Single episode of mild murine malaria induces neuroinflammation, alters microglial profile, impairs adult neurogenesis, and causes deficits in social and anxiety-like behavior

Cerebral malaria is associated with cerebrovascular damage and neurological sequelae. However, the neurological consequences of uncomplicated malaria, the most prevalent form of the disease, remain uninvestigated. Here, using a mild malaria model, we show that a single Plasmodium chabaudi adami infection in adult mice induces neuroinflammation, neurogenic, and behavioral changes in the absence of a blood-brain barrier breach. Using cytokine arrays we show that the infection induces differential serum and brain cytokine profiles, both at peak parasitemia and 15days post-parasite clearance. At the peak of infection, along with the serum, the brain also exhibited a definitive pro-inflammatory cytokine profile, and gene expression analysis revealed that pro-inflammatory cytokines were also produced locally in the hippocampus, an adult neurogenic niche. Hippocampal microglia numbers were enhanced, and we noted a shift to an activated profile at this time point, accompanied by a striking redistribution of the microglia to the subgranular zone adjacent to hippocampal neuronal progenitors. In the hippocampus, a distinct decline in progenitor turnover and survival was observed at peak parasitemia, accompanied by a shift from neuronal to glial fate specification. Studies in transgenic Nestin-GFP reporter mice demonstrated a decline in the Nestin-GFP⁺/GFAP⁺ quiescent neural stem cell pool at peak parasitemia. Although these cellular changes reverted to normal 15days post-parasite clearance, specific brain cytokines continued to exhibit dysregulation. Behavioral analysis revealed selective deficits in social and anxiety-like behaviors, with no change observed in locomotor, cognitive, and depression-like behaviors, with a return to baseline at recovery. Collectively, these findings indicate that even a single episode of mild malaria results in alterations of the brain cytokine profile, causes specific behavioral dysfunction, is accompanied by hippocampal microglial activation and redistribution, and a definitive, but transient, suppression of adult hippocampal neurogenesis.