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Dexamethasone rescues neurovascular unit integrity from cell damage caused by systemic administration of shiga toxin 2 and lipopolysaccharide in mice motor cortex.
- Source :
-
PloS one [PLoS One] 2013 Jul 23; Vol. 8 (7), pp. e70020. Date of Electronic Publication: 2013 Jul 23 (Print Publication: 2013). - Publication Year :
- 2013
-
Abstract
- Shiga toxin 2 (Stx2)-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) causes hemorrhagic colitis and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) that can lead to fatal encephalopathies. Neurological abnormalities may occur before or after the onset of systemic pathological symptoms and motor disorders are frequently observed in affected patients and in studies with animal models. As Stx2 succeeds in crossing the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and invading the brain parenchyma, it is highly probable that the observed neurological alterations are based on the possibility that the toxin may trigger the impairment of the neurovascular unit and/or cell damage in the parenchyma. Also, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) produced and secreted by enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) may aggravate the deleterious effects of Stx2 in the brain. Therefore, this study aimed to determine (i) whether Stx2 affects the neurovascular unit and parenchymal cells, (ii) whether the contribution of LPS aggravates these effects, and (iii) whether an inflammatory event underlies the pathophysiological mechanisms that lead to the observed injury. The administration of a sub-lethal dose of Stx2 was employed to study in detail the motor cortex obtained from a translational murine model of encephalopathy. In the present paper we report that Stx2 damaged microvasculature, caused astrocyte reaction and neuronal degeneration, and that this was aggravated by LPS. Dexamethasone, an anti-inflammatory, reversed the pathologic effects and proved to be an important drug in the treatment of acute encephalopathies.
- Subjects :
- Animals
Astrocytes drug effects
Astrocytes pathology
Disease Models, Animal
Drug Synergism
Female
Mice
Microvessels drug effects
Motor Cortex pathology
Neurons drug effects
Neurons pathology
Neurotoxicity Syndromes drug therapy
Neurotoxicity Syndromes etiology
Shiga Toxin 2 isolation & purification
Shiga-Toxigenic Escherichia coli chemistry
Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms
Anti-Inflammatory Agents pharmacology
Dexamethasone pharmacology
Lipopolysaccharides toxicity
Motor Cortex blood supply
Motor Cortex drug effects
Shiga Toxin 2 toxicity
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1932-6203
- Volume :
- 8
- Issue :
- 7
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- PloS one
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 23894578
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0070020