Increased expression of tyrosine phosphatase SHP2 in experimental pneumococcal meningitis: correlation with tumor necrosis factor-alpha and cerebrospinal fluid pleocytosis.

Protein tyrosine phosphatase SHP2 plays a crucial role in the development of the central nervous system. To explore the expression and possible role of SHP2 during the course of bacterial meningitis, this article reports a juvenile rat bacterial meningitis model established by direct intracisternal injection of Streptococcus pneumoniae. Expression of SHP2 at both mRNA and protein levels were assessed. White blood cell count and concentration of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were also measured. In the cortex, bacterial meningitis led to a significant upregulation of mRNA encoding SHP2. SHP2 protein levels and CSF white blood cell count were positively correlated. However, there was no significant correlation between the levels of SHP2 protein and TNF-alpha concentrations in CSF. These findings do not support an essential role of SHP2 in the pathogenesis of experimental pneumoniae meningitis, but it is possible that SHP2 protein expression may be used as a marker of disease activity.