Table 1.
Immunopathological changes in small animals and rodents investigated as experimental model for post streptococcal complications.
| Antigens (route of injection) | Histological changes | Antibody response | T-cell and cytokine response | Tissue cross reactivity | References | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardiac pathology | ||||||
| Mice | Cell wall fragments of GAS (i.p.) | Myocarditis, valvulitis MNCs, anitschkow cell, PMNCs | Anti-GAS IgG collagen IV reactive IgG | N/A | Basement membrane collagen | (20, 43) |
| Recombinant proteins/peptides of GAS (f.p., s.c.) | Myocarditis, valvulitis | Anti-GAS IgG | CD4+ (M) | Myosin | (77) | |
| Lewis rats | Whole GAS and/or SDSE (f.p., s.c.) | Myocarditis, valvulitis monocyte, fibroblast, aschoff like cell lymphocyte, macrophages | Anti-streptococcal IgG Anti-myocardial IgG, antistreptolysin O | CD3+ (M), CD68+ (M), IFN-γ 🠙 (B), IL-17A 🠙 (B), IL-4 🠙 (B) | Myocardial protein, valvular protein, cardiac myosin, collagen | (31, 32, 35, 36) |
| Recombinant proteins/peptides of GAS and/or SDSE (f.p., s.c.) | Myocarditis, valvulitis T-cell, MNCs, PMNCs, anitschkow cell | Anti-myosin IgG Anti- collagen IgG | CD3+ (M), CD4+ (M), CD8+ (M), CD68+ (M), IFN-γ 🠙, IL-17A 🠙, IL-4 🠙 | Myosin, valvular protein, collagen | (26, 27, 30, 34–36) | |
| Serum from GAS exposed rats (s.c.) | Myocarditis, valvulitis T-cell, MNCs, PMNCs, anitschkow cell | Anti-myosin IgG | CD4+ (M) | Myosin, valvular protein, collagen | (36) | |
| Guinea pig | Whole GAS (s.c., f.p., i.m., i.v.) | Myocarditis, valvulitis B-cell, macrophages, MNCs, fibroblast, cytotoxic lymphocytes | Anti-streptococcal IgG | N/A | Cardiac myofibre, sarcolemma | (23, 25) |
| Cell wall fragments of GAS (s.c., f.p., i.m.) | Myocarditis, valvulitis B-cell, macrophages, fibroblast, cytotoxic lymphocytes | Anti-streptococcal IgG | N/A | Cardiac myofibre, sarcolemma | (25) | |
| Rabbit | Whole GAS (s.c., f.p., i.m., i.v., i.d., i.p.) | Myocarditis, valvulitis lymphocyte, MNCs, leukocyte, aschoff bodies, fibroblast, fibrin, collagen | N/A | N/A | Skeletal muscle | (23–25) |
| Cell wall fragments of GAS (s.c., f.p., i.m., i.v., i.d.) | Myofibrosis with degeneration of sarcoplasm, lymphocyte, macrophages, granulocyte | Anti-myosin IgG, Anti-sarcolemmal Ig | T-cell, IL-6 🠙, C3 (CV) | Sarcolemmal membrane protein, myosin | (25, 28, 29, 78) | |
| Neurobehavioral changes | ||||||
| Mice | Whole GAS (s.c., i.n) | Antibody deposition deep cerebellar nuclei globus pallidum, thalamus, periventricular areas | Anti-GAS IgG | CD4+, CD68+Iba1+ Th1 🠙, Th17 🠙, IL-17A 🠙, IFN-γ 🠙(B) | N/A | (57, 61, 62, 67) |
| Serum from GAS exposed mice (s.c.) | Antibody deposition hippocampus periventricular area | Anti-GAS IgG1 | IL-4 🠙 (B) | N/A | (58) | |
| Lewis rats | Whole GAS (s.c.) | Antibody deposition striatum, thalamus, and frontal cortex | Anti-GAS IgG Anti-dopamine IgG | N/A | Dopamine D1R and D2L receptors | (59) |
| Serum from GAS exposed rats (s.c.) | Antibody deposition striatum | Anti-GAS IgG | N/A | Dopamine D1R and D2L, serotonin transporter | (60) | |
f.p., foot pad; i.v., intra venous; i.m., intra muscular; i.d., intra dermal; s.c., sub cutaneous; i.p., intra peritoneal; CV, Cardiac Valve; C, Complement; B, Blood; GAS, Group A streptococci; IFN, Interferon; IgG, Immunoglobulin G; IL, Interleukin; MNC, Mononuclear Cell; M, Myocardium; SDSE, Streptococcus dysgalactiae subspecies equisimilis; PMNC, Polymorphonuclear cells; Th, helper T-cell; TNF, Tumor necrosis factor; 🠙, Elevated; N/A, Not Assessed.