title: The possible association between Toxoplasma gondii infection and risk of anxiety and cognitive disorders in BALB/c mice.
abstract: There are conflicting reports concerning the association of Toxoplasma gondii infection with increased risk of mental disorders. This investigation will provide a good understanding about defining the possible association between T. gondii exposure and risk of anxiety and cognitive alterations. Besides, a secondary objective of this study was to determine the effect of pioglitazone administration on the possible alterations induced by T. gondii exposure. Male BALB/c mice were used for this study. The animal model of Toxoplasma infection was established by the intraperitoneal inoculation of 20-25 tissue cysts from Tehran strain of T. gondii. Pioglitazone (20 mg/kg, i.p.1/day) was administered to the animals for 2 weeks before behavioural tests. Behavioural tests including open-field, elevated plus-maze and passive avoidance learning were evaluated in the groups. Since cytokines were implicated as a contributing factor for mood disorders, the mRNA levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 as well as inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOs) were examined by real-time PCR. Findings demonstrated that T. gondii caused anxiety-like symptoms and impaired cognitive functions of the infected BALB/c mice, whereas pioglitazone, a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor agonist, showed a promising effect against the cognitive impairments induced by Toxoplasma infection. The results also revealed that the mRNA levels of the aforementioned cytokines were significantly (p < 0.05) increased in the infected mice compared to the uninfected BALB/c ones. Pioglitazone can be offered as a potential neuroprotective agent in the treatment of patients with T. gondii infection that manifests anxiety and cognitive impairments; however, further studies are needed to clarify the exact mechanisms.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences , Khorramabad, Iran.
authors.forename: Hossein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mahmoudvand
authors.forename: Naser
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ziaali
authors.forename: Iraj
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Aghaei
authors.forename: Vahid
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sheibani
authors.forename: Saeideh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shojaee
authors.forename: Hossein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Keshavarz
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shabani
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001007:Anxiety / Q000209:etiology / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000523:psychology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D003071:Cognition; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D053583:Interleukin-1beta / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000502:physiology*; D014123:Toxoplasmosis / Q000150:complications* / Q000235:genetics / Q000469:parasitology / Q000523:psychology; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D053583:Interleukin-1beta; D015850:Interleukin-6; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
keywords: Anxiety; Cognitive function; Cytokine; Learning; Pioglitazone; Toxoplasma gondii