Axonal swellings and spheroids: a new insight into the pathology of neurocysticercosis

for the Cysticercosis Working Group in Peru

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

17 Scopus citations

Abstract

Neurocysticercosis is a parasitic brain disease caused by the larval form (Cysticercus cellulosae) of Taenia solium and is the leading cause of preventable epilepsy worldwide. However, the pathophysiology and relation to the wide range of clinical features remains poorly understood. Axonal swelling is emerging as an important early pathological finding in multiple neurodegenerative diseases and as a cause of brain injury, but has not been well described in neurocysticercosis. Histological analysis was performed on human, rat and porcine NCC brain specimens to identify axonal pathology. Rat infection was successfully carried out via two routes of inoculation: direct intracranial injection and oral feeding. Extensive axonal swellings, in the form of spheroids, were observed in both humans and rats and to a lesser extent in pigs with NCC. Spheroids demonstrated increased immunoreactivity to amyloid precursor protein and neurofilament indicating probable impairment of axonal transport. These novel findings demonstrate that spheroids are present in NCC which is conserved across species. Not only is this an important contribution toward understanding the pathogenesis of NCC, but it also provides a model to analyze the association of spheroids with specific clinical features and to investigate the reversibility of spheroid formation with antihelminthic treatment.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)425-436
Number of pages12
JournalBrain Pathology
Volume29
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2019

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We are grateful to Dr. Diana Rivas, Head of the Department of Neuropathology of the Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Neurologicas in Lima, Peru; Carla Cangalaya, Casey Krebs, Homero Céliz, Ana Delgado, Cesar Quispe for their technical support in the rat model for neurocysticercosis as part of the Cysticercosis working group in Peru and, Dr. Armando Gonzalez for his help in obtaining samples for histological processing and Dr. Richard lerner. We would like to thank Michelle Beam, MPH, Oregon Health and Science University, for her help and advice in processing of human and porcine samples. This study was funded by Innovate Peru 135, PNP-PNIC-2015; Fondecyt-Convenio, No.118-2015; National Institutes of Health P30 AG008017; and National Institutes of Health D43 TW001140.

Funding Information:
We are grateful to Dr. Diana Rivas, Head of the Department of Neuropathology of the Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Neurologicas in Lima, Peru; Carla Cangalaya, Casey Krebs, Homero C?liz, Ana Delgado, Cesar Quispe for their technical support in the rat model for neurocysticercosis as part of the Cysticercosis working group in Peru and, Dr. Armando Gonzalez for his help in obtaining samples for histological processing and Dr. Richard lerner. We would like to thank Michelle Beam, MPH, Oregon Health and Science University, for her help and advice in processing of human and porcine samples. This study was funded by Innovate Peru 135, PNP-PNIC-2015; Fondecyt-Convenio, No.118-2015; National Institutes of Health P30 AG008017; and National Institutes of Health D43 TW001140.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 International Society of Neuropathology

Keywords

  • APP
  • T. solium oncospheres
  • neurocysticercosis
  • neurofilament
  • spheroids

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