Effects of monoclonal antibodies to adhesion molecules on eosinophilic myocarditis in Toxocara canis-infected CBA/J mice.

Eosinophilic myocarditis followed by fibrosis of the cardiac muscle was observed in addition to peripheral blood eosinophilia in CBA/J mice infected with Toxocara canis. The infected mice were used as an experimental model of eosinophilic endomyocarditis associated with hypereosinophilic syndrome. Effects of in vivo treatment with MoAbs to adhesion molecules on eosinophilic myocarditis were examined using this experimental model. Expressions of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) on endothelial cells of capillaries in myocardium were increased 1 and 2 weeks after infection. Infiltration of very late antigen (VLA)-4+ and/or CD11a+ cells into the cardiac muscles was also observed 1 and 2 weeks after infection. Infiltration of eosinophils into the heart was significantly suppressed by anti-CD18 MoAb and anti-VLA-4 MoAb, and focal fibrosis of the cardiac muscle was also significantly suppressed by combined administration of anti-CD18 and anti-ICAM-1 MoAbs. These results indicate that adhesion molecules may play important roles in eosinophilic myocarditis, and that blockade of interaction between adhesion molecules and their ligands may help to control it.