Effect of Candida albicans infection on experimental autoimmune encephalitis development: determination of T-lymphocyte subsets

• Grant number: 14/13746-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2014
• End date: August 31, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Immunology - Applied Immunology
• Principal Investigator: James Venturini
• Grantee: Laysla de Campos Toledo Leite
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências (FC). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Bauru. Bauru , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a serious autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system (CNS). Observations in patients and in experimental models suggest that fungi and their metabolites may contribute to the pathogenesis of MS. Fungal toxins, such as gliotoxin, a metabolite produced by various species of the genera Candida and Aspergillus, are able to reach the CNS and to determine the apoptotic death of astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. In patients with MS showed the presence of gliotoxin in cerebrospinal fluid and urine as well as antibodies and antigens of Candida were found in peripheral blood and / or cerebrospinal fluid of these individuals. Despite these findings, little is known about the role of fungi in this pathology. Thus, this study aimed to assess the effect of infection by Candida albicans in the development of experimental autoimmune encephalitis (EAE) model used for studies of this disease. For this, C57BL/6 mice will be infected with C. albicans at the following times: before induction of EAE during the acute phase and chronic phase of this disease. The effect of infection on the body as a whole will be assessed by clinical parameters (weight and clinical score), characterization of brain tissue in order to evaluate the inflammatory process and the presence of fungi. The immune involvement will be evaluated by determining the distribution of the subpopulation of T lymphocytes (CD4+, CD8+, Th17 e Treg) in the peripheral blood and spleen.