Malaria is a severe infectious disease caused by parasites of the genus Plasmodium that infect different types of vertebrate’s hosts and is responsible for a huge number of deaths. The severe Malaria can lead to death and involves different pathophysiological signs as well as anemia and inflammation. Experimental models are necessary to improve the knowledge about mechanisms involved at the pathogenesis of the disease and the developing new protocols of treatment. Chickens infected with P. gallinaceum are a good model of malaria due to phylogenetic relatedness with human Plasmodium and because both species presents common clinical signs as cerebral malaria. The Nitric Oxide (NO) is an important effector molecule, but little is known about their role in malaria on chickens, meanly due to the lack of specific markers to evidence the NO production in this model. It is known that chickens infected with P. gallinaceum has a high mortality and causes an overproduction of nitrite by macrophages. The animals, when treated with aminoguanidine (AG), an inhibitor of inducible oxide nitric synthase (iNOS), showed a higher level of parasitemia. However, the rate of survivor was superior, beyond the clinical manifestations, as milder anemia. It is necessary to achieve a better comprehension about physiological aspects of avian malaria with the inhibition of NO’s production by the AG. In the context , the present study aims to investigate NOS activity and the role of NO during the avian malaria infection, with in vivo models, using P. gallinaceum as pathological agent , and in vitro with chicken’s macrophage of HD11 strain. This research will give a better understanding of avian malaria in chickens, including cerebral, and the involvement of nitrergic system in infected chickens.
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