Comparison of Immune Responses and Pathological Changes in Balb/C and C57bl/6 Mice Infected with Angiostrongylus Cantonensis after Chemotherapeutic Treatments

Human is a non-permissive host of Angiostrongylus cantonensis. After infection, a series of sever clinical manifestations and pathological changes. However, it shows variations in host susceptibilities and clinical findings. Moreover, information on the pathogenesis induced by this parasite is not abundant and there is no suitable chemotherapeutic strategy has been defined. Knowledge on immune responses and pathological changes in the host after administration of chemotherapeutic agent(s) is also very limited. In order to shed light on these aspects, the principal investigator designed this investigation to pinpoint on immune responses and pathological changes in two mouse models (C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice) to clarify the post-treatment changes in different hosts caused by various chemotherapeutic strategies. This study is three-year project. In the first years, susceptibilities of A. cantonensis infection to C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice, worm recovery rates, and growth patterns (measurement of worm lengths) are determined. In addition, levels of factors related to inflammation and specific antibodies at different time points post-infection are compared by protein array and ELISA, respectively. Evaluation of the chemotherapeutic strategies is carried out in the second and third years. In the second year, each infected animal is administered albendazole alone, dexamethasone alone, or the combination of albendazole and dexamethasone. The treated mice are sacrificed two weeks later. Serum specimens are collected and analyzed by protein array and ELISA. The results are compared to those obtained in the first year as a target. The third year stresses on the pathological changes after applying the same chemotherapeutic strategies. Brains are collected at different time points. Changes in each brain sections are determined by histopathological examined. Based on these results, it is possible to define the most suitable chemotherapeutic strategy and the optimal drug administration time against A. cantonensis infection. Moreover, the results also provide new insights in the understanding of mechanism in host responses at the tissue and molecular levels after chemotherapy.

Project ID:PC10701-0287
External Project ID:MOST105-2320-B182-028-MY3