抗エリスロポエチン抗体によるマラリア抑制効果

概要

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In a series of recent studies, we observed that erythropoesis began in the liver and spleen of mice infected with malaria and that newly generated erythrocytes in the liver became good targets for malarial parasite infection. At such time, erythropoietin (EPO) increased in the sera of these mice. In the present study, we modulated the serum level of EPO by the administration of EPO (up-regulation) or anti-EPO antibody (Ab) (down-regulation). When mice were infected with a nonlethal strain (17NXL) of Plasmodium (P.) yoelii (i.e., blood-stage infection of 10^4 parasitized erythrocytes/mouse), parasitemia continued for a month, showing a peak at day 17. Daily injection of EPO (200IU/day/mouse) from day 5 to 14 prolonged parasitemia, whereas that of anti-EPO Ab (1.5mg/day/mouse) every other day from day 5 to 28 decreased it. Erythropoiesis was confirmed in the liver, spleen and bone marrow by the appearance of nucleated erythrocytes (TER119^+). When anti-EPO Ab was injected by the same protocol in mice infected with a lethal strain (17XL) of P.yoelii, all mice showed decreased parasitemia and recovered from the infection. These results suggest that the use of anti-EPO Ab after malarial infection may be of therapeutic value in severe cases of malaria.
2005-07-10