cassettes for cerebral malaria prevention. Therefore, understanding of the underlying complex molecular basis of cerebral malaria is important for the design of strategy for cerebral malaria treatment and control.
| S-EPMC5037602 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Neural injuries in cerebral malaria patients are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. Nevertheless, a comprehensive research approach to study this issue is lacking, so herein we propose an in vitro system to study human cerebral malaria using cellular approaches. Our first goal was to establish a cellular system to identify the molecular alterations in human brain vasculature cells that resemble the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in cerebral malaria (CM). Through transcriptomic analysis, we characterized specific gene expression profiles in human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMEC) activated by the Plasmodium falciparum parasites. We also suggest potential new genes related to parasitic activation. Then, we studied its impact at brain level after Plasmodium falciparum endothelial activation to gain a deeper understanding of the physiological mechanisms underlying CM. For that, the impact of HBMEC-P. falciparum-activated secretomes was evaluated in human brain organoids. Our results support the reliability of in vitro cellular models developed to mimic CM in several aspects. These systems can be of extreme importance to investigate the factors (parasitological and host) influencing CM, contributing to a molecular understanding of pathogenesis, brain injury, and dysfunction.
| S-EPMC10093648 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundPlasmodium berghei ANKA infection in C57Bl/6 mice induces cerebral malaria (CM), which reproduces, to a large extent, the pathological features of human CM. However, experimental CM incidence is variable (50-100%) and the period of incidence may present a range as wide as 6-12 days post-infection. The poor predictability of which and when infected mice will develop CM can make it difficult to determine the causal relationship of early pathological changes and outcome. With the purpose of contributing to solving these problems, algorithms for CM prediction were built.MethodsSeventy-eight P. berghei-infected mice were daily evaluated using the primary SHIRPA protocol. Mice were classified as CM+ or CM- according to development of neurological signs on days 6-12 post-infection. Logistic regression was used to build predictive models for CM based on the results of SHIRPA tests and parasitaemia.ResultsThe overall CM incidence was 54% occurring on days 6-10. Some algorithms had a very good performance in predicting CM, with the area under the receiver operator characteristic ((au)ROC) curve > or = 80% and positive predictive values (PV+) > or = 95, and correctly predicted time of death due to CM between 24 and 72 hours before development of the neurological syndrome ((au)ROC = 77-93%; PV+ = 100% using high cut off values). Inclusion of parasitaemia data slightly improved algorithm performance.ConclusionThese algorithms work with data from a simple, inexpensive, reproducible and fast protocol. Most importantly, they can predict CM development very early, estimate time of death, and might be a valuable tool for research using CM murine models.
| S-EPMC2850361 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Tragically common among children in sub-Saharan Africa, cerebral malaria is characterized by rapid progression to coma and death. In this study, we used a model of cerebral malaria appearing in C57BL/6 WT mice after infection with the rodent malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei ANKA. Expression and cellular localization of the brain water channel aquaporin-4 (AQP4) was investigated during the neurological syndrome. Semiquantitative real-time PCR comparing uninfected and infected mice showed a reduction of brain AQP4 transcript in cerebral malaria, and immunoblots revealed reduction of brain AQP4 protein. Reduction of brain AQP4 protein was confirmed in cerebral malaria by quantitative immunogold EM; however, polarized distribution of AQP4 at the perivascular and subpial astrocyte membranes was not altered. To further examine the role of AQP4 in cerebral malaria, WT mice and littermates genetically deficient in AQP4 were infected with P. berghei. Upon development of cerebral malaria, WT and AQP4-null mice exhibited similar increases in width of perivascular astroglial end-feet in brain. Nevertheless, the AQP4-null mice exhibited more severe signs of cerebral malaria with greater brain edema, although disruption of the blood-brain barrier was similar in both groups. In longitudinal studies, cerebral malaria appeared nearly 1 d earlier in the AQP4-null mice, and reduced survival was noted when chloroquine rescue was attempted. We conclude that the water channel AQP4 confers partial protection against cerebral malaria.
| S-EPMC3549120 | biostudies-other