Species-specific inhibition of cerebral malaria in mice coinfected with Plasmodium spp.
Recent epidemiological observations suggest that clinical evolution of Plasmodium falciparum infections might be influenced by the concurrent presence of another Plasmodium species, and such mixed-species infections are now known to occur frequently in residents of most areas of endemicity. We used mice infected with P. berghei ANKA (PbA), a model for cerebral malaria (CM), to investigate the influence of experimental mixed-species infections on the expression of this pathology. Remarkably, the development of CM was completely inhibited by the simultaneous presence of P. yoelii yoelii but not that of P. vinckei or another line of P. berghei. In the protected coinfected mice, the accumulation of CD8(+) T cells in the brain vasculature, a pivotal step in CM pathogenesis, was found to be abolished. Protection from CM was further found to be associated with species-specific suppression of PbA multiplication. These observations establish the concept of mixed Plasmodium species infections as potential modulators of pathology and open novel avenues to investigate mechanisms implicated in the pathogenesis of malaria.
Voza
Tatiana
T
Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Equipe Parasitologie Comparée et Modèles Expérimentaux USM 307, CNRS IFR 101, CP52, 61 Rue Buffon, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France.
Vigário
Ana M
AM
Belnoue
Elodie
E
Grüner
Anne Charlotte
AC
Deschemin
Jean-Christophe
JC
Kayibanda
Michèle
M
Delmas
Florian
F
Janse
Chris J
CJ
Franke-Fayard
Blandine
B
Waters
Andrew P
AP
Landau
Irène
I
Snounou
Georges
G
Rénia
Laurent
L
D000818:Animals; D001769:Blood / Q000469:parasitology; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D016779:Malaria, Cerebral / Q000276:immunology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D051379:Mice; D010961:Plasmodium / Q000276:immunology*; D013045:Species Specificity; D013997:Time Factors