Title
Proliferative cells in racemose neurocysticercosis have an active MAPK signalling pathway and respond to metformin treatment
Date Issued
01 May 2022
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Publisher(s)
Elsevier Ltd
Abstract
Racemose neurocysticercosis is an aggressive infection caused by the aberrant expansion of the cyst form of Taenia solium within the subarachnoid spaces of the human brain and spinal cord, resulting in the displacement of the surrounding host tissue and chronic inflammation. We previously demonstrated that the continued growth of the racemose bladder wall is associated with the presence of mitotically active cells but the nature and control of these proliferative cells are not well understood. Here, we demonstrated by immunofluorescence that the racemose cyst has an active mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) signalling pathway that is inhibited after treatment with metformin, which reduces racemose cell proliferation in vitro, and reduces parasite growth in the murine model of Taenia crassiceps cysticercosis. Our findings indicate the importance of insulin receptor-mediated activation of the MAPK signalling pathway in the proliferation and growth of the bladder wall of the racemose cyst and its susceptibility to metformin action. The antiproliferative action of metformin may provide a new therapeutic approach against racemose neurocysticercosis.
Start page
377
End page
383
Volume
52
Issue
6
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Parasitología Neurología clínica
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85125360031
PubMed ID
Source
International Journal for Parasitology
ISSN of the container
00207519
Sponsor(s)
The authors would like to thank Drs. William Martinez, William Lines, Luis Saavedra, and Jose Calderon for their expertise and support. This work was supported by the National Council for Science, Technology, and Technological Innovation (CONCYTEC) Peru – World Bank, through its executing unit National Fund for the Development of Science, Technology, and Technological Innovation (FONDECYT) Peru contract [E033-01-08-2018-FONDECYT/Banco Mundial-Programas de Doctorado en Áreas Estratégicas y Generales; Fogarty International Center-National Institutes of Health Training grant D43 TW001140. The Cysticercosis Working Group in Peru: Hector H. Garcia, MD, PhD; Robert H. Gilman, MD, DTMH; Armando E. Gonzalez, DVM, PhD; Manuela Verastegui, PhD; Mirko Zimic, PhD; Javier Bustos, MD, MPH; Seth E. O'Neal, MD, MPH, and Victor C. W. Tsang, PhD (Coordination Board); Silvia Rodriguez, MSc; Isidro Gonzalez, MD; Herbert Saavedra, MD; Sofia Sanchez, MD, MSc, Manuel Martinez, MD (Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Neurologicas, Lima, Peru); Saul Santivanez, MD, PhD; Holger Mayta, PhD; Yesenia Castillo, MSc; Monica Pajuelo, PhD; Gianfranco Arroyo, DVM, MSc; Nancy Chile, MSc; Luz Toribio; Miguel Angel Orrego, MSc (Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru); Maria T. Lopez, DVM, PhD; Luis Gomez, DVM; Cesar M. Gavidia, DVM, PhD, Ana Vargas-Calla, DVM, Eloy Gonzales, DVM (School of Veterinary Medicine, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Peru); Luz M. Moyano, MD; Ricardo Gamboa, MSc; Claudio Muro; Percy Vichez, MSc (Cysticercosis Elimination Program, Tumbes, Perú); Sukwan Handali, MD; John Noh (Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, GA); Theodore E. Nash, MD (NIAID, NIH, Bethesda, MD); Jon Friedland (Imperial College, London, United Kingdom).
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus