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. 2015 Apr 28;21(16):4829-39.
doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i16.4829.

Toxoplasma gondii causes death and plastic alteration in the jejunal myenteric plexus

Eduardo José de Almeida Araújo  1 , Larissa Marchi Zaniolo  1 , Suellen Laís Vicentino  1 , Marcelo Biondaro Góis  1 , Jacqueline Nelisis Zanoni  1 , Aristeu Vieira da Silva  1 , Débora de Mello Gonçales Sant'Ana  1
Affiliations

Toxoplasma gondii causes death and plastic alteration in the jejunal myenteric plexus

Eduardo José de Almeida Araújo et al. World J Gastroenterol. .

Abstract

Aim: To assess the effects of ME-49 Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) strain infection on the myenteric plexus and external muscle of the jejunum in rats.

Methods: Thirty rats were distributed into two groups: the control group (CG) (n = 15) received 1 mL of saline solution orally, and the infected group (IG) (n = 15) inoculated with 1 mL of saline solution containing 500 oocysts of M-49 T. gondii strain orally. After 36 d of infection, the rats were euthanized. Infection with T. gondii was confirmed by blood samples collected from all rats at the beginning and end of the experiment. The jejunum of five animals was removed and submitted to routine histological processing (paraffin) for analysis of external muscle thickness. The remaining jejunum from the others animals was used to analyze the general population and the NADH-diaphorase, VIPergic and nitrergic subpopulations of myenteric neurons; and the enteric glial cells (S100-IR).

Results: Serological analysis showed that animals from the IG were infected with the parasite. Hypertrophy affecting jejunal muscle thickness was observed in the IG rats (77.02 ± 42.71) in relation to the CG (51.40 ± 12.34), P < 0.05. In addition, 31.2% of the total number of myenteric neurons died (CG: 39839.3 ± 5362.3; IG: 26766.6 ± 2177.6; P < 0.05); hyperplasia of nitrergic myenteric neurons was observed (CG: 7959.0 ± 1290.4; IG: 10893.0 ± 1156.3; P < 0.05); general hypertrophy of the cell body in the remaining myenteric neurons was noted [CG: 232.5 (187.2-286.0); IG: 248.2 (204.4-293.0); P < 0.05]; hypertrophy of the smallest varicosities containing VIP neurotransmitter was seen (CG: 0.46 ± 0.10; IG: 0.80 ± 0.16; P < 0.05) and a reduction of 25.3% in enteric glia cells (CG: 12.64 ± 1.27; IG: 10.09 ± 2.10; P < 0.05) was observed in the infected rats.

Conclusion: It was concluded that infection with oocysts of ME-49 T. gondii strain caused quantitative and plastic alterations in the myenteric plexus of the jejunum in rats.

Keywords: Enteric nervous system; Glial cells; Infectious diseases; Neuronal plasticity; Nitric oxide; Small intestine; Toxoplasmosis; Vasoactive intestinal peptide.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Photomicrograph of the myenteric ganglia in the jejunum of healthy (A, C and E) and infected rats (B, D and F); NADH-diaphorase (A and B); Giemsa (C and D). NOS-IR (E and F) showing the increase in the nitrergic myenteric neuron population in rats infected with oocysts of the ME-49 genotype II (F) strain of Toxoplasma gondii.
Figure 2
Figure 2
External muscle layer thickness of the jejunal wall of healthy (A) and infected rats (B) with the ME-49 genotype II strain of Toxoplasma gondii, colored by the HE histological technique.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Photomicrographs of the VIPergic fibers (A and B) and enteric glial cells (C and D) in the jejunal myenteric plexus of healthy (A and C) and infected (B and D) rats with the ME-49 genotype II strain of Toxoplasma gondii.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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