18th International Mouse Genome Conference
17-22 October 2004, Seattle, USA
Plenary Presentations * Oral
Presentations * Poster
Abstracts * Photos
Verne Chapman Memorial Lecture * Table
of Contents * Attendees * Awards
POSTER 95 - MALARIA INDUCED PATHOLOGY OF TUMOUR NECROSIS FACTOR-Α DEFICIENT MICE AFTER INFECTION WITH PLASMODIUM CHABAUDI CHABAUDI 408XZ
Hernandez M 1, Naessens J 1, Musoke A 1, Rihet P 3, Ole-MoiYoi O 2, Iraqi F 1
1 International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Nairobi, Kenya, 2 Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology of Africa (IMCBA), Nairobi, Kenya, 3 Université de la Méditerranée, Marseille, France
Tumour necrosis factor-α, TNFa, plays a pleiotropic role during the murine malarial infection. It is involved in controlling the blood parasitaemia levels as well as the mortality rates of the host. Membrane-bound TNFa is involved in the most severe form of the disease, the cerebral malaria. Some studies have correlated TNFa with hypothermia, hyperlactataemia, hypoglycaemia and a suppression of the erythropoietic responses, although others have not supported the role of TNFa in the two latter clinical aspects. We have studied several parameters of pathology in TNFa-/-C57BL/6J and TNFa+/+C57BL/6J mice after infection with Plasmodium chabaudi adami 408XZ. Results have shown that blood glucose and lactate levels, and body weight are not significantly different between TNFa-/-C57BL/6J and TNFa+/+C57BL/6J mice during infection. However, TNFa-/-C57BL/6J mice significantly suffered a more severe anaemia and hypothermia than TNFa+/+C57BL/6J mice. In our model, it appears that TNFa is not involved in all the investigated aspects of the pathology of the malarial infection, although it affects negatively haemoglobin concentrations and body temperatures, essential parameters to overcome the disease. These results could explain the high mortality rates observed in TNFa-deficient mice and in mice treated with anti-TNFa antibodies.