Pentoxifylline prevents murine cerebral malaria.

Pentoxifylline, a widely used methylxanthine, was tested for its capacity to prevent cerebral malaria (CM) in Plasmodium berghei ANKA-infected CBA/Ca mice. Nine of 12 control mice developed neurologic signs and died from CM approximately 2 weeks after infection. All 12 mice treated with daily intraperitoneal pentoxifylline (1 mg) for 10 days after infection did not develop CM. All surviving mice developed high parasitemia and severe anemia and died 2 weeks later without neurologic signs. In pentoxifylline-treated mice, serum tumor necrosis factor (TNF) bioactivity was nondetectable, whereas control mice had high TNF levels on day 6 after infection. These findings were supported by in vitro investigations of malaria antigen-induced TNF synthesis. Northern blot analysis of TNF mRNA from stimulated macrophages showed that pentoxifylline inhibited TNF expression at the transcription level, and TNF bioactivity in supernatants was strongly depressed. These findings make pentoxifylline a potential candidate for study as a supportive agent in human CM.