Zoology Dep., Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.
Faculty of Biotechnology, October University for Modern Sciences and Arts (MSA), Giza, Egypt.
Int J Parasitol Drugs Drug Resist. 2021 Dec;17:156-167. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpddr.2021.09.002. Epub 2021 Sep 23.
Cryptosporidiosis has been considered as a serious diarrheal disease, especially in immunodeficient patients, where they failed to clear the infection leading to several consequences of infection (i.e death). The role of cell mediated immunity in clearing the infection was demonstrated by the increased susceptibility of HIV/AIDS patients to infection. To date, no specific treatment has been proven for cryptosporidiosis in immunodeficient patients. The study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of Aloe vera gel for the treatment of cryptosporidiosis in immunocompetent and dexamethasone immunosuppressed mice in comparison to that of nitazoxanide. Mice were orally administrated with Aloe vera gel, in a daily dose of 250 mg/L in drinking water, for 14 consecutive days post infection. Parasitological, molecular and immunological measurements were recorded on the 7th, 14th, 21st and 32nd days post infection. Our in vitro results showed that 250 mg/L of prepared gel achieved the highest parasitic reduction. The body weights of Aloe vera treated mice on the 21st and 32nd day post infection, either in immunocompetent or immunosuppressed groups, were nearly the same as those of their corresponding control groups. Aloe vera gel succeeded in clearing cryptosporidiosis with a percent reduction of 100% in immunocompetent mice and 99.67% in immunosuppressed mice. The anti-inflammatory effect of Aloe vera reduced the levels of IFN-γ, IL-4, -6 and -17. The success of Aloe vera gel, in clearing cryptosporidiosis in immunosuppressed mice, was obvious either from the reduction of Cryptosporidium DNA or the oocysts in stool samples; and from the improvement of histopathological sections.
隐孢子虫病被认为是一种严重的腹泻病，特别是在免疫功能低下的患者中，他们无法清除感染，导致感染的几种后果（即死亡）。细胞介导的免疫在清除感染中的作用通过 HIV/AIDS 患者对感染的易感性增加得到了证明。迄今为止，尚无针对免疫功能低下患者隐孢子虫病的特效治疗方法。本研究旨在评估芦荟凝胶治疗免疫功能正常和地塞米松免疫抑制小鼠隐孢子虫病的疗效，并与硝唑尼特进行比较。感染后第 14 天，每天口服 250mg/L 的芦荟凝胶连续 14 天。在感染后第 7、14、21 和 32 天记录寄生虫学、分子和免疫学测量值。我们的体外结果表明，250mg/L 的制备凝胶达到了最高的寄生虫减少率。感染后第 21 和 32 天，无论是在免疫功能正常组还是免疫抑制组，接受芦荟治疗的小鼠的体重几乎与各自的对照组相同。芦荟凝胶成功清除了免疫功能正常小鼠和免疫抑制小鼠的隐孢子虫病，清除率分别为 100%和 99.67%。芦荟的抗炎作用降低了 IFN-γ、IL-4、-6 和 -17 的水平。芦荟凝胶在免疫抑制小鼠中清除隐孢子虫病的成功，无论是从减少隐孢子虫 DNA 还是粪便样本中的卵囊，还是从改善组织病理学切片都可以明显看出。
