Hostname: page-component-6766d58669-l4t7p Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-05-23T05:44:41.072Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Evidence for the involvement of the optic nerve as a migration route for larvae in ocular toxocariasis of Mongolian gerbils

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2024

E. Hayashi ,
N. Akao  and
K. Fujita
E. Hayashi*
Affiliation:
Section of Environmental Parasitology, Department of International Health Development, Division of Public Health, Graduate School, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8519, Japan
N. Akao
Affiliation:
Section of Environmental Parasitology, Department of International Health Development, Division of Public Health, Graduate School, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8519, Japan
K. Fujita
Affiliation:
Section of Environmental Parasitology, Department of International Health Development, Division of Public Health, Graduate School, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8519, Japan
*
*Fax: +81 3 56842849 E-mail: eha.vip@tmd.ac.jp
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Although Toxocara canis, an important pathogen of ocular disease, tends to migrate to the eye, the precise migratory route has yet to be determined experimentally. Mongolian gerbils, Meriones unguiculatus, known as a useful animal model for human toxocariasis, were used to investigate the migration route toward the eyes. Infective larvae of T. canis were directly inoculated into the intracranial region. Haemorrhagic lesions or larvae were observed in 56.3% of cases. Histopathologically, a larva was observed in the optic nerve of gerbils 6 days after inoculation, and two larvae were found in the optic chiasma in the gerbils having a haemorrhage in the retina 9 days after inoculation. These results indicate that T. canis migrates from the brain to the eye through the optic nerve. Considering these data and previous studies showing that the ocular changes appear as early as 3 days of infection in the oral-administrated gerbils, there are two phases in the migration to the retina: a haematogenous early phase and an optic nerve route late phase.

Information

Type
Review Article
Information
Journal of Helminthology , Volume 77 , Issue 4 , December 2003 , pp. 311 - 315
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2003

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Abo-Shehada, M.N. & Harbert, I.V. (1984) The migration of larval Toxocara canis in mice. II. Post-intestinal migration in primary infections. Veterinary Parasitology 17, 75–83.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Akao, N., Takayanagi, H.T., Suzuki, R., Tsukidate, S. & Fujita, K. (2000) Ocular larva migrans caused by Toxocara cati in Mongolian gerbils and comparison of ophthalmologic findings with those produced by T. canis . Journal of Parasitology 86, 1133–1135.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Duguid, I.M. (1961) Chronic endophthalmitis due to Toxocara . British Journal of Ophthalmology 45, 787–796.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ghafoor, S.Y., Smith, H.V. & Lee, W.R. (1984) Experimental ocular toxocariasis: a mouse model. British Journal of Ophthalmology 68, 89–96.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Glickman, L.T. & Magnaval, J.F. (1993) Zoonotic roundworm infections. Infectious Disease Clinics of North America 3, 717–732.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harris, W. (1961) Pseudo-glioma due to larval choroid-retinal granulomatosis. British Journal of Ophthalmology 45, 144–146.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Irvine, W.L. & Irvine, A.R. Jr (1959) Nematode endophthalmitis. American Journal of Ophthalmology 47, 185–191.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
John, T., Donnelly, J.J. & Rockey, J.H. (1983) Experimental ocular Toxocara canis and Ascaris suum infection: in vivo and in vitro study. Transactions of the Pennsylvania Academy of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology 36, 131–137.Google ScholarPubMed
Kira, J., Yamasaki, K., Kawano, Y. & Kobayashi, T. (1997) Acute myelitis associated with hyperIgEemia and atopic dermatitis. Journal of the Neurological Sciences 148, 199–203.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Komiyama, A., Hasegawa, O., Nakamura, S., Ohono, S. & Kondo, K. (1995) Optic neuritis in cerebral toxocariasis. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry 59, 197–198.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kondo, K. (1970) Experimental studies of “larva migrans”. Journal of Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine 79, 32–56 (in Japanese with English abstract).Google Scholar
Kunishige, A. (1964) Histologic and histochemical studies on experimental “visceral larva migrans” in rabbits and mice. Shikoku Acta Medica 21, 546–567 (in Japanese).Google Scholar
Luxenberg, M.N. (1979) An experimental approach to the study of intraocular Toxocara canis . Transactions of the American Ophthalmological Society 77, 542–602.Google Scholar
Maguire, A.M., Green, W.R. & Michels, R.G. (1990) Recovery of intraocular Toxocara canis by pars plana vitrectomy. Ophthalmology 97, 675–680.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Miyamoto, K. (1972) Experimental toxocariasis in abnormal hosts 2) Histophotological studies on mice and guinea pigs infected with Toxocara canis. Japanese Journal of Parasitology 21, (Suppl.), 54 (in Japanese).Google Scholar
Olson, L.J. (1976) Ocular toxocariasis in mice: distribution of larvae and lesions. International Journal for Parasitology 6, 247–251.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Oshima, T. (1961) Standardization of techniques for infecting mice with Toxocara canis and observations on the normal migration routes of the larvae. Journal of Parasitology 47, 652–656.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Parke, D.W. II. & Shaver, R.P. (1996) Toxocariasis. pp. 1225–1235 in Pepose, J.S., Holland, G.N. & Wilhelmus, K.R. (Eds). Ocular infection and immunity. St Lois, Mosby.Google Scholar
Rey, A. (1962) Chronic endophthalmitis due to Toxocara . British Journal of Ophthalmology 46, 616–618.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shields, J.A. (1984) Ocular toxocariasis. A review. Survey of Ophthalmology 28, 361–381.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Takayanagi, H.T., Akao, N., Suzuki, R., Tomoda, M., Tsukidate, S. & Fujita, K. (1999) New animal model for human ocular toxocariasis: ophthalmoscopic observation. British Journal of Ophthalmology 83, 967–972.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tomoda, M., Suzuki, R., Takayanagi, T., Akao, N., Yokoi, K., Sakai, J. & Fujita, K. (2000) Neuro-histopathological study of gerbils infected with Toxocara canis . Proceeding of the Regional Meeting of the Japanese Society of Parasitology the East Branch 32, (in Japanese).Google Scholar
Watzke, R.C., Oaks, J.A. & Folk, J.C. (1984) Toxocara canis infection of the eye. Correlation of clinical observations with developing pathology in the primate model. Archives of Ophthalmology 102, 282–291.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed