Plasmodium chabaudi AS induces pregnancy loss in association with systemic pro-inflammatory immune responses in A/J and C57BL/6 mice.

ABSTRACT: The molecular mechanisms that underlie poor birth outcomes in malaria during pregnancy remain poorly defined. To assess the role of host immune responses, mice known to respond differentially to Plasmodium chabaudi AS infection were studied. Following infection at day 0 of pregnancy, A/J mice developed significantly higher parasitemia than C57BL/6 (B6) mice and succumbed to infection. Both strains had evidence of parasite accumulation in the placenta at mid-gestation and aborted, with significantly higher embryo loss in infected A/J mice on day 9. While infection-induced systemic tumour necrosis factor (TNF) and interleukin (IL)-1β in the latter were significantly higher at day 11, day 10 IL-10 levels were higher in B6 mice. No differences in the levels of splenic lymphocyte subsets, neutr

SUBMITTER: Sarr D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3296870 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature