Abstract

To elucidate the effect of splenectomy on the development of experimental primary amoebic meningoencephalitis in mice, the death rate and survival time of mice infected intranasally with Naegleria fowleri trophozoites 5 x 10(4) cultivated in CGVS medium were compared according to the age when splenectomy was done, and post-operation until experimental infection. Immunodiffusion was undergone to detect the presence of serum antibody due to N. fowleri infection in mice. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was done to compare the protein fractions of mouse serum in each experimental groups. In experiment I, splenectomy was done 3 weeks and infection 4 weeks after birth, the death rate of control, sham operated and splenectomized group were 100 percent, 85 percent and 95 percent, and the mean survival time after infection 7.3 days, 7.5 days and 7.8 days, respectively. In experiment II, splenectomy was undergone 3 weeks and infection 6 weeks after birth, the death rate of control, sham operated and splenectomized group were 95 percent, 95 percent and 95 percent , and the mean survival time after infection 12.1 days, 11.5 days and 11.5 days, respectively. In experiment III, splenectomy was done 5 weeks and infection 6 weeks after birth, the death rate of control, sham operated and splenectomized group were 95 percent, 90 percent and 95 percent, and the mean survival time after infection 8.1 days, 8.3 days and 8.5 days, respectively. By Ouchterlony immunodiffusion, anti-N. fowleri antibody in the serum of mouse with primary amoebic meningoencephalitis was detected against a N. fowleri antigen, which was prepared by ultrasonication of N. fowleri trophozoites, each reacting two lines of precipitation. The patterns of serum fractions by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis were different between control and sham operated groups from splenectomized group in fraction II, III and V, the sera of which were collected after N. fowleri infection. This results may be summarized as that splenectomy has no effect on the development of primary amoebic meningoencephalitis in mice.