Plasmodium falciparum glycosylphosphatidylinositol induces limited apoptosis in liver and spleen mouse tissue.
Plasmodium falciparum malaria affects about 500 million people worldwide and is responsible for approximately 2.5 million deaths per year. Glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) is the major anchor for membrane-associated proteins of P. falciparum and GPI plays a major role as a toxin in the pathology of malaria. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that GPI, like LPS, induces apoptosis in vitro and in vital organs of mice. Our data does not provide evidence for direct cardiomyocyte apoptosis induced by GPI in vitro. However, in vivo injection of GPI induced limited apoptosis in mouse liver and spleen tissue. Apoptosis may be due to a direct GPI apoptotic effect or to an indirect effect via the induction of TNFalpha and nitric oxide production.
Wichmann
Dominic
D
Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Clinical Research Unit, Bernhard-Nocht-Str. 74, 20359 Hamburg, Germany. wichmann@bni-hamburg.de
Schwarz
Ralph T
RT
Ruppert
Volker
V
Ehrhardt
Stephan
S
Cramer
Jakob P
JP
Burchard
Gerd D
GD
Maisch
Bernhard
B
Debierre-Grockiego
Françoise
F
D000818:Animals; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D017261:Glycosylphosphatidylinositols / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008099:Liver / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects*; D051379:Mice; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000737:chemistry*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects*
D000953:Antigens, Protozoan; D017261:Glycosylphosphatidylinositols