title: Hyperbaric oxygen therapy reduces the size of Leishmania amazonensis-induced soft tissue lesions in mice.
abstract: In this study we determined whether exposing mice to hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) would alter various disease parameters of a susceptible mouse strain infected with Leishmania amazonensis. BALB/c mice exposed to HBO (100% O2 at a pressure of 2.5 ATA, 1h before parasite inoculation and subsequently for 20 days) showed significant delay in lesion development and reduction in lesion parasite burdens compared with HBO-unexposed mice. Circulating levels of interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-alpha) were significantly elevated in HBO-exposed as compared to HBO-unexposed mice. Concanavalin A-stimulated lymph nodes cultures from HBO-exposed mice released significantly more IFN-gamma and less interleukin 10 (IL-10) than cultures from HBO-unexposed mice, consistent with a skewed Th1 response. These results demonstrate, for the first time, that HBO can play a pathogen control role during leishmaniasis. Further studies are needed to elucidate whether hyperoxia alone or increased atmospheric pressure alone can exert a similar effect.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Caixa Postal 6109, CEP 13083-970, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Wagner Welber
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Arrais-Silva
authors.forename: Eduardo Fonseca
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: Pinto
authors.forename: Bartira
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rossi-Bergmann
authors.forename: Selma
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Giorgio
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D006651:Histocytochemistry; D006931:Hyperbaric Oxygenation / Q000379:methods*; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000097:blood; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000276:immunology; D007891:Leishmania / Q000254:growth & development*; D007896:Leishmaniasis / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D018461:Soft Tissue Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D016753:Interleukin-10; D007371:Interferon-gamma