Evaluation of factors regulators in coagulation and fibrinolysis on experimental cerebral Malaria

• Grant number: 14/16010-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: October 01, 2014
• End date: March 31, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Parasitology - Protozoology of Parasites
• Principal Investigator: Fabio Trindade Maranhão Costa
• Grantee: Natália Pinheiro de Almeida
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Malaria is a major human parasitic disease, endangering more than 3 billion people and reflecting negatively on the socio-economic development of many countries. Cerebral malaria (CM), the most common severe form of the disease, is a multifactorial process leading to brain tissue damage, mainly due to the blockage of blood flow and the imbalance of host immune response. Endothelial activation, disturbance in platelet count, presence of activated thrombin and procoagulant microparticles, among other factors, strongly suggest a disruption in coagulation in MC. However, the pathogenesis of CM is not yet fully understood, partly due to ethical considerations that limit studies in humans. In this sense, mice infected with Plasmodium berghei ANKA- seem to be the model that most closely resembles the human cerebral malaria. Photochemical induction of arterial thrombus shows that Plasmodium berghei ANKA-infected mice (PbA-experimental cerebral malaria model) have thrombus formation time quicker than in Plasmodium berghei NK65-infected mice (strain no brain), suggesting a coagulation disorder in experimental cerebral malaria. In order to elucidate this phenomenon we intend to examine regulatory factors of coagulation and fibrinolysis in experimental cerebral malaria.