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Evaluating experimental cerebral malaria using oxidative stress indicator OKD48 mice.
Takashi Imai1, Takao Iwawaki2, Ryoko Akai2
1Department of Parasitology, Graduate School of Medicine, Gunma University, Gunma 371-8511, Japan.
International Journal for Parasitology
|July 5, 2014
Summary
Researchers developed a new method to evaluate experimental cerebral malaria using OKD48 mice, which detect oxidative stress in the brain. This novel approach aids in understanding and managing this severe malaria complication.
Area of Science:
- * Neuroscience
- * Infectious Diseases
- * Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- * Cerebral malaria is a life-threatening complication of malaria, posing significant challenges in research due to limitations in current evaluation methods.
- * Assessing experimental cerebral malaria often involves invasive or indirect techniques, hindering real-time monitoring and detailed study.
- * Oxidative stress is implicated in the pathogenesis of cerebral malaria, but its direct, in vivo detection has been difficult.
Purpose of the Study:
- * To develop and validate a novel, non-invasive method for evaluating experimental cerebral malaria.
- * To utilize a genetically engineered mouse model (OKD48) for real-time detection of oxidative stress in the brain during experimental cerebral malaria.
- * To establish a correlation between oxidative stress levels and the development of experimental cerebral malaria.
Main Methods:
- * Development of OKD48 (Keap1-dependent Oxidative stress Detector, No-48-luciferase) mice for visualizing oxidative stress.
- * Infection of OKD48 mice with Plasmodium berghei ANKA strain (PbA) to induce experimental cerebral malaria.
- * Monitoring of bioluminescence in the brains of living mice to quantify oxidative stress.
- * Comparison of oxidative stress levels in infected mice with and without experimental cerebral malaria development.
Main Results:
- * OKD48 mice successfully developed experimental cerebral malaria upon infection with PbA.
- * Bioluminescence, indicating oxidative stress, was successfully detected in the brains of living OKD48 mice with experimental cerebral malaria.
- * The detected oxidative stress was directly dependent on the progression of experimental cerebral malaria, as evidenced by its absence when cerebral malaria was prevented.
- * The intensity of oxidative stress correlated with the severity of experimental cerebral malaria.
Conclusions:
- * The OKD48 mouse model provides a novel and effective tool for evaluating experimental cerebral malaria by detecting brain oxidative stress.
- * This method allows for real-time, in vivo assessment of a key pathological feature of cerebral malaria.
- * The findings support the role of oxidative stress in cerebral malaria pathogenesis and offer a new avenue for therapeutic intervention studies.
