Maternal and fetal outcome of pregnancy in Swiss mice infected with Plasmodium berghei ANKAGFP

Publication date: Available online 13 July 2019Source: Reproductive ToxicologyAuthor(s): Ana Cláudia Boareto, Caroline Gomes, Juliane Centeno Müller, Jonas Golart da Silva, Fernanda Vergara, Noruê Salum, Rafaela Maristany Sargaço, Rosângela Ribeiro de Carvalho, José Ederaldo Queiroz Telles, Cláudio Romero Farias Marinho, Francisco José Roma Paumgartten, Paulo Roberto DalsenterAbstractMalaria in pregnant women is associated with risk of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality, and there are few antimalarial drugs considered safe to treat them, so it is necessary to develop safer antimalarial medicines. The goal of this study was to develop an animal model for human malaria during pregnancy by characterizing the maternal and fetal outcomes in malaria infected Swiss mice. For that, in the present study, we evaluated the outcome of pregnancy in Swiss mice infected with Plasmodium berghei ANKAGFP. We observed a reduction of fetal body weight and signs of skeletal ossification retardation in the offspring of mice infected on GD 12. The group of mice infected with malaria presented premature deliveries and histopathology changes consistent with placental malaria. Our study suggests that Swiss Webster mice infected with P. berghei ANKAGFP on GD 12 might be a valuable model to investigate the safety and the efficacy of new antimalarial drugs indicated to pregnant women.Graphical abstract
Source: Reproductive Toxicology - Category: Toxicology Source Type: research