Korean J Parasitol.  2014 Dec;52(6):613-619. 10.3347/kjp.2014.52.6.613.

Flavonoids Modulate the Proliferation of Neospora caninum in Glial Cell Primary Cultures

• Barbosa de Matos R
• Braga-de-Souza S
• Pena Seara Pitanga B
• Amaral da Silva VD
• Viana de Jesus EE
• Morales Pinheiro A
• Dias Costa MdF
• dos Santos El-Bacha R
• de Oliveira Ribeiro CS
• Lima Costa S

• KMID: 2069811
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3347/kjp.2014.52.6.613

Abstract

Neospora caninum (Apicomplexa; Sarcocystidae) is a protozoan that causes abortion in cattle, horses, sheep, and dogs as well as neurological and dermatological diseases in dogs. In the central nervous system of dogs infected with N. caninum, cysts were detected that exhibited gliosis and meningitis. Flavonoids are polyphenolic compounds that exhibit antibacterial, antiparasitic, antifungal, and antiviral properties. In this study, we investigated the effects of flavonoids in a well-established in vitro model of N. caninum infection in glial cell cultures. Glial cells were treated individually with 10 different flavonoids, and a subset of cultures was also infected with the NC-1 strain of N. caninum. All of the flavonoids tested induced an increase in the metabolism of glial cells and many of them increased nitrite levels in cultures infected with NC-1 compared to controls and uninfected cultures. Among the flavonoids tested, 3',4'-dihydroxyflavone, 3',4',5,7-tetrahydroxyflavone (luteolin), and 3,3',4',5,6-pentahydroxyflavone (quercetin), also inhibited parasitophorous vacuole formation. Taken together, our findings show that flavonoids modulate glial cell responses, increase NO secretion, and interfere with N. caninum infection and proliferation.

Keyword

Neospora caninum; glia; flavonoid; nitric oxide (NO)

MeSH Terms

Animals
Cells, Cultured
Flavonoids/*pharmacology
Immunologic Factors/*pharmacology
Neospora/*drug effects/*growth & development
Neuroglia/*drug effects/*parasitology
Rats, Wistar
Flavonoids
Immunologic Factors