Apoptosis in meningoencephalitis of Angiostrongylus cantonensis-infected mice

A hallmark of eosinophilic meningoencephalitis is infiltration of leukocytes into brain parenchyma and subarachnoid space infected by Angiostrongylus cantonensis. Apoptosis, a process that eliminates useless cells and counterbalances tissue homeostasis, is important for homeostasis of the immune system. In this study, we investigated the characteristics of cell death induced in BABL/c mice infected with A. cantonensis. We observed increased expression of the apoptotic proteins, caspase-3, caspase-8, caspase-9, and cytochrome c, and decreased expression of anti-apoptotic proteins, B-cell leukemia 2 and inhibitor of apoptosis protein 1. On immunohistochemistry, apoptotic proteins were localized within the leukocytes infiltrate. A terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine 5-triphosphate nick-end labeling assay to detect DNA fragmentation confirmed these observations. The infiltration of leukocytes present in the brain parenchyma and subarachnoid space in vivo may also express these apoptotic regulatory molecules, which demonstrates the capacity of these cells to undergo apoptosis.