Pancreatic Pathological Changes in Murine Toxoplasmosis and Possible Association with Diabetes Mellitus
Background: Previous studies have reported involvement of <i>Toxoplasma gondii</i> (<i>T. gondii)</i> infections in the pathogenesis of some autoimmune diseases, such as polymyositis, rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune thyroiditis, and Crohn’s disease. However, data on the asso...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Biomedicines |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/11/1/18 |
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| author | Asmaa M. El-kady Amal M. Alzahrani Hayam Elshazly Eman Abdullah Alshehri Majed H. Wakid Hattan S. Gattan Wafa Abdullah I. Al-Megrin Mashael S. Alfaifi Khalil Mohamed Waheeb Alharbi Hatem A. Elshabrawy Salwa S. Younis |
| author_facet | Asmaa M. El-kady Amal M. Alzahrani Hayam Elshazly Eman Abdullah Alshehri Majed H. Wakid Hattan S. Gattan Wafa Abdullah I. Al-Megrin Mashael S. Alfaifi Khalil Mohamed Waheeb Alharbi Hatem A. Elshabrawy Salwa S. Younis |
| author_sort | Asmaa M. El-kady |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Previous studies have reported involvement of <i>Toxoplasma gondii</i> (<i>T. gondii)</i> infections in the pathogenesis of some autoimmune diseases, such as polymyositis, rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune thyroiditis, and Crohn’s disease. However, data on the association between <i>T. gondii</i> infections and Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) are still controversial. Therefore, in the present study, we aimed to investigate the pancreatic pathological changes in mouse models with acute and chronic toxoplasmosis and their association with T1DM. Materials and Methods: Three groups (10 mice each) of male Swiss Albino mice were used. One group of mice was left uninfected, whereas the second and third groups were infected with the acute virulent <i>T. gondii</i> RH strain and the chronic less virulent Me49 <i>T. gondii</i> strain, respectively. <i>T. gondii</i>-induced pancreatic pathological changes were evaluated by histopathological examination of pancreatic tissues. Moreover, the expression of insulin, levels of caspase-3, and the pancreatic infiltration of CD8<sup>+</sup> T cells were evaluated using immunohistochemical staining. Results: Pancreatic tissues of <i>T. gondii</i>-infected animals showed significant pathological alterations and variable degrees of insulitis. Mice with acute toxoplasmosis exhibited marked enlargement and reduced numbers of islets of Langerhans. However, mice with chronic toxoplasmosis showed considerable reduction in size and number of islets of Langerhans. Moreover, insulin staining revealed significant reduction in β cell numbers, whereas caspase-3 staining showed induced apoptosis in islets of Langerhans of acute toxoplasmosis and chronic toxoplasmosis mice compared to uninfected mice. We detected infiltration of CD8<sup>+</sup> T cells only in islets of Langerhans of mice with chronic toxoplasmosis. Conclusions: Acute and chronic toxoplasmosis mice displayed marked pancreatic pathological changes with reduced numbers of islets of Langerhans and insulin-producing-β cells. Since damage of β cells of islets of Langerhans is associated with the development of T1DM, our findings may support a link between <i>T. gondii</i> infections and the development of T1DM. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T13:31:37Z |
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| id | doaj.art-e23d00d467684b2fbf0c747b964f5979 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9059 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T13:31:37Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
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| series | Biomedicines |
| spelling | doaj.art-e23d00d467684b2fbf0c747b964f59792023-11-30T21:18:14ZengMDPI AGBiomedicines2227-90592022-12-011111810.3390/biomedicines11010018Pancreatic Pathological Changes in Murine Toxoplasmosis and Possible Association with Diabetes MellitusAsmaa M. El-kady0Amal M. Alzahrani1Hayam Elshazly2Eman Abdullah Alshehri3Majed H. Wakid4Hattan S. Gattan5Wafa Abdullah I. Al-Megrin6Mashael S. Alfaifi7Khalil Mohamed8Waheeb Alharbi9Hatem A. Elshabrawy10Salwa S. Younis11Department of Medical Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, South Valley University, Qena 83523, EgyptDepartment of Biology, Faculty of Sciences & Arts in Almandaq, Al Baha University, Al Baha 65779, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Biology, Faculty of Sciences-Scientific Departments, Qassim University, Buraidah 52571, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Zoology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11362, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Medical Laboratory Technology, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Medical Laboratory Technology, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Biology, College of Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Epidemiology, Faculty of Public Health and Health Informatics, Umm Al-Qura University, Mecca 21961, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Epidemiology, Faculty of Public Health and Health Informatics, Umm Al-Qura University, Mecca 21961, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Mecca 21961, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Molecular and Cellular Biology, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Sam Houston State University, Conroe, TX 77304, USADepartments of Medical Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21131, EgyptBackground: Previous studies have reported involvement of <i>Toxoplasma gondii</i> (<i>T. gondii)</i> infections in the pathogenesis of some autoimmune diseases, such as polymyositis, rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune thyroiditis, and Crohn’s disease. However, data on the association between <i>T. gondii</i> infections and Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) are still controversial. Therefore, in the present study, we aimed to investigate the pancreatic pathological changes in mouse models with acute and chronic toxoplasmosis and their association with T1DM. Materials and Methods: Three groups (10 mice each) of male Swiss Albino mice were used. One group of mice was left uninfected, whereas the second and third groups were infected with the acute virulent <i>T. gondii</i> RH strain and the chronic less virulent Me49 <i>T. gondii</i> strain, respectively. <i>T. gondii</i>-induced pancreatic pathological changes were evaluated by histopathological examination of pancreatic tissues. Moreover, the expression of insulin, levels of caspase-3, and the pancreatic infiltration of CD8<sup>+</sup> T cells were evaluated using immunohistochemical staining. Results: Pancreatic tissues of <i>T. gondii</i>-infected animals showed significant pathological alterations and variable degrees of insulitis. Mice with acute toxoplasmosis exhibited marked enlargement and reduced numbers of islets of Langerhans. However, mice with chronic toxoplasmosis showed considerable reduction in size and number of islets of Langerhans. Moreover, insulin staining revealed significant reduction in β cell numbers, whereas caspase-3 staining showed induced apoptosis in islets of Langerhans of acute toxoplasmosis and chronic toxoplasmosis mice compared to uninfected mice. We detected infiltration of CD8<sup>+</sup> T cells only in islets of Langerhans of mice with chronic toxoplasmosis. Conclusions: Acute and chronic toxoplasmosis mice displayed marked pancreatic pathological changes with reduced numbers of islets of Langerhans and insulin-producing-β cells. Since damage of β cells of islets of Langerhans is associated with the development of T1DM, our findings may support a link between <i>T. gondii</i> infections and the development of T1DM.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/11/1/18<i>Toxoplasma gondii</i>caspase-3apoptosisCD8insulinislets of Langerhans |
| spellingShingle | Asmaa M. El-kady Amal M. Alzahrani Hayam Elshazly Eman Abdullah Alshehri Majed H. Wakid Hattan S. Gattan Wafa Abdullah I. Al-Megrin Mashael S. Alfaifi Khalil Mohamed Waheeb Alharbi Hatem A. Elshabrawy Salwa S. Younis Pancreatic Pathological Changes in Murine Toxoplasmosis and Possible Association with Diabetes Mellitus Biomedicines <i>Toxoplasma gondii</i> caspase-3 apoptosis CD8 insulin islets of Langerhans |
| title | Pancreatic Pathological Changes in Murine Toxoplasmosis and Possible Association with Diabetes Mellitus |
| title_full | Pancreatic Pathological Changes in Murine Toxoplasmosis and Possible Association with Diabetes Mellitus |
| title_fullStr | Pancreatic Pathological Changes in Murine Toxoplasmosis and Possible Association with Diabetes Mellitus |
| title_full_unstemmed | Pancreatic Pathological Changes in Murine Toxoplasmosis and Possible Association with Diabetes Mellitus |
| title_short | Pancreatic Pathological Changes in Murine Toxoplasmosis and Possible Association with Diabetes Mellitus |
| title_sort | pancreatic pathological changes in murine toxoplasmosis and possible association with diabetes mellitus |
| topic | <i>Toxoplasma gondii</i> caspase-3 apoptosis CD8 insulin islets of Langerhans |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/11/1/18 |
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