Histopathological outcome of Leishmania major-infected BALB/c mice is improved by oral treatment with N-acetyl-l-cysteine.

Abstract

Leishmania major infected BALB/c mice were treated with N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC), a glutathione precursor, to evaluate the role of in vivo glutathione on lesion pathology and cytokine profiles following infection. Mice were maintained on NAC-containing water 2 days before infection for a total of 14 weeks. The BALB/c response to L. major infection was improved by oral administration of NAC, at the level of histopathological outcome, lesion progression and cytokine profile. A significantly improved histopathological outcome of the footpad lesion, characterized by a mixed inflammatory infiltrate organized in a focal pattern with little tissue destruction and a reduced parasite load, was observed in NAC-treated BALB/c mice. Histopathological modulation was accompanied by a modified cytokine pattern from popliteal lymph node cells, demonstrated by a sustained higher frequency of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha)-producing cells. This work points to an important role for glutathione in the modulation of effector responses in BALB/c mice.

• Authors: Etel Rocha-Vieira, Ellen Ferreira, Priscila Vianna, Daniela R De Faria, Soraya T Gaze, Walderez O Dutra, Kenneth J Gollob
• Journal: Immunology (Immunology) Vol. 108 Issue 3 Pg. 401-8 (Mar 2003) ISSN: 0019-2805 [Print] England
• PMID: 12603607 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.)

Chemical References

• Antiprotozoal Agents
• Cytokines
• Acetylcysteine

Topics

• Acetylcysteine (therapeutic use)
• Animals
• Antiprotozoal Agents (therapeutic use)
• Cytokines (metabolism)
• Female
• Leishmania major (isolation & purification)
• Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous (drug therapy, immunology, parasitology, pathology)
• Lymph Nodes (immunology)
• Macrophages (immunology)
• Mice
• Mice, Inbred BALB C