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Toxoplasma gondii Infection Promotes Neuroinflammation Through Cytokine Networks and Induced Hyperalgesia in BALB/c Mice

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Abstract

We hypothesized that in Toxoplasma gondii infection, communication among immune cells promotes neuroinflammation through cytokine networks and induces pain sensitivity under conditions of neuropathic pain. The animal model of Toxoplasma infection was established by the intraperitoneal inoculation of 20–25 tissue cysts from Tehran strain of T. gondii to BALB/c mice. Amitriptyline (20 mg/kg, i.p., 1/day) administrated to animals for 7 days before behavioral tests. Pain behavioral tests including tail flick, hot plate, and formalin test were evaluated in all the groups. The mRNA levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, and IL-6 were examined by real-time PCR. Results revealed that T. gondii induce hyperalgesia in the infected mice, whereas amitriptyline showed a promising effect against the hyperalgesia induced by Toxoplasma infection. The mRNA levels of the aforementioned cytokines significantly (P < 0.05) increased in the infected mice compared to the uninfected ones. Obtained findings suggested that T. gondii infection could promote neuroinflammation through cytokine networks and induced hyperalgesia in BALB/c mice, whereas amitriptyline as an analgesic drug reverses them.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Dr. Saedi Dezaki and Mr. Ali Reza Keyhani for performance of the molecular analysis.

Compliance with Ethical Standards

This study was carried out in strict accordance with the recommendations in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals of the National Institutes of Health. The protocol was approved by the Committee on the Ethics of Animal Experiments of the Kerman University of Medical Science (permit number: 1508). Moreover, all efforts were made to minimize suffering.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Center for Tropical and Infectious Diseases, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran

    Hossein Mahmoudvand & Naser Ziaali

  2. Neuroscience Research Center, Neuropharmacology Institute, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran

    Hamed Ghazvini, Khadijeh Esmaeilpour & Vahid Sheibani

  3. Department of Medical Parasitology & Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Saeideh Shojaee & Hossein Keshavarz

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  1. Hossein Mahmoudvand
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Correspondence to Vahid Sheibani.

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Mahmoudvand, H., Ziaali, N., Ghazvini, H. et al. Toxoplasma gondii Infection Promotes Neuroinflammation Through Cytokine Networks and Induced Hyperalgesia in BALB/c Mice. Inflammation 39, 405–412 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10753-015-0262-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10753-015-0262-6

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