Effect of Candida albicans infection on experimental autoimmune encephalitis

Abstract

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a serious autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system (CNS). Observations in patients and in experimental models suggest that fungi and their metabolites may contribute to the pathogenesis of MS. Fungal toxins such as gliotoxin, a metabolite produced by various species of the genera Candida and Aspergillus, are able to reach the CNS and to determine the apoptotic death of astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. MS patients exhibited gliotoxin in cerebrospinal fluid and urine as well as antibodies anti-Candida and Candida antigens in peripheral blood and / or cerebrospinal fluid. Despite these findings, the role of fungi in this pathology is not well understood. Thus, this study aimed to assess the effect of infection by Candida albicans in the development of experimental autoimmune encephalitis (EAE) model. C57BL/6 mice will be infected with C. albicans at the moments: before induction of EAE, during the acute phase and during the chronic phase. The effect of infection will be assessed by clinical parameters (weight and clinical score), characterization of the inflammatory process, evaluation of demyelination degree and by the presence of fungi in brain tissue. The immune involvement will be evaluated by phenotypic and functional evaluation of T lymphocyte subsets (CD4, CD8 and Treg), monocytes subsets (CD115+Gr1+ and CD115+Gr1-). Also, it will be evaluate the cytokine production by splenic cells and cervical lymph nodes. (AU)