Pro-inflammatory cytokines predominate in the brains of dogs with visceral leishmaniasis: A natural model of neuroinflammation during systemic parasitic infection

• Autor(a) principal: Melo, Guilherme D. [UNESP]
• Data de Publicação: 2013
• Outros Autores: Seraguci, Túlio F. [UNESP], Schweigert, Augusto [UNESP], Silva, José Eduardo S. [UNESP], Grano, Fernanda G. [UNESP], Peiró, Juliana Regina [UNESP], Lima, Valéria M.F. [UNESP], Machado, Gisele Fabrino [UNESP]
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UNESP
• DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2012.11.002
• Texto Completo: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.vetpar.2012.11.002; http://hdl.handle.net/11449/74605
• topic: Blood-brain barrier; Central nervous system; Immune system; Inflammation; Leishmania infantum; RT-qPCR; cytokine; gamma interferon; interleukin 10; interleukin 12p40; interleukin 1beta; interleukin 6; transforming growth factor beta; tumor necrosis factor alpha; animal tissue; brain; controlled study; dog; down regulation; female; gene expression; histopathology; male; nervous system inflammation; neuropathology; nonhuman; nucleotide sequence; parasite load; spleen; upregulation; visceral leishmaniasis; Canis familiaris

Visceral leishmaniasis is a multisystemic zoonotic disease that can manifest with several symptoms, including neurological disorders. To investigate the pathogenesis of brain alterations occurring during visceral leishmaniasis infection, the expression of the cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12p40, IFN-γ, TGF-β and TNF-α and their correlations with peripheral parasite load were evaluated in the brains of dogs naturally infected with Leishmania infantum. IL-1β, IFN-γ and TNF-α were noticeably up-regulated, and IL-10, TGF-β and IL-12p40 were down-regulated in the brains of infected dogs. Expression levels did not correlate with parasite load suggestive that the brain alterations are due to the host's immune response regardless of the phase of the disease. These data indicate the presence of a pro-inflammatory status in the nervous milieu of dogs with visceral leishmaniasis especially because IL-1β and TNF-α are considered key factors for the initiation, maintenance and persistence of inflammation. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.