Fig. 1

Plasmodium berghei strain NK65 infection induces pulmonary injury. C57B1/6 animals were inoculated i.p. with 10⁴ non-parasitized red blood cells (NP-RBC) or with 10⁴ parasitized red blood cells (PRBC). a Survival curve during 15 days. In a different set of experiments the animals were euthanized after 8 days. BALF was collected and the total and differential number of cells counted. The total cell count was performed on the Turk solution, and differential counts were performed in cytospin smears stained by Panótico. b Number of total cells Number of mononuclear cells. c Number of polymorphonuclear cells. d For evaluation of lung oedema and histological studies animals were euthanized 9 days after infection. e Total lung weight. Ratio between dry/wet weight. f Protein concentration in the BALF. g Histological analysis. h The sections were stained with haematoxylin and eosin. The patterns shown in the photos are representative of three experiments, each containing five animals. Magnification of ×10. The bar on the lower right corner of the photomicrographs indicates 100 µm. BALF and lung tissues were also processed for ELISA. i CCL-2/MCP-1, CCL-5/RANTES, both evaluated in lung tissue (left side graphic) and in BALF (right side graphic). j Parasitaemia during 12 days. Graphics are representative of three experiments, each line being the average of ten animals per experimental group; *p ≤ 0.05 when compared to uninfected controls. P values were generated using an unpaired T-test