1. Immune responsiveness associated with experimental Encephalitozoon intestinalis infection in immunocompetent rats.
- Author
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Omalu IC, Duhlinska DD, Anyanwu GI, Pam VA, and Inyama PU
- Subjects
- Animals, Antibodies, Fungal blood, CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes immunology, Encephalitozoonosis blood, Encephalitozoonosis microbiology, Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, Feces microbiology, Female, Immunoglobulin G blood, Intestinal Mucosa immunology, Intestinal Mucosa microbiology, Male, Rats, T-Lymphocytes immunology, Encephalitozoon immunology, Encephalitozoonosis immunology, Immunocompetence immunology
- Abstract
Purpose: Microsporidial infections have been recognized as an increasingly important infection in immunocompromized patients, particularly those infected with HIV/AIDS. This study was designed to study immune responses associated with experimental Encephalitozoon intestinalis infection in immunecompetent rats., Materials and Methods: Thirty-four rats in 3 groups, A (Control), B (Intraperitoneal) and C (Oral) were given injections of 0.5 ml of 2 x 10(6) of purified spores of Encephalitotozoon intestinalis spores and were observed for serum specific IgG for 21 days using both Direct and Indirect ELISA., Results: In indirect ELISA, specific lgG were detected on days 7, 14 and 21 for the group B rats and on day 21 for group C and in direct ELISA method, specific lgG were detected in-group B rats on days 7 and 21, for group C rats on day 21 only, while in the control rats, specific lgG were not detected. There was no significant difference between the direct and indirect methods (df=1, X(2), P>0.05). E. intestinalis was observed in stool samples of rats in 1/12 (08.33%) on days 14 and 21 in group B and in 4/10 (33.33%), 3/10 (25.00%) and 2/10 (16.67%) on days 7, 14 and 21 respectively in group C. In-group, A which is the control rats, no microsporidia were observed on days 0, 7, 14 and 21., Conclusions: There were no changes in the T-lymphocyte counts of rats prior to and after inoculation with spores. Extensive lesions were observed along the intestinal walls especially on the middle and lower sections of group C rats only.
- Published
- 2007
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