Medical Parasitology Department, Faulty of Medicine, Tanta University, Egypt; Medical Parasitology Subunit, Microbiology and Immunology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Mutah University, Jordan.
Biochemistry Division, Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Damanhour University, Egypt.
Parasitol Int. 2023 Oct;96:102773. doi: 10.1016/j.parint.2023.102773. Epub 2023 Jun 15.
Trichinella spiralis (T. spiralis)-induced myopathy is an inflammatory myopathy that is difficult to treat unless the parasite is combated in its early intestinal phase before it reaches the muscles. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of local mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy on T. spiralis-induced inflammatory myopathy in rats. Rats were divided into four groups: Group 1 (non-infected non-treated group); Group 2 (infected non-treated group); Group 3 (infected albendazole (ABZ)-treated group); and Group 4 (infected MSC-treated group). Their muscle status was assessed physiologically with the righting reflex and electromyography (EMG), parasitologically with the total muscle larval count, histopathologically with hematoxylin and eosin and Mallory's trichrome stains, as well as immunohistochemically for myogenin as a marker of muscle regeneration. Additionally, serum muscle enzymes creatine kinase (CK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), as well as muscle matrix metalloproteinases MMP1 and MMP9, were assayed. Finally, the immunological response was assessed by measuring the levels of the muscle inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interferon-gamma (INF-γ), and interleukin-4 (IL-4). Our findings revealed that MSC therapy markedly improved muscle EMG and righting reflex, as well as the histopathological appearance of the muscles, reduced inflammatory cellular infiltrates, and increased myogenin immunostaining. It also reduced serum CK and LDH levels, as well as muscle INF-γ, TNF-α, IL-4, MMP1, and MMP9 levels. However, it had no effect on the total muscle larval count. Accordingly, due to its anti-inflammatory properties and muscle-regenerative effect, MSC therapy could be a promising new remedy for T. spiralis-induced myopathy.
旋毛虫病引起的肌病是一种炎症性肌病，如果不在寄生虫到达肌肉之前在其早期肠道阶段进行对抗，就很难治疗。本研究旨在评估局部间充质干细胞 (MSC) 治疗对旋毛虫病诱导的大鼠炎症性肌病的影响。大鼠分为四组：第 1 组（未感染未治疗组）；第 2 组（感染未治疗组）；第 3 组（感染阿苯达唑（ABZ）治疗组）；和第 4 组（感染 MSC 治疗组）。它们的肌肉状况通过翻正反射和肌电图 (EMG) 进行生理评估，通过总肌肉幼虫计数进行寄生虫学评估，通过苏木精和伊红以及马氏三色染色进行组织病理学评估，以及通过肌生成素作为肌肉再生的标志物进行免疫组织化学评估。此外，还测定血清肌肉酶肌酸激酶 (CK) 和乳酸脱氢酶 (LDH) 以及肌肉基质金属蛋白酶 MMP1 和 MMP9。最后，通过测量肌肉炎症细胞因子肿瘤坏死因子-α (TNF-α)、干扰素-γ (INF-γ) 和白细胞介素-4 (IL-4) 的水平来评估免疫反应。我们的发现表明，MSC 治疗显著改善了肌肉 EMG 和翻正反射，以及肌肉的组织病理学表现，减少了炎症细胞浸润，并增加了肌生成素免疫染色。它还降低了血清 CK 和 LDH 水平以及肌肉 INF-γ、TNF-α、IL-4、MMP1 和 MMP9 水平。然而，它对总肌肉幼虫计数没有影响。因此，由于其抗炎特性和肌肉再生作用，MSC 治疗可能成为旋毛虫病诱导的肌病的一种有前途的新疗法。
