Rosuvastatin revert memory impairment and anxiogenic-like effect in mice
infected with the chronic ME-49 strain of Toxoplasma
gondii
Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of rosuvastatin
treatment on memory impairment, and anxiogenic-like effects in mice
chronically infected with Toxoplasma gondii. For this,
Balb/c mice were infected orally with chronic ME-49 strain of Toxoplasma
gondii. Oral treatment with rosuvastatin (40mg/kg/day) started on the
51th day post-infection and was performed daily for 21 days. After
completion of treatment, anxiety-like effects and locomotion were
investigated in the open field (OF) test, whereas novel object
recognition (NOR) test was used for evaluation of short- and long-term
memory. At the end of the experiments, the brain was collected for
Toxoplasma gondii DNA quantification and
histopathological analysis. Infection with ME-49 strain decreased the
time spent in the center of OF, indicating an anxiogenic effect, without
affecting total and peripheral locomotion. Rosuvastatin treatment
inhibited the change in the center time. Besides, pharmacological
treatment increased total and central locomotion in both non-infected
and infected animals. Infection also impaired both short- and long-term
memory in the NOR test, and these effects were reverted by rosuvastatin
treatment. In addition to effects in behavioral changes, rosuvastatin
also reduced parasite load in the brain and attenuated signs of brain
inflammation such as perivascular cuffs, inflammatory cell infiltration
and tissue damage. These findings indicate for the first time the
efficacy of rosuvastatin in treatment of memory impairment and
anxiogenic effect evoked by infection with Toxoplasma
gondii. These effects might be mediated by reduced cyst load,
which in turn decrease inflammation and damage in the brain.