Development of a Murine Model of Neuroparacoccidioidomycosis

Paracoccidioidomycosis is the most important systemic mycosis in Latin America. In the last decades, it was verified that central nervous system involvement is frequent, occurring in 12.5% of the cases. Despite the relevance of this severe form of the disease, there are not experimental models for the study of the interactions established between the fungus and the central nervous system. We developed a murine model of neuroparacoccid- ioidomycosis with intracranial inoculation of 10 6 yeast cells of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis (strain PB18) in C57BL/6 mice. Animals developed lesions similar to those described in human patients and morbidity was evaluated by the SHIRPA behavioral battery, showing progressive and severe cognitive compromise. With the development of this model, future studies will be able to evaluate several pathogenic and therapeutic aspects of neuroparacoccidioidomycosis in order to improve survival or lessen morbidity of this severe disease.