Experimental cerebral malaria: possible new mechanisms in the TNF-induced microvascular pathology

GE Grau, JN Lou - Sozial-und Präventivmedizin, 1995 - Springer
GE Grau, JN Lou
Sozial-und Präventivmedizin, 1995Springer
In order to contribute to the prevention of malaria morbidity and mortality, especially in
endemic zones, we have carried out a series of studies on cytokine interactions in an
experimental model of cerebral malaria (CM). This rapidly lethal syndrome develops, in
some strains of mice, upon infection with Plasmodium berghei ANKA (PbA). A crucial
mediator of neurovascular lesions appears to be TNF, found in high amounts in relation with
cerebral complications, in both experimental and human CM 1. In experimental CM, in vivo …
Summary
In order to contribute to the prevention of malaria morbidity and mortality, especially in endemic zones, we have carried out a series of studies on cytokine interactions in an experimental model of cerebral malaria (CM). This rapidly lethal syndrome develops, in some strains of mice, upon infection with Plasmodium berghei ANKA (PbA). A crucial mediator of neurovascular lesions appears to be TNF, found in high amounts in relation with cerebral complications, in both experimental and human CM1. In experimental CM, in vivo injections of anti-cytokine antibodies have been used to analyze the cascade of reactions leading to brain vascular damage1. In this review, we fill focus on the interplay of cytokines responsible for TNF overproduction in experimental malaria, therefore delineating the subset of T cells whose activation can lead to pathology, and effector mechanisms of neurovascular lesions characteristic of mouse cerebral malaria, with recent findings that appear to involve an unexpected cell type, the blood platelet.
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