Experimental infection of immunocompetent and immunodeficient mice with Encephalitozoon cuniculi
2001
Salat, J. | Braunfuchsova, P. | Kopecky, J. (Akademie Ved, Ceske Budejovice (Czech Republic). Parazitologicky Ustav)
An experimental infection with Encephalitozoon cuniculi was studied using a model of immunocompetent BALB/c mice and immunodeficient SCID mice. The course of infection after intraperitoneal inoculation of E. cuniculi spores was evaluated using the presence of spores in peritoneal macrophages as a criterion. First significant decrease in the proportion of infected cells was recorded on day 9 post infection (p.i.) in BALB/c mice. From day 14 p.i. nos spores were observed in macrophages from BALB/c mice, while the number of infected macrophages from SCID mice increased until the death of the mice. While in BALB/c mice natural killer (NK) cell activity of splenocytes peaked on days 9 and 14 p.i., in SCID mice the marked increase of NK activity was recorded close before death of mice, on day 21 p.i. in correlation with the production of IFN-gama. Production of specific antibodies was demonstrated from day 9 p.i. in sera from BALB/c mice. It is concluded that intraperitoneal infection of SCID mice with spores of E. cuniculi results in the market increase in the number of peritoneal exudate cells and in the percentage of infected cells close before death of mice. Neither high activity of NK cells nor increase production of IFN-gama are sufficient for the recovery of SCID mice from an E. cuniculi infection.
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