It has been suggested that the parasite Toxoplasma gondii reduces the fear of rodents toward their feline predators, which may lead to an augmented rate of predation and multiplication of the parasite through an increased number of life cycles. To investigate whether T. gondii infection induces selective effects on behavior associated with anxiety, Wistar rats were inoculated i.p. with several doses of T. gondii tachyzoites and tested in two animal tests of anxiety. In the third week following inoculation, rats infected with 100 and 1000 tachyzoites increased plus-maze open arm exploration in a dose-related manner. However, no effect was detected in either social interaction levels or motor activity measures. In the seventh week after inoculation, rats infected with 100 and 1000 tachyzoites showed increased open arm exploration and social investigation without change on any motor activity measures. However, rats infected with a higher dose (1500 tachyzoites) showed a drop in locomotion. These data support the hypothesis that T. gondii impairs mechanism of warning as a function of reduced anxiety. The pattern of brain colonization by the parasite and the host immune response suggests that the predominant invasion to limbic areas works as a natural anxiolytic mechanism.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2006.11.012 | DOI Listing |
Brain Res
December 2024
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Neurociências, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil; Departamento de Ciências Morfológicas, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
Congenital Zika Syndrome (CZS) is a condition that arises when a neonate presents with abnormalities resulting from Zika virus infection during gestation. While microcephaly is a prominent feature of the syndrome, other forms of brain damage are also observed, often accompanied by significant neurological complications. It is therefore essential to investigate the long-term effects of CZS, with special attention to sex differences, particularly concerning hippocampal function, given its vulnerability to viral infections.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPediatr Surg Int
December 2024
Division of Pediatric Surgery, Department of Surgery, Max Rady College of Medicine, University of Manitoba, and Children's Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba, AE402-820 Sherbrook Street, Winnipeg, MB, R3A 1S1, Canada.
Purpose: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are stable, non-coding RNAs with tissue- and developmental-specific expression making them suitable biomarkers for congenital anomalies. Current circRNA discovery pipelines have focused on human and mouse. We aim to bridge this gap by combining bioinformatics resources and used circtial1 as a model candidate in the nitrofen rat model of congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFParasit Vectors
December 2024
Department of Evolution, Ecology and Behaviour, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 7ZB, UK.
Background: Strongyloides nematodes are livestock parasites, and Strongyloides papillosus infecting ruminant livestock can cause disease. Recent genomic analysis of several Strongyloides species is now facilitating population genomic analyses of natural Strongyloides infections, for example finding that Strongyloides ratti in wild UK rats exists as an assemblage of long-lived, asexual lineages.
Methods: Here we have initiated an investigation into the population genomics of S.
Mol Med Rep
February 2025
Department of Forensic Sciences and Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion, Greece.
The present study investigated the impact of boric acid (BA) and borax (BX) on markers of inflammation and modifications in miR‑21/PTEN/AKT pathway genes in the liver and kidney tissues of Sprague Dawley male rats with sepsis induced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). A total of 60 male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into 6 groups, each containing 10 animals as follows: Control, CLP (where the model was created), 20 mg/kg BX (CLP + BX1), 40 mg/kg BX (CLP + BX2), 20 mg/kg BA (CLP + BA1) and 40 mg/kg BA (CLP + BA2). Liver and kidney tissues were analyzed for histopathological changes, immunopositivity for tumor necrosis factor‑α, interleukin (IL)‑6 and IL‑10, and gene expression of microRNA‑21 (miR‑21), phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) and AKT.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiomater Sci
December 2024
Medical Research center, the Eighth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen 518033, China.
Acute severe trauma is often associated with rapid blood loss and a high risk of infection. Based on these concerns, this study successfully constructed a multifunctional dual-layer bioactive sponge PCCT with rapid hemostatic and infection-preventing ability. Its external surface is an electrospun poly(lactic acid) (PLA) nanofiber thin film layer, which ensures its high air permeability and effectively protects against external bacterial invasion.
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