Dataset Information

Experimental Malaria in Pregnancy Induces Neurocognitive Injury in Uninfected Offspring via a C5a-C5a Receptor Dependent Pathway.

ABSTRACT: The in utero environment profoundly impacts childhood neurodevelopment and behaviour. A substantial proportion of pregnancies in Africa are at risk of malaria in pregnancy (MIP) however the impact of in utero exposure to MIP on fetal neurodevelopment is unknown. Complement activation, in particular C5a, may contribute to neuropathology and adverse outcomes during MIP. We used an experimental model of MIP and standardized neurocognitive testing, MRI, micro-CT and HPLC analysis of neurotransmitter levels, to test the hypothesis that in utero exposure to malaria alters neurodevelopment through a C5a-C5aR dependent pathway. We show that malaria-exposed offspring have persistent neurocognitive deficits in memory and affective-like behaviour compared to unexposed controls. These deficits were associated with reduced regional brain levels of major biogenic amines and BDNF that were rescued by disruption of C5a-C5aR signaling using genetic and functional approaches. Our results demonstrate that experimental MIP induces neurocognitive deficits in offspring and suggest novel targets for intervention.

SUBMITTER: McDonald CR

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4581732 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Experimental Malaria in Pregnancy Induces Neurocognitive Injury in Uninfected Offspring via a C5a-C5a Receptor Dependent Pathway.

McDonald Chloë R CR Cahill Lindsay S LS Ho Keith T KT Yang Jimmy J Kim Hani H Silver Karlee L KL Ward Peter A PA Mount Howard T HT Liles W Conrad WC Sled John G JG Kain Kevin C KC

PLoS pathogens 20150924 9

The in utero environment profoundly impacts childhood neurodevelopment and behaviour. A substantial proportion of pregnancies in Africa are at risk of malaria in pregnancy (MIP) however the impact of in utero exposure to MIP on fetal neurodevelopment is unknown. Complement activation, in particular C5a, may contribute to neuropathology and adverse outcomes during MIP. We used an experimental model of MIP and standardized neurocognitive testing, MRI, micro-CT and HPLC analysis of neurotransmitter ...[more]

PMID: 26402732

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Project description:Although respiratory distress is a common complication of severe malaria, little is known about the underlying molecular basis of lung dysfunction. Animal models have provided powerful insights into the pathogenesis of severe malaria syndromes such as cerebral malaria; however, no model of malaria-induced lung injury has been definitively established. This work used bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), histopathology and gene expression analysis to examine the development of acute lung injury (ALI) in mice infected with Plasmodium berghei ANKA (PbA). BAL fluid of PbA-infected C57BL/6 mice revealed a significant increase in IgM and total protein prior to the development of cerebral malaria (CM), indicating disruption of the alveolar-capillary membrane barrier â the physiological hallmark of acute lung injury (ALI). In contrast to sepsis-induced ALI, BAL fluid cell counts remained constant with no infiltration of neutrophils. Histopathology showed septal inflammation without cellular transmigration into the alveolar spaces. Microarray analysis comparing malaria-induced ALI with sepsis-induced ALI identified several common gene ontology groups characterizing ALI in these models, including defense and immune response. Severity of malaria-induced ALI varied in a panel of inbred mouse strains, and development of ALI correlated with peripheral parasite burden but not CM susceptibility. CD36-/- mice, which have decreased parasite lung sequestration, were relatively protected from ALI. In summary, parasite burden and CD36-mediated sequestration in the lung are primary determinants of ALI in experimental murine malaria. Furthermore, differential susceptibility of mouse strains to malaria-induced ALI and CM indicate that distinct genetic determinants likely regulate susceptibility to these two important causes of malaria-associated morbidity and mortality. Keywords: Time course Lungs were excised immediately following euthanasia, snap-frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at â80Â°C until use. Total RNA was extracted using Trizol reagent (Invitrogen) according to the manufacturerâs instructions, and mRNA was purified using an Oligo-dT cellulose column (NEB, Mississauga, ON) as described previously [54]. cDNA with incorporated 5-(3-aminoallyl)-2âdeoxyuridine-5â-triphosphate (AAdUTP; Sigma, Oakville ON) was reverse-transcribed from 1-2 Âµg mRNA. Purified cDNA was coupled with N-hydroxysuccinimide esters of Cy3 or Cy5 (GE Lifesciences, Baie d'Urfe QC). Cy3 and Cy5-labeled cDNA pairs and Agilent control spots were added to a final volume of 0.5ml hybridization buffer (1 M NaCl, 0.5% sodium sarcosine, 50 mM methyl ethane sulfonate (MES), pH 6.5, 33% formamide and 40Âµg salmon sperm DNA (Invitrogen)). Hybridizations were performed in Agilent hybridization (Agilent, Palo Alto CA) chambers at 42Â°C with rotation for 18-24 hours. Slides were washed in 6X SSPE, 0.005% sarcosine, followed by 0.06X SSPE, allowed to dry and scanned with a 4000A microarray scanner (Axon Instruments, Union City CA). TIFF images were quantified with GenePix (Axon Instruments). Variance stabilizing normalization [55] and loess smoothing were applied in Bioconductor [56] and the data were transformed to log2 scale. Each array was hybridized with cDNA transcribed from an RNA pool of 5 C57BL/6 mice per timepoint (Day 0 and 6) and technical replicates (dye-swap) experiments were performed for both time points.

Project description:BackgroundAnnually 125 million pregnancies are at risk of malaria infection. However, the impact of exposure to malaria in pregnancy on neurodevelopment in children is not well understood. We hypothesized that malaria in pregnancy and associated maternal immune activation result in neurodevelopmental delay in exposed offspring.Methods and findingsBetween April 2014 and April 2015, we followed 421 Malawian mother-baby dyads (median [IQR] maternal age: 21 [19, 28] years) who were previously enrolled (median [IQR] gestational age at enrollment: 19.7 [17.9, 22.1] weeks) in a randomized controlled malaria prevention trial with 5 or 6 scheduled assessments of antenatal malaria infection by PCR. Children were evaluated at 12, 18, and/or 24 months of age with cognitive tests previously validated in Malawi: the Malawi Developmental Assessment Tool (MDAT) and the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories (MCAB-CDI). We assessed the impact of antenatal malaria (n [%] positive: 240 [57.3]), placental malaria (n [%] positive: 112 [29.6]), and maternal immune activation on neurocognitive development in children. Linear mixed-effects analysis showed that children exposed to antenatal malaria between 33 and 37 weeks gestation had delayed language development across the 2-year follow-up, as measured by MCAB-CDI (adjusted beta estimate [95% CI], -7.53 [-13.04, -2.02], p = 0.008). Maternal immune activation, characterized by increased maternal sTNFRII concentration, between 33 and 37 weeks was associated with lower MCAB-CDI language score (adjusted beta estimate [95% CI], -8.57 [-13.09, -4.06], p < 0.001). Main limitations of this study include a relatively short length of follow-up and a potential for residual confounding that is characteristic of observational studies.ConclusionsThis mother-baby cohort presents evidence of a relationship between malaria in pregnancy and neurodevelopmental delay in offspring. Malaria in pregnancy may be a modifiable risk factor for neurodevelopmental injury independent of birth weight or prematurity. Successful interventions to prevent malaria during pregnancy may reduce the risk of neurocognitive delay in children.

Dataset Information

Experimental Malaria in Pregnancy Induces Neurocognitive Injury in Uninfected Offspring via a C5a-C5a Receptor Dependent Pathway.

Publications

Experimental Malaria in Pregnancy Induces Neurocognitive Injury in Uninfected Offspring via a C5a-C5a Receptor Dependent Pathway.

Similar Datasets

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