TRYPANOSOMA-BRUCEI PRODUCTS ACTIVATE COMPONENTS OF THE REACTIVE RESPONSE IN ASTROCYTES IN-VITRO

A study was made of the effects of T. b. brucei and the disrupted para site material on different components of the reactive response of astr ocytes in primary cultures prepared from neonatal rats and C6 glioma c ells. The effects were compared with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and frag ments of the Cd cells. The disrupted trypanosome material, LPS and Cd fragments caused dose - and time - dependent alterations in morphology of the primary cultures from flat to stellate shape, increases in lev els of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAp) and enhanced MHC class I and II expression. Exposure to trypanosome material and C6 fragments caused marked increases in phagolysosomes and lysosomes in the primary cultures. The findings demonstrate that T. b. brucei products and ast rocyte cell debris are internalized and initiate astrogliosis in vitro .