Macrophage populations and cardiac sympathetic denervation during L-NAME-induced hypertension in rats.

The rat model of hypertension induced by prolonged treatment with Nomega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) has been extensively used. However, the effects on cardiac autonomic innervation are unknown. Here, the cardiac sympathetic innervation is analyzed in parallel with myocardial lesions and leukocyte infiltration during L-NAME (40 mg/Kg body weight/day, orally) treatment. The occurrence of cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, a controversial matter, is also addressed. Degenerating cardiomyocytes and focal inflammation occurred one day after treatment. Inflammatory lesions became gradually more frequent until day 7. At day 14 fibroblast-like cells were outstanding. Interstitial and perivascular connective tissue increased from day 28 on. In the left ventricle, cardiomyocyte hypertrophy occurred only around the damaged area during the first 14 days. After 28 days, it became more widespread. In the right ventricle, the hypertrophic cardiomyocytes were restricted to damaged areas. Significant reduction of the noradrenergic nerve terminals occurred from day 3 to 28. The area occupied by ED1+ (hematogenous) macrophages increased until day 7, and dropped to control levels by day 10. ED2+ (resident) macrophages increased from day 3 to 7 and remained higher than control values up to day 77. Animals receiving both L- NAME and aminoguanidine (AG), an inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) inhibitor (65 mg/Kg body weight/day, orally), showed significant decrease in the nitrite serum levels, sympathetic denervation and macrophage infiltration at day 7. No denervation was detectable at day 14 of double treatment, using subcutaneous AG. Our findings favor a role for ED1+ macrophages and iNOS in the hypertension-induced denervation process.

Skeletal muscle regeneration and Trypanosoma cruzi-induced myositis in rats.

Although Chagas' disease is known to provoke severe acute myositis, information on muscle regeneration is missing. The current paper shows that during T. cruzi infection in rats, skeletal muscle parasitism and the consequent inflammatory process are higher in muscle with a high proportion of type-I myofibres (soleus and diaphragm). Immunohistochemistry showed an acute inflammatory process characterized by ED1+ and ED2+ macrophages, CD8+ lymphocytes, and NK cells. Parasite-nest rupture provoked segmental degeneration of myofibres followed by regeneration. These phenomena were observed at both light and transmission electron microscopy levels. Myofibre regeneration involved activation of satellite cells assessed by the expression of MyoD, a muscle-specific transcription factor. Ultrastructural evidence of fusion of myoblast-like cells with the intact segment of degenerating fibres has been provided. At the chronic phase no signs of fibrosis were found, but sparse and small inflammatory foci were found. Our results argue against the relevant participation of autoimmunity phenomena in both acute and chronic phases and furnish a new view for explaining histopathological findings in human patient muscles.

Cardiac autonomic denervation and functional response to neurotoxins during acute experimental Chagas' disease in rats.

Severe cardiac autonomic denervation occurs in the acute Chagas' disease in rats. The present study aims at verifying whether this denervation was accompanied by impairment of heart function. Scorpionic (Tityus serrulatus) crude venom was used for neurotransmitter release in isolated hearts (Langendorff's preparation). In control hearts, the venom induced significant bradycardia followed by tachycardia. In infected animals, despite the severe (sympathetic) or moderate (parasympathetic) cardiac denervation, the venom provoked similar bradycardia but the tachycardia was higher. The hearts of infected animals beat at significantly lower rate. Atropine prevented this lower rate. Our results demonstrated sympathetic dysfunction during the acute phase of Trypanosoma cruzi infection in rats, the parasympathetic function being spared.

Effects of hydrostatic pressure on the Leptospira interrogans: high immunogenicity of the pressure-inactivated serovar hardjo.

The Hardjoprajitno strain of Leptospira interrogans serovar hardjo was subjected to different hydrostatic pressures. Complete inactivation occurred when the leptospires were treated with 2 kbar for 60 min. Electron microscopy showed dislocation of the outer membrane, partial loss of the helical shape and extrusion of the axial filament from the cytoplasmic cylinder of the pressurized leptospires. When the pressure-treated leptospires were inoculated into rabbits they were highly immunogenic. The sera of these animals presented a titer of 2048 in the microscopic serum agglutination reaction. Fluorescence measurements indicated that the action of pressure on the leptospires might have resulted from perturbation on membrane protein components, permitting the binding of the fluorescent probe bis (8-anilinonaphthalene-1-sulfonate) (Bis-ANS). This is the first report of the use of hydrostatic pressure to inactivate pathogenic bacteria with the potential to lead to a vaccine.

Evidence for a direct action of Tityus serrulatus scorpion venom on the cardiac muscle.

The ability of toxins to activate the cardiovascular system plays an important role in the morbidity and lethality of the Tityus serrulatus scorpion envenoming. Most of the actions of the scorpion toxins are indirect and due to the release of adrenergic and cholinergic neurotransmitters. Accordingly, treatment following envenoming is targeted towards inhibition of adrenergic and cholinergic receptors. Here, we have sought evidence for a direct action of T. serrulatus venom on the isolated rat heart (Langendorff's method). We show that the bradycardia induced by T. serrulatus venom was completely blocked by atropine, a muscarinic receptor antagonist. Similarly, the increase in heart rate that follows the venom-induced bradycardia was totally inhibited by a beta(1)-adrenoceptor antagonist or by chemical sympathetic denervation with 6-hydroxydopamine. In contrast to these findings, the venom-induced increase in contractile force was not modified by beta(1)-adrenoceptor blockade or by chemical sympathetic denervation. The results clearly demonstrate that the chronotropic effects of T. serrulatus are dependent on neurotransmitter release, but the inotropic effects are not. The neurotransmitter-independent increase in contractility seems to be a direct action of the venom on cardiomyocytes. We suggest that this direct effect on cardiac fibers may play a role in the development of cardiac arrhythmias and contractility defects following envenoming with T. serrulatus scorpion.

Cardiac autonomic denervation in congestive heart failure: comparison of Chagas' heart disease with other dilated cardiomyopathy.

Congestive heart failure (CHF) is associated with activation of the cardiac sympathetic nerves. However, impairment of the sympathetic nerve terminals in patients with CHF has been indicated by studies showing reduction of cardiac norepinephrine uptake and stores. This investigation studies the histochemical evaluation of the sympathetic nerve terminals in CHF. The cardiac parasympathetic innervation was also studied to address the question of specificity of the presumed sympathetic denervation. Nineteen patients with CHF underwent cardiac transplantation or partial ventriculectomy, which provided the heart tissue. In 11 of them, the dilated cardiomyopathy was associated with Chagas' disease. Inflammatory process and fibrosis were studied histologically. The sympathetic and parasympathetic nerve fibers were visualized through histochemical techniques for, respectively, catecholamines and acetylcholinesterase activity. By using a computer-assisted morphometric program, the inflammation, fibrosis, and parasympathetic innervation were quantified. Moderate to severe fibrosing myocarditis characterized the hearts of the chagasic patients. In cardiomyopathies not associated with Chagas' disease, the inflammation was discrete, if present, but the amount of fibrosis was similar to that found in Chagas' cardiomyopathy. Reduction of both kinds of nerve terminals occurred in the heart of all patients. The parasympathetic denervation was proven to be more severe in chagasic cardiomyopathy. Our data on the heart innervation indicate a progressive autonomic denervation in heart failure. In Chagas' heart disease, the denervation seems to be more severe or rapid, probably because of the sustained inflammatory process.

Infection with different Trypanosoma cruzi populations in rats: myocarditis, cardiac sympathetic denervation, and involvement of digestive organs.

We tested four isolates of Trypanosoma cruzi to assess parasite virulence and ability to cause myocarditis, cardiac sympathetic denervation, and histopathologic alterations in organs of the digestive system. The susceptibility of rats depends on the population of T. cruzi, with the ABC strain and the CL-Brener clone killing all animals, regardless of the parasitemic pattern. All tested T. cruzi populations caused acute myocarditis, but failed to induce histologic alterations in the intestine. The Cl-Brener and ABC isolates caused esophageal myositis. The myocarditis caused by the ABC, CL-Brener, and Y isolates was severe, but resolution started at the end of the acute phase. In contrast, the Col 1.7 G2 clone induced mild and sustained myocarditis. Our results also showed that T. cruzi populations able to induce severe acute myocarditis caused marked sympathetic denervation, but recovery of normal cardiac histology and innervation occurred. The sustained myocarditis induced by Col 1.7 G2 clone failed to cause sustained denervation.

Ultrastructure of sporogony in Babesia equi in salivary glands of adult female Boophilus microplus ticks.

The development of Babesia equi was studied in the salivary glands of adult female ticks, Boophilus microplus, using a transmission electron microscope (TEM). Engorged nymphs were obtained from splenectomized foals experimentally infected with B. equi and fed in the adult phase for 5 days on rabbits. Sporogony in B. equi involves the development of sporoblasts and sporozoites, which form from finger-like projections on the surface and through radial budding. Mature sporozoites (2.0 x 1.1 microns), typically pyriform, showed a polar ring, rhoptries, micronemes, nuclei, and mitochondria, and a high concentration of free ribosomes were observed from the 2nd day of the ticks, feeding on the rabbits. In general, sporogony of B. equi in the salivary glands of B. microplus showed similarities to the development of this parasite in species of Hyalomma, although with some significant differences in the sporozoite's dimensions. The results of this study indicate that B. equi is capable of multiplying in the salivary glands of adult female B. microplus, forming sporozoites with specialized organelles characteristic of the invasive form, and suggest that B. microplus can act as a natural vector of B. equi in endemic areas where there is no other probable source of infection or where it is the only tick species present on horses.

Ultrastructure of Helicobacter trogontum in culture and in the gastrointestinal tract of gnotobiotic mice.

Helicobacter trogontum is a micro-aerophilic urease-positive bacterium that has recently been isolated from the intestinal mucosa of rats. The purpose of this investigation was to study the ultrastructural details of this micro-organism in both pure culture and in the gastrointestinal tract of germ-free mice infected with H. trogontum. The micro-organism was a fusiform to slightly spiral gram-negative cell, 4-6 microm long and 0.6-0.7 microm wide, with four to seven bipolar sheathed flagella. The cytoplasm presented several irregular and also globular granules. On each side of the polar regions of the cells, there was a highly electron-dense band, the 'polar membrane'. Coccoidal forms were seen in old cultures. H. trogontum showed several ultrastructural characteristics of the Helicobacter genus and much resemblance to H. rappini and H. bilis. H. trogontum mainly colonised the large bowel of the gnotobiotic mice where it could be seen in the lumen and also inside the enterocytes. Vacuolation of the ileal epithelial cells, loss of microvilli and pronounced desquamation of the enterocytes of the caecum were observed in the bowel colonised by the bacterium. These observations raise the possibility that H. trogontum could cause some harm to the host at least in particular circumstances such as when it colonises the gastrointestinal tract of a germ-free host.

Cultivo in vitro de ovócitos bovinos em diferentes sistemas: II - aspectos ultra-estruturais / In vitro cultivation of bovine oocytes, under different conditions: II - ultrastructural aspects

Para avaliar o efeito de sistemas de cultivo in vitro na ultra-estrutura celular, foram cultivados ovócitos com o cumulus compacto distribuídos em três tratamentos: I - meio de cultivo constituído de meio de cultura de tecido (TCM) acrescido de FSH (20µg/ml) e soro inativado de vaca em estro (10 por cento); II - meio de cultivo acrescido de células da granulosa em suspensäo (2 x 10 elevado a sexta potência/ml); III - monocamada de células da granulosa em meio de cultivo. As amostras foram obtidas em zero, 12, 18, 24 e 30 horas de cultivo e submetidas aos procedimentos para a análise ultra-estrutural. As características verificadas nos ovócitos foram caracterizadas em cinco configuraçöes (C1 a C5), levando em consideraçäo vários estádios de maturaçäo. Para esta classificaçäo foram consideradas as modificaçöes ultra-estruturais no interior do ovócito, sendo C1 um ovócito sem alteraçäo indicativa de reativaçäo da meiose, C2, C3 e C4 estádios intermediários e C5 um ovócito maduro caracterizado principalmente pela configuraçäo cromossômica em metáfase II e pela distribuiçäo dos grânulos corticais em posiçöes solitárias nas proximidades da membrana citoplasmática. Foram verificados os seguintes resultados, para os tratamentos I, II e III, respectivamente: zero hora (C1 e C2, C1 e C2, C1 e C2), 12 horas (C4, C3 e C3), 18 horas (C5, C4 e C4), 24 horas (C5, C5 e C5) e 30 horas (C5, C5 e C5). No cultivo sem células da granulosa, as características que configuram um ovócito maduro sob aspecto ultra-estrutural já ocorrem com 18 horas de cultivo

Ultrastructure of endogenous stages of Eimeria ninakohlyakimovae Yakimoff & Rastegaieff, 1930 Emend. Levine, 1961 in experimentally infected goat.

The ultrastructure of endogenous stages of Eimeria ninakohlyakimovae was observed in epithelial cells of cecum and colon crypts from a goat experimentally infected with 2.0 x 10(5) oocysts/kg. The secondary meronts developed above the nucleus of the host cell. The nucleus first divides and merozoites then form on the surface of multinucleated meronts. Free merozoites in the parasitophorous vacuole present a conoid, double membrane, one pair of rhoptries, micronemes, micropore, anterior and posterior polar ring, a nucleus with a nucleolus and peripheral chromatin. The microgamonts are located below the nucleus of the host cell and contain several nuclei at the periphery of the parasite. The microgametes consist of a body, a nucleus, three flagella and mitochondria. The macrogamonts develop below the nucleus of the host cell and have a large nucleus with a prominent nucleolus. The macrogametes contain a nucleus, wall-forming bodies of type I and type II. The young oocysts present a wall containing two layers and a sporont.

Production and characterization of monoclonal antibodies to the EDTA extract of Leptospira interrogans, serovar icterohaemorrhagiae.

Monoclonal antibodies (MABs) were produced against an ethylenediaminetetraacetate (EDTA) extract of Leptospira interrogans serovar icterohaemorrhagiae being characterized by gel precipitation as IgM and IgG (IgG1 and IgG2b). The EDTA extract was detected as several bands by silver staining in SDS-PAGE. In the Western blot the bands around 20 KDa reacted with a monoclonal antibody, 47B4D6, and was oxidized by periodate and was not digested by pronase, suggesting that the determinant is of carbohydrate nature. Immunocytochemistry, using colloidal gold labeling, showed that an EDTA extract determinant recognized by monoclonal antibody 47B4D6, is localized under the outer envelope of serovar icterohaemorrhagiae. The MAB raised against the EDTA extract was not able to protect hamsters from lethal challenge with virulent homologous leptospires.

Preganglionic fibres of the adrenal medulla and cervical sympathetic ganglia: differential involvement during experimental American trypanosomiasis in rats.

The acute phase of experimental Chagas' disease in rats is associated with early lesions of the post-ganglionic sympathetic nerve terminals of the heart, the varicosities being the target. In the superior cervical and stellate ganglia the preganglionic fibres showed no signs of lesion in the course of experimental Chagas' disease. In the adrenal medulla, however, the acute phase of the Trypanosoma cruzi infection induced a clear rarefaction of the acetylcholinesterase-positive nerve fibres (20 and 32 days after infection). Recovery of the normal pattern occurred in most animals by day 125 after infection. At days 20, 32 and 46 after infection, electron-microscopic studies demonstrated the occurrence of damage in cholinergic nerve terminals contacting the chromaffin cells. The signs of damage included dense bodies, clumps of synaptic vesicles and filaments, rarefaction of all organelles, vacuoles and irregular contour. The ultrastructural peculiarities of the sympathetic ganglia may explain the ganglionar microenvironment protective against the hazardous factors elicited by acute Chagas' disease.

Jejunal absorption of trypsin in rat and guinea pig.

Gut absorption is one of the first requirements for the study of the mechanism of a possible anti-inflammatory action of proteases, such as orally administered trypsin. Porcine trypsin absorption was studied in isolated jejunal loops of rats (female Holtzman and male Wistar) and guinea pigs (males) by open-loop perfusion. Trypsin was dissolved in Tyrode solution and the solution perfused at a rate of 0.5 ml/min, at 37 degrees C. Trypsin activity, total protein, and sodium and potassium concentrations were assayed in the jejunal effluent; the values were unchanged throughout the experiments, which lasted 45 to 120 min. Using a high sensitivity ELISA (i.e. pg/ml), trypsin absorption could be demonstrated by determination of the enzyme in the mesenteric venous blood (samples of 0.5 ml); the enzyme concentration increased with time of perfusion. The linear range-specificity for intact trypsin varied from 1 to 500 ng/well. In this assay polyclonal antibodies prepared against trypsin-TLCK were utilized. Whereas trypsin concentration in the perfused lumen was practically constant at 0.12 mg/ml, the concentration of absorbed trypsin in mesenteric vein blood increased from about 100 ng/ml at time zero to 1.8 micrograms/ml, after 45 min of perfusion. Histological and ultrastructural examination of the jejunal mucosa before and after perfusion revealed that the brush-border, basal membrane, and junctional complexes were fully preserved, thus eliminating the possibility that trypsin might have destroyed the structures, thereby reaching the blood circulation. The present data indicate that micrograms quantities of trypsin were absorbed by the isolated jejunal loop of the rat.

Jejunal absorption of trypsin in rat and guinea pig

Gut absorption is one of the first requirements for the study of the mechanism of a possible anti-inflammatory action of proteases, such as orally administered trypsin. Porcine trypsin absorption was studied in isolated jejunal loops of rats (female Holtzman and male Wistar) and guinea pig (males) by open-loop perfusion. Trypsin was dissolved in Tyrode solution and the solution perfused at a rate of 0.5 ml/min, at 37§C. Trypsin activity, total protein, and sodium and potassium concentrations were assayed in the jejunal effluent; the values were unchanged throughout the experiments, which lasted 45 to 120 min. Using a high sensitivity ELISA (i.e. pg/ml), trypsin absorption could be demonstrated by determination of the enzyme in the mesenteric venous blood (samples of 0.5 ml); the enzyme concentration increased with time of perfusion. The linear range-specificity for intact trypsin varied from 1 to 500 ng/well. In this assay polyclonal antibodies prepared against trypsin-TLCK were utilized. Whereas trypsin concentration in the perfused lumen was practically constant at 0.12 mg/ml, the concentration of absorbed trypsin in mesenteric vein blood increased from about 100 ng/ml at time zero to 1.8 µg/ml, after 45 min of perfusion. Histological and ultrastructural examination of the jejunal mucosa before and after perfusion revealed that the brush-border, basal membrane, and junctional complexes were fully preserved, thus eliminating the possibility that trypsin might have destroyed the structures, thereby reaching the blood circulation. The present data indicate that µg quantities of trypsin were absorbed by the isolated jejunal loop of the rat

Morphometric and histological analysis of the superior cervical ganglion in experimental Chagas' disease in rats.

Histological methods were used for studying the left superior cervical ganglia of control and T. cruzi infected female rats killed 13, 20, and 34 days after inoculation. Concomitantly, the sympathetic innervation of the heart auricular appendages and of the submandibular gland was studied by a glyoxylic acid-induced fluorescence method for catecholamines. At day 34 of infection, the superior cervical ganglia of an additional group of control and infected animals were studied morphometrically through the determination of ganglion volume, total number, and nuclear diameter of the principal neurons. No amastigote pseudocyst could be detected inside the ganglia at any time during infection. Inflammatory reactions were very discrete or absent at day 13 of infection, but were clearly present at day 20 as periganglionitis (in all infected animals) or ganglionitis (in 62.5% of the infected animals). These reactions again became very discrete at day 34 of infection. None of the morphometric parameters analyzed were altered by Chagas' disease. Histochemical studies on the sympathetic innervation of the heart and submandibular gland showed disappearance or rarefaction of fluorescent nerve fibers, starting around the 13th day of infection. The involvement of sympathetic nerve terminals in Chagas' disease is a local phenomenon rather than a consequence of parasitism or destruction.