Department of Anatomy, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, 74 Zhongshan Rd 2, Guangzhou 510080, People's Republic of China.
Parasitol Res. 2012 Oct;111(4):1547-57. doi: 10.1007/s00436-012-2995-6. Epub 2012 Jul 10.
Angiostrongylus cantonensis is a neurotrophic and pulmonary parasite which causes severe neuropathological damages by invading and developing in the central nervous system (CNS). Nonpermissive host with A. cantonensis infection appeared to have more serious neurologic symptoms, and there is still not much knowledge about the host-parasite interrelationship in different hosts. We investigated and compared the larval size, recovery rate, distribution, and the severity of pathologic injuries in the CNS of both permissive host (e.g., rats) and nonpermissive hosts (e.g., mice). In present study, mice infected with A. cantonensis showed higher worm recovery rate in late-stage infection and smaller size of intracranial larvae as compared to the infected rats. Intracranial larvae mainly aggregated on cerebral surface of infected rats but on surface of cerebellum and brainstem in mice. Hemorrhage and tissue edema on brain surface caused by worm migration appeared earlier and severer in infected mice than in rats. Neuropathological examination revealed that injuries induced by A. cantonensis in brain parenchyma included hemorrhage, vascular dilatation, focal necrosis with neuronal loss, and infiltration of inflammatory cells. In the comparison of these pathological changes in rats and mice, infected mice suffered more serious injuries and provoked more intense inflammatory response as compared to infected rats. All these morphological evidences indicate that larval development was retardant in the CNS of nonpermissive host, and nonpermissive host experienced more serious pathological injuries than permissive host. It implies that the difference in innate immune response to parasite infection attribute to host specificity.
广州管圆线虫是一种嗜神经性和肺寄生性寄生虫，通过入侵和在中枢神经系统（CNS）中发育，引起严重的神经病理损伤。非允许宿主感染广州管圆线虫似乎会出现更严重的神经症状，但对于不同宿主中的宿主-寄生虫相互关系，我们的了解仍然有限。我们调查和比较了允许宿主（例如大鼠）和非允许宿主（例如小鼠）中幼虫的大小、回收率、分布以及 CNS 中病理损伤的严重程度。在本研究中，与感染大鼠相比，感染广州管圆线虫的小鼠在晚期感染中具有更高的虫体回收率和更小的颅内幼虫大小。颅内幼虫主要聚集在感染大鼠的大脑表面，但在感染小鼠的小脑和脑干表面。虫体迁移引起的脑表面出血和组织水肿在感染小鼠中比在大鼠中更早和更严重。神经病理学检查显示，广州管圆线虫在脑实质中引起的损伤包括出血、血管扩张、局灶性坏死伴神经元丢失以及炎症细胞浸润。在比较大鼠和小鼠的这些病理变化时，与感染大鼠相比，感染小鼠遭受了更严重的损伤并引起了更强烈的炎症反应。所有这些形态学证据表明，幼虫在非允许宿主的 CNS 中发育迟缓，并且非允许宿主比允许宿主遭受更严重的病理损伤。这表明对寄生虫感染的固有免疫反应的差异导致了宿主特异性。
