interleukin-18 antagonism improved histopathological condi¬tions of malaria infection in mice

background: interleukin 18 (il-18) exerts pleiotropic roles in many inflammatory-related diseases including parasitic infection. previous studies have demonstrated the promising therapeutic potential of modulating il-18 bioactivity in various pathologi­cal conditions. however, its involvement during malaria infection has yet to be established. in this study, we demonstrated the effect of modulating il-18 on the histopathological conditions of malaria infected mice. methods: plasmodium berghei anka infection in male icr mice was used as a model for malaria infection. modulation of il-18 release was carried out by treat­ment of malarial mice with recombinant mouse il-18 (rmil-18) and recombinant mouse il-18 fc chimera (rmil-18fc) intravenously. histopathological study and analysis were performed on major organs including brain, liver, spleen, lungs and kidney. results: treatment with rmil-18fc resulted in significant improvements on the histopathological conditions of the organs in malaria-infected mice. conclusion: il-18 is an important mediator of malaria pathogenesis and targeting il-18 could prove beneficial in malaria-infected host.