• MeSH
• alergologie a imunologie MeSH
• laboratorní zvířata MeSH
• myši inbrední BALB C imunologie   genetika   MeSH
• myši MeSH
• Check Tag
• myši MeSH

• Konspekt
• Patologie. Klinická medicína
• NLK Obory
• alergologie a imunologie
• genetika, lékařská genetika

BACKGROUND: Both BALB/c mice and common voles (Microtus arvalis) are considered highly susceptible to tularemia. However, the common vole is reported to harbour Francisella tularensis in European habitats as well as to survive longer with chronic shedding of the bacterium. The purpose of the present study was to compare the response of these two rodents to a wild Francisella tularensis subsp. holarctica strain infection. METHODS: Rodents were evaluated for differences in the total antioxidant capacity derived from low-molecular-weight antioxidants, biochemistry including lipid metabolism, tissue bacterial burdens and histopathology following experimental intraperitoneal infection with 160 colony forming units (CFU) pro toto. RESULTS: Bacterial burdens in common voles started to develop later post-exposure and amounted to lower levels than in BALB/c mice. Elevation of liver function enzymes was more pronounced in mice than common voles and there were marked differences in lipid metabolism in the course of tularemia in these two species. Hypertriglyceridemia and hypercholesterolemia developed in mice, while physiologically higher levels of triglycerides and cholesterol showed a decreasing tendency in common voles. On the other hand, the total plasma antioxidant capacity gradually dropped to 81.5% in mice on day 5 post-infection, while it increased to 130% on day 6 post-infection in common voles. Significant correlations between tissue bacterial burdens and several biochemical parameters were found. CONCLUSION: As differences in lipid metabolism and the total antioxidant capacity of highly susceptible rodent species were demonstrated, the role of triglycerides, cholesterol and antioxidants in tularemic sepsis should be further investigated.

• MeSH
• antioxidancia metabolismus   MeSH
• Arvicolinae mikrobiologie   MeSH
• cholesterol metabolismus   MeSH
• metabolismus lipidů MeSH
• myši inbrední BALB C MeSH
• myši MeSH
• nemoci hlodavců metabolismus   mikrobiologie   MeSH
• triglyceridy metabolismus   MeSH
• tularemie metabolismus   mikrobiologie   MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• myši MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• srovnávací studie MeSH

The aim was to find if there is variability in the production of specific antibodies by BALB/c mice to certain antigens of three individual Borrelia afzelii (dead cell suspension) strains originally isolated from different sources. Analysis of the borrelian proteins immunogenicity was performed and determined to particular strains by immunoblotting. Some differences in production of specific IgM and IgG antibodies in each individual group of tested mice were found. The antigenic influence of OspA and OspC proteins appeared to be the most important for the induction of protective immune reaction. OspC was produced both in early and late infection of all individuals and OspA induced production of IgG antibodies in all groups of immunized mice.

• MeSH
• antigeny bakteriální imunologie   MeSH
• Borrelia burgdorferi komplex klasifikace   MeSH
• imunoblotting * MeSH
• lymeská nemoc imunologie   mikrobiologie   MeSH
• myši inbrední BALB C MeSH
• myši MeSH
• protilátky bakteriální krev   MeSH
• specificita protilátek MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• myši MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH

BACKGROUND: Galantamine is a drug used for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and some other cognitive disorders. It is an inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase; however, interaction with nicotinic acetylcholine receptors has also been reported. Owing to the significant role of cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathways in neuro-immunomodulation, we decided to examine the effect of galantamine on tularemia-infected BALB/c mice. METHODS: Animals were infected with Francisella tularensis LVS and treated with galantamine (0.1 mg/kg of body weight). Total mortality over the course of tularemia infection was assessed and interleukin 6 (IL-6) and interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) in plasma samples were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Apart from the cytokine assays, biochemical markers such as inorganic phosphate, uric acid, lactate dehydrogenase, gamma glutamyltransferase, creatinine phosphokinase and amylase were assayed. RESULTS: The modulation of immunity by galantamine depended on two opposing processes: up-regulation of IFN-gamma and down-regulation of IL-6. Tularemia infection resulted in significant nephropathy, as hyperphosphataemia and hyperuricaemia occurred in infected animals. In addition, galantamine resulted in the mitigation of nephropathy, and markers of kidney dysfunction were modulated. Alterations in mortality were also found in this study. CONCLUSIONS: Galantamine can significantly influence the immune response via the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway. Despite the decrease in IL-6 levels, galantamine treatment enhanced protection against the intracellular pathogen F. tularensis, resulting in the remission of some pathology and reduced mortality.

• MeSH
• analýza přežití MeSH
• Francisella tularensis účinky léků   MeSH
• galantamin farmakologie   terapeutické užití   MeSH
• interferon gama krev   MeSH
• interleukin-6 krev   MeSH
• myši inbrední BALB C MeSH
• myši MeSH
• tularemie krev   farmakoterapie   mikrobiologie   MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• myši MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH

BACKGROUND: In areas endemic for visceral leishmaniasis (VL), the majority of infected hosts remain asymptomatic but potentially infectious to biting sand flies. Their infectiousness for sand fly vectors is crucial for the transmission of the disease and can be quantified only by xenodiagnosis. However, in the case of human hosts, xenodiagnosis can be problematic for ethical and logistic reasons. The BALB/c mouse model described in this paper was designed to enable xenodiagnostic studies on VL hosts circumventing the need for human volunteers, it permits xenodiagnosis using the same individual host repeatedly, over several months. METHODS: BALB/c mice were intradermally inoculated in the ear pinnae with Leishmania donovani, primarily metacyclic stages isolated from the thoracic midguts of experimentally-infected Phlebotomus orientalis females. Naïve sand flies were allowed to feed on anaesthetized mice in 1-3-weeks- interval, firstly on the site of inoculation of L. donovani (weeks 2-8 post infection, p.i.), later on the whole body of mice (weeks 9 - 15 p.i.). Infections of sand flies were evaluated microscopically or by PCR analysis. RESULTS: Although infected mice did not show any signs of disease, 19% (N = 876) of the P. orientalis females that fed at the site of inoculation, became infected. The majority of L. donovani-positive females (76%) had heavy infections with their stomodeal valves colonized by attached parasites. Inoculated mouse ears remained infective for sand flies until week 15 p.i. Females feeding on other parts of the body remained negative with exception of two groups feeding on contralateral ears by week 12 p.i. On week 15, however, these two mice returned negative at xenodiagnosis of the contralateral ears. In sacrificed mice, the highest parasite numbers were found in inoculated ears and their draining lymph nodes. Infections were detected also in the spleen, liver, blood and rarely in the contralateral ear. CONCLUSIONS: The study showed that BALB/c mice harbored parasites in sufficient numbers to promote heavy infections in P. orientalis and thus comprised a suitable laboratory model for xenodiagnoses of L. donovani. Parasites persisted in the inoculation site and were found transmissible for months to sand flies biting on the same site.

• MeSH
• Leishmania donovani izolace a purifikace   MeSH
• leishmanióza viscerální diagnóza   parazitologie   přenos   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• myši inbrední BALB C MeSH
• myši MeSH
• Phlebotomus parazitologie   MeSH
• xenodiagnóza metody   MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• myši MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH

BACKGROUND: Francisella tularensis is a biological agent exploitable for bioterrorism and biological warfare purposes due to serious pathogenic progression and easy dissemination. Despite intensive research in the past, some adverse consequences remain unclear. One consequence of this pathogen is oxidative stress. AIMS: The aim of this study was to undertake ex vivo assays for monitoring the disease in mice and increase our knowledge of the oxidative stress induced by tularemia. METHODS: The mouse BALB/c model was chosen and the animals were infected by a dose 10(4) CFU of F. tularensis. After five days, the animals were euthanized. Blood immediately processed in plasma, spleen and liver were sampled from the cadavers. Oxidative stress markers, cytokines and histopathological were undertaken. RESULTS: There was a significant link between oxidative stress and tularemia. Particularly elevated levels of malondialdehyde and decreased levels of low molecular weight antioxidants were found in the liver and spleen of tularemia-infected animals. The histopathological findings correlated well with the oxidative stress markers. The liver and spleen were proven to be significantly at risk from the disease and an association between stress and neutrophils in the affected organs was found. The histopathology excluded risk to other organs such as the kidney and or heart. CONCLUSIONS: Oxidative stress plays a significant role in tularemia infection in mice and this was confirmed by the histology.

• MeSH
• antioxidancia metabolismus   MeSH
• cytokiny metabolismus   MeSH
• Francisella tularensis MeSH
• játra metabolismus   patologie   MeSH
• modely nemocí na zvířatech MeSH
• myši inbrední BALB C MeSH
• myši MeSH
• oxidační stres fyziologie   MeSH
• slezina metabolismus   patologie   MeSH
• tularemie metabolismus   patologie   patofyziologie   MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• myši MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

Mice are used most often as a model for human toxocariasis caused by Toxocara canis larvae. Variety of symptoms developing during the infection reflects behaviour of the larvae, which are able to escape from the intestine and further invade and damage various host organs. In order to find an approach enabling observation on parasite behaviour in mouse in vivo, we used an epifluorescence method and a small animal imaging system (SAIS). Larvae of T. canis were labelled by carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester (CFSE) which incorporated on the parasite gastrointestinal tract. Following infection of BALB/c mice by CFSE-labelled larvae it has been observed that staining had no influence on viability and further migratory activity of the parasites through the host organs (the intestine, liver, lungs and brain) where they were detected by SAIS until day 17 p.i. In addition, the dye did not affect larval antigenic activity as well as the development of related immune response. Imaging of parasites labelled by CFSE, therefore, may represent a promising way to study behaviour of T. canis larvae in a paratenic host.

• MeSH
• anatomické struktury zvířat parazitologie   MeSH
• barvení a značení MeSH
• časové faktory MeSH
• fluoresceiny metabolismus   MeSH
• fluorescenční barviva metabolismus   MeSH
• modely nemocí na zvířatech MeSH
• myši inbrední BALB C MeSH
• myši MeSH
• nemoci hlodavců parazitologie   MeSH
• sukcinimidy metabolismus   MeSH
• Toxocara canis růst a vývoj   izolace a purifikace   patogenita   MeSH
• toxokaróza parazitologie   MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• myši MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH

BACKGROUND: Phlebotomine sand flies are blood-sucking insects transmitting Leishmania parasites. In bitten hosts, sand fly saliva elicits specific immune response and the humoral immunity was shown to reflect the intensity of sand fly exposure. Thus, anti-saliva antibodies were suggested as the potential risk marker of Leishmania transmission. In this study, we examined the long-term kinetics and persistence of anti-Phlebotomus papatasi saliva antibody response in BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice. We also tested the reactivity of mice sera with P. papatasi salivary antigens and with the recombinant proteins. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Sera of BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice experimentally bitten by Phlebotomus papatasi were tested by ELISA for the presence of anti-saliva IgE, IgG and its subclasses. We detected a significant increase of specific IgG and IgG1 in both mice strains and IgG2b in BALB/c mice that positively correlated with the number of blood-fed P. papatasi females. Using western blot and mass spectrometry we identified the major P. papatasi antigens as Yellow-related proteins, D7-related proteins, antigen 5-related proteins and SP-15-like proteins. We therefore tested the reactivity of mice sera with four P. papatasi recombinant proteins coding for most of these potential antigens (PpSP44, PpSP42, PpSP30, and PpSP28). Each mouse serum reacted with at least one of the recombinant protein tested, although none of the recombinant proteins were recognized by all sera. CONCLUSIONS: Our data confirmed the concept of using anti-sand fly saliva antibodies as a marker of sand fly exposure in Phlebotomus papatasi-mice model. As screening of specific antibodies is limited by the availability of salivary gland homogenate, utilization of recombinant proteins in such studies would be beneficial. Our present work demonstrates the feasibility of this implementation. A combination of recombinant salivary proteins is recommended for evaluation of intensity of sand fly exposure in endemic areas and for estimation of risk of Leishmania transmission.

• MeSH
• časové faktory MeSH
• ELISA MeSH
• hmyzí proteiny imunologie   MeSH
• imunoglobulin E krev   MeSH
• imunoglobulin G krev   MeSH
• myši inbrední BALB C MeSH
• myši inbrední C57BL MeSH
• myši MeSH
• Phlebotomus imunologie   MeSH
• slinné proteiny a peptidy imunologie   MeSH
• tvorba protilátek MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• myši MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH

HI-6 is used as an antidote to nerve agents. It can also act as an antagonist to acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) including the nicotinic receptor, α 7 nAChR which is involved in regulating the immune response through macrophages. This experiment investigated the efficacy of HI-6 to regulate the immune response. Laboratory BALB/c mice received HI-6 and/or keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) as an antigen. Antibody production was investigated after either 21 or 65 days when either single or repeated dose of antigen was applied. We confirmed that HI-6 significantly improved vaccination efficacy when KLH was given in a dose of 1mg/kg. The effect was dose dependent. A combination of HI-6 and KLH produced a vaccination of almost the same efficacy as that for Freund's complete adjuvant. The findings point at the suitability of HI-6 for improving vaccination efficacy at the level of immunity regulation by the nervous system.

• MeSH
• adjuvancia imunologická farmakologie   MeSH
• antidota farmakologie   MeSH
• ELISA MeSH
• Freundovo adjuvans MeSH
• hemokyanin imunologie   MeSH
• imunita účinky léků   MeSH
• imunizace * MeSH
• interleukin-6 analýza   biosyntéza   MeSH
• myši inbrední BALB C MeSH
• myši MeSH
• oximy farmakologie   MeSH
• protilátky analýza   MeSH
• pyridinové sloučeniny farmakologie   MeSH
• rovnováha Th1-Th2 účinky léků   MeSH
• tvorba protilátek účinky léků   MeSH
• vztah mezi dávkou a účinkem léčiva MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• myši MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH

• Publikační typ
• abstrakt z konference MeSH