Minocycline impedes African trypanosome invasion of the brain in a murine model.

ABSTRACT: Passage of Trypanosoma brucei across the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a hallmark of late-stage human African trypanosomiasis. In the present study we found that daily administration of minocycline, a tetracycline antibiotic, impedes the penetration of leukocytes and trypanosomes into the brain parenchyma of T. brucei brucei-infected C57BL/6 mice. The trypanosome-induced astrocytic and microglial reactions were reduced in the minocycline-treated mice, as were the levels in the brain of transcripts encoding adhesion molecules intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) and endothelial-leukocyte adhesion molecule 1 (E-selectin); the inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin-1alpha (IL-1alpha), IL-1beta, IL-6, and gamma interferon; and matrix metalloprotease 3 (MMP-3), MMP

SUBMITTER: Masocha W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1472198 | biostudies-literature | 2006 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature