The modulatory effect of Artemisia annua L. on toll-like receptor expression in Acanthamoeba infected mouse lungs.

Wojtkowiak-Giera A1, Derda M2, Kosik-Bogacka D3, Kolasa-Wołosiuk A4, Wandurska-Nowak E1, Jagodziński PP5, Hadaś E1.

Author information

1

Department of Biology and Medical Parasitology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 10 Fredry Street, 61-701, Poznan, Poland.

2

Department of Biology and Medical Parasitology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 10 Fredry Street, 61-701, Poznan, Poland. Electronic address: mderda@ump.edu.pl.

3

Independent of Pharmaceutical Botany, Department of Biology and Medical Parasitology, Pomeranian Medical University, 72 Powstancow Wielkopolskich Street, 70-111, Szczecin, Poland.

4

Department of Histology and Embryology, Pomeranian Medical University, 71 Powstancow Wielkopolskich Street, 70-111, Szczecin, Poland.

5

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 6 Swiecickiego Street, 60-781, Poznan, Poland.

Abstract

The genus Acanthamoeba, which may cause different infections in humans, occurs widely in the environment. Lung inflammation caused by these parasites induces pulmonary pathological changes such as pulmonary necrosis, peribronchial plasma cell infiltration, moderate desquamation of alveolar cells and partial destruction of bronchial epithelial cells, and presence of numerous trophozoites and cysts among inflammatory cells. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of plant extracts from Artemisia annua L. on expression of the toll-like receptors TLR2 and TLR4 in lungs of mice with acanthamoebiasis. A. annua, which belongs to the family Asteraceae, is an annual plant that grows wild in Asia. In this study, statistically significant changes of expression of TLR2 and TLR4 were demonstrated. In the lungs of infected mice after application of extract from A. annua the expression of TLRs was observed mainly in bronchial epithelial cells, pneumocytes (to a lesser extent during the outbreak of infection), and in the course of high general TLR expression. TLR4 in particular was also visible in stromal cells of lung parenchyma. In conclusion, we confirmed that a plant extract of A. annua has a modulatory effect on components of the immune system such as TLR2 and TLR4.

Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

KEYWORDS:

Acanthamoeba sp.; Artemisia annua; Lungs; Mice; TLR2; TLR4

PMID:

 

30796912

 

DOI:

 

10.1016/j.exppara.2019.02.011

[Indexed for MEDLINE]

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