Toll-like receptors in the brain of mice following infection with Acanthamoeba spp.

Agnieszka Wojtkowiak-Giera,Elżbieta Wandurska-Nowak,Agnieszka Kolasa-Wołosiuk,Piotr Solarczyk,Danuta Kosik-Bogacka,Paweł P Jagodziński,Edward Hadaś,Monika Derda

doi:10.1007/s00436-016-5217-9

Agnieszka Wojtkowiak-Giera, Elżbieta Wandurska-Nowak + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-016-5217-9

Copy DOI

Abstract

The Toll-like receptors (TLRs) of the innate immune system play an important role in the recognition of pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. In this study, we examined the changes in the level of expression of TLR2 and TLR4 mRNA and protein in the brains of mice infected with Acanthamoeba spp. The Acanthamoeba strains were isolated from a patient with Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) (Ac55) and Malta Lake (Ac43). In the brain isolated from mice at 2 days post-infection (dpi) with Acanthamoeba strains Ac55 and Ac43, mRNAs for TLR2 and TLR4 were significantly more strongly expressed in comparison with the uninfected mice. In Acanthamoeba-infected mice, TLR2 and TLR4 expression was detected in neurons, glial cells, and endothelial cells within the neocortex. These receptors showed more intense expression in ependymocytes of the choroid plexus of infected mice at 2 dpi. Increased levels of TLR2 and TLR4 mRNA expression in infected mice suggest the involvement of these TLRs in the recognition of Acanthamoeba spp. pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs).

Highlights

Acanthamoeba spp. are free-living amoebae (FLA) found in several natural habitats, including lakes, rivers, swimming pools, thermal baths, tap water, sewage, humid soils, and dust (Khan, 2006).Traditional taxonomy of Acanthamoeba has used morphological characteristics of cysts and trophozoites (Booton et al 2005)
This study showed that the levels of mRNA expression of Toll-like receptor (TLR2 and TLR4) genes in the control group were very similar (Figs. 1 and 2)
The most common microscopic changes in the brain include blood effusion resulting from damage to the capillary walls (Rucka 1974; Gieryng and Gieryng 1987; Górnik et al 2005)

Summary

Introduction

Acanthamoeba spp. are free-living amoebae (FLA) found in several natural habitats, including lakes, rivers, swimming pools, thermal baths, tap water, sewage, humid soils, and dust (Khan, 2006).Traditional taxonomy of Acanthamoeba has used morphological characteristics of cysts and trophozoites (Booton et al 2005). Acanthamoeba spp. are free-living amoebae (FLA) found in several natural habitats, including lakes, rivers, swimming pools, thermal baths, tap water, sewage, humid soils, and dust (Khan, 2006). Acanthamoeba spp. can infect humans and animals as opportunistic pathogens and cause severe diseases, including amebic Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK), a painful sightthreatening infection of the cornea, and granulomatous amebic encephalitis (GAE), a fatal disease of the central nervous system (CNS), in immunocompromised hosts (Martinez & Visvesvara, 1997; Visvesvara et al 2007). The intensity of symptoms and histological changes in the host may be a result of many factors including the immunocompetence of the host and the virulence of amoebae. Experimental studies have shown that the properties of pathogenic free-living amoebae and the intensity of histological changes in organs depend on the virulence of the strain (Rucka, 1974) and, on the other hand, the duration of infection

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion