Circulating concentrations, cerebral output of the CINC-1 and blood–brain barrier disruption in Wistar rats after pneumococcal meningitis induction.

T Barichello, J S Generoso, C Silvestre, C S Costa, M M Carrodore, A L Cipriano, C M Michelon, F Petronilho, F Dal-Pizzol, M C Vilela, A L Teixeira

Laboratório de Microbiologia Experimental and Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia Translacional em Medicina (INCT-TM), Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Saúde (PPGCS), Unidade Acadêmica de Ciências da Saúde (UNASAU), Universidade do Extremo Sul Catarinense, SC, Brazil. tba@unesc.net

European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology 2012 Aug

filter terms:

Pneumococcal meningitis is a severe infectious illness of the central nervous system (CNS), with high rates of lethality and morbidity, being that the microorganism and the host's inflammatory response are responsible for cerebral complications. Moreover, the blood–brain barrier (BBB) itself secretes cytokines and, because of the bipolar nature of the BBB, these substances can be secreted into either the CNS compartment or in the blood, so patients with acute bacterial meningitis frequently develop sepsis. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the cytokine/chemokine levels in different vessels and the BBB integrity after pneumococcal meningitis induction. Wistar rats were infected with Streptococcus pneumoniae, and the BBB integrity was investigated using Evan's blue dye. Also, blood from the carotid artery and jugular vein was collected in order to perform tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-60 and cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant-1 (CINC-1) analyses by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). CINC-1 levels were increased at 6 h in the arterial plasma and at 3 and 6 h in the jugular plasma. We observed BBB breakdown between 12 and 24 h in the hippocampus and at 12 and 18 h in the cortex after pneumococcal meningitis induction. The increase of CINC-1 occurred prior to the BBB breakdown. CINC-1 is a neutrophil chemoattractant and it may be related to early events in the pneumococcal meningitis pathophysiology.

Citation

T Barichello, J S Generoso, C Silvestre, C S Costa, M M Carrodore, A L Cipriano, C M Michelon, F Petronilho, F Dal-Pizzol, M C Vilela, A L Teixeira. Circulating concentrations, cerebral output of the CINC-1 and blood–brain barrier disruption in Wistar rats after pneumococcal meningitis induction. European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology. 2012 Aug;31(8):2005-9