Nogo-A expression in the brain of mice with cerebral malaria

Cerebral malaria (CM) is associated with a high rate of transient or persistent neurological sequelae. Nogo-A, a protein that is highly expressed in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of the mammalian central nervous system (CNS), is involved in neuronal regeneration and synaptic plasticity in the injured CNS. The current study investigates the role of Nogo-A in the course of experimental CM. C57BL/6J mice were infected with Plasmodium berghei ANKA blood stages. Brain homogenates of mice with different clinical severity levels of CM, infected animals without CM and control animals were analyzed for Nogo-A up-regulation by Western blotting and immunohistochemistry. Brain regions with Nogo-A upregulation were evaluated by transmission electron microscopy. Densitometric analysis of Western blots yielded a statistically significant upregulation of Nogo-A in mice showing moderate to severe CM. The number of neurons and oligodendrocytes positive for Nogo-A did not differ significantly between the studied groups. However, mice with severe CM showed a significantly higher number of cells with intense Nogo-A staining in the brain stem. In this region ultrastructural alterations of the ER were regularly observed. Nogo-A is upregulated during the early course of experimental CM. In the brain stem of severely affected animals increased Nogo-A expression and ultrastructural changes of the ER were observed. These data indicate a role of Nogo-A in neuronal stress response during experimental CM.