Toxoplasma gondii is a widely spreading intracellular parasite that can infect over one-third of the global human population, and the chronic infections are mainly due to the lifelong presence of cysts in neurons in the central nervous system, affecting the structure and function of neurons, thus causing some neuropsychiatric diseases closely related to neuroinflammation, including behavioral changes characterized by cognitive impairment.
More...Toxoplasma gondii is a widely spreading intracellular parasite that can infect over one-third of the global human population, and the chronic infections are mainly due to the lifelong presence of cysts in neurons in the central nervous system, affecting the structure and function of neurons, thus causing some neuropsychiatric diseases closely related to neuroinflammation, including behavioral changes characterized by cognitive impairment. Beta-glucan is a biologically active substance derived from oats or fungi that has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, which may alleviate some of the symptoms caused by neuroinflammation. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of intraperitoneal beta-glucan injection on mice with chronic T.gondii infection. Intraperitoneal beta-glucan can alleviate cognitive impairment caused by chronic T.gondii infection, and behavioral assessment is performed by novel object location test, novel object recognition test, and nesting building test. In the hippocampal region of the mice brain, beta-glucan ameliorated the number and state of pyramidal neurons and dendritic spines in the CA1 region of the hippocampus, reduced the upregulation of inflammatory factors, and the inflammatory activation of microglia, and improved the synaptic ultrastructure impairment, favoring the transmission of neurotransmitters. Therefore, this study shows that beta-glucan can alleviate cognitive impairment in mice with chronic T.gondii infection.
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