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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*
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

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.

Type
Review Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2003

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