Cardiac denervation in mice infected with Trypanosoma cruzi

The neuronal features of the hearts of mice that were acutely or chronically infected with the Y strain of Trypanosoma cruzi were compared with those of control hearts from uninfected mice. Whole-mount preparations of the murine atria, isolated by microdissection, were stained to reveal neurons with NADH-diaphorase activity. Counts, by a microscopist who was blind to the infection status of the donor mouse, revealed that there were significantly (38%) fewer such neurons in the atria from the acutely infected mice than in the atria from the control hearts. The ganglia of the infected mice were also irregularly distributed, severely damaged ganglia being found beside slightly degenerated or morphologically normal ones. Although the ganglia contained small, medium and large neurons, the apparent destruction caused by T. cruzi was confined to the large ones. As neuron counts in preparations of hearts from mice with chronic infections were 32% lower than those in the control hearts, there appears to be no additional loss of cardiac neurons as the acute infection in mice progresses to the chronic phase.     

Acetylcholinesterase levels in skeletal muscle of mice infected with Trypanosoma cruzi

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity was measured in skeletal muscle from susceptible (A/J) and resistant (C57BL/6) mice infected with the Brazil strain (myotropic) of Trypanosoma cruzi. There was a 60% decrease in activity in skeletal muscle obtained from A/J mice 20 days post-infection as compared to controls. There was no decrease in AChE activity in skeletal muscle obtained from infected C57BL/6 mice 20 and 150 days post-infection. Histologic examination of skeletal muscle from infected A/J mice revealed marked necrosis, pseudocysts, and minimal inflammation. Similar examinations in C57BL/6 mice revealed marked inflammation in the absence of necrosis and parasites. These data provide additional biochemical support that denervation hypersensitivity is an important concomitant of Chagas' disease and that it is already present during the acute stage. Additionally, it may support the notion that the presence of the parasite mediates these abnormalities.     

Specific cutaneous hypersensitivity responses in mice infected or immunized with Trypanosoma cruzi

Summary The appearance and development of cutaneous hypersensitivity to epimastigote antigen was followed during the early phase of Trypanosoma cruzi infection in mice. The effect of living BCG on the kinetics of skin reactivity was studied in animals infected with T. cruzi blood trypomastigotes or artificially immunized with disrupted epimastigotes. BCG stimulated the immediate response in infected animals while preferentially stimulating delayed responses in immunized animals. Infection with living blood trypomastigotes depressed already existing delayed-type responses. The development of delayed-type responses was also impaired in animals immunized in the course of the infection.     

Weekly electrocardiographic pattern in mice infected with two different Trypanosoma cruzi strains

BACKGROUND: Chagas' disease, which is caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, affects 20 million people. The electrocardiographic alterations are usually the first evidence of disease progression. In this work, we evaluated if two different T. cruzi strains presented electrocardiographic and heart histopathological alterations that could be characteristic and only achieved to the parasite strain. The moment when the electric alterations began was also studied. METHODS: Albino mice (n=100) were inoculated with 50 (n=50) and 500 (n=50) trypomastigotes of T. cruzi, for Tulahuen strain and SGO-Z12 isolate, respectively. Electrocardiograms were obtained before infection and once a week from 7 to 147 days post infection (d.p.i). Dipolar and unipolar leads were analyzed. Hearts were removed by necropsy on 14, 90 and 147 d.p.i. Each heart was cut horizontally into 5-mum sections and they were stained with Hematoxilin-Eosine. RESULTS: At 147 d.p.i., 30% of Tul-infected mice were found alive, while in the SGO-Z12 infected group, 75% were alive at the same moment. The Tul-infected group showed more intraventricular blockage alterations than the other groups from 49 to 70 d.p.i, (p<0.01). No structural cardiac alterations were detected in SGO-Z12-infected mice at 7 d.p.i., while the Tul-infected group showed mononuclear cell infiltrates. At 147 d.p.i., fiber disorganization and cell infiltration were observed in the SGO-Z12 and Tul-infected groups. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated that T. cruzi Tulahuen strain and SGO-Z12 isolate determined different electrocardiographic alterations which were characteristic for each stage of the experimental Chagas' disease. These results highlight the importance of the T. cruzi strain in the severity of the cardiopathy.     

Pathologic fibrosis and matrix connective tissue in the subaortic myocardium of patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

To evaluate scar-type and matrix connective tissue and to assess their role in the diastolic dysfunction of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, surgically resected subaortic myectomy specimens and several autopsy hearts from patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy were studied. Eighteen specimens were differentially stained by a newly developed method that precisely determines relative collagen content; these tissues were compared with postmortem hypertrophied and normal control subaortic specimens. Quantitation revealed a 72% higher level (36.5 vs. 22.1 micrograms collagen/mg protein) of stainable collagen in the hearts with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy than in hypertrophied control hearts. The endocardial plaque was quantitated morphometrically, and it constituted only 4.6 +/- 1.7% of the total increased collagen content in the cardiomyopathy specimens. For the matrix studies, the cardiomyopathy specimens were stained by a silver impregnation technique that identifies connective tissue elements not normally visible with routine histologic methods. There was a marked increase in content of all matrix components, both in areas of pathologic scarring and in "normal" zones. Whorls of matrix connective tissue were noted in regions of myocyte whorls, as well as independent of them. Thus, these studies revealed a striking increase of both scar-type and matrix connective tissue in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The extensive scarring and the pronounced interstitial and intercellular matrix connective tissue may contribute to the increased ventricular chamber stiffness and impaired relaxation in this disease.     

Thioridazine treatment modifies the evolution of Trypanosoma cruzi infection in mice

Thioridazine, a tricyclic drug, is known to have a direct effect on Trypanosoma cruzi, disrupting the parasites' mitochondria and kinetoplasts. In the present study, the drug was used orally, at 80 mg/kg.day for 3 days, to treat mice inoculated with low numbers of T. cruzi. The drug caused no apparent toxicity in the host. It cleared trypomastigotes from the bloodstream, prevented the histological and functional alterations of the heart normally observed in the chronic phase of the experimental disease, and greatly reduced the mortality rate compared with that in untreated, infected controls. When checked 135 days post-infection, the density of cardiac beta receptors and the cardiac histology of the treated mice were indistinguishable from those of uninfected, untreated controls. The drug is already used to treat humans, as a neuroleptic drug. It appears to be able to prevent acute infection with T. cruzi evolving into chronic disease, at least in mice, and may be a useful base from which to design new agents for the treatment of Chagas disease.     

Fractionation of immune RNA isolated from the spleens of mice infected with Trypanosoma cruzi

Immune RNA was extracted from the spleens of mice infected with Trypanosoma cruzi. The immunologic activity of crude immune RNA and the fractions that were obtained by sucrose density gradient centrifugation was assessed by the in vitro macrophage migration-inhibition assay. Crude immune RNA can convert nonsensitized mouse peritoneal cells to a state of specific immunologic reactivity to T. cruzi antigens. The transfer activity of crude immune RNA was abolished by treatment with pancreatic ribonuclease. The 4S-5S RNA was the only fraction active in transferring delayed hypersensitivity in experimental Chagas' disease; however, the 4S transfer RNA also isolated from the spleens of mice with Chagas' disease has no immunologic activity. Immune RNA in experimental Chagas' disease may be an informational RNA.     

Modification of T-cell proliferation and interleukin 2 production in mice infected with Trypanosoma cruzi.

Acute infection of mice with Trypanosoma cruzi results in severe immunodepression and the appearance of autoimmune symptoms. In vitro, concanavalin A-stimulated T cells from spleens of infected animals could neither produce nor respond to interleukin 2. Interleukin 2 production was not restored by addition of exogenous interleukin 1, and proliferative response to concanavalin A was not restored by exogenous interleukin 2. A population of Thy-1-negative cells in the spleen of infected animals was shown to suppress the concanavalin A proliferative response and, to a lesser extent, the production of interleukin 2. These and other symptoms of T. cruzi-infected mice are similar to the immune dysfunction of autoimmune lpr/lpr mice. These findings are discussed in relationship to the pathology of Chagas disease.     

Specific and non-specific lymphocyte blastogenic responses in individuals infected with Trypanosoma cruzi

Lymphocyte blastogenic response to various parasite-specific and non-parasite antigens was measured in 31 Trypanosoma cruzi-infected individuals representing the indeterminate, megadisease and cardiomyopathy forms of Chagas' disease. The non-parasite antigens and mitogens stimulated responses in the peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) cultures of the infected individuals to levels not different than the stimulation seen in PBMC of the normal control group (n = 10). The cell culture antigen (CC-Ag) derived from trypomastigote-amastigote forms of T. cruzi and the epimastigote antigen (EPI-Ag) elicited a strong response among all infected individuals in contrast to virtually no response among the normal controls. Comparisons among the individuals with T. cruzi infection stimulated with EPI-Ag showed no significant difference between the clinical groups. However, stimulus with CC-Ag showed the megadisease group response to be greater than the response of the indeterminate group, but not different than than of the cardiomyopathy group. The possible biological implications of these findings are discussed.     

Trypanosoma cruzi: susceptibility in mice carrying mutant gene lpr (lymphoproliferation)

Summary There is evidence that autoimmune aberrations may contribute to the immunopathological consequences of Chagas' disease and because of this we sought to determine whether four inbred strains of mice bearing the single autosomal recessive gene, lpr (lymphoproliferation), which controls certain autoimmune manifestations, are particularly susceptible to acute infection with the Y strain of Trypanosoma cruzi. MRL/MpJ-lpr/lpr, C57B1/6J-lpr/lpr, AKR/J-lpr/lpr, C3H/HeJ-lpr/lpr showed parasitaemias 2–10 times higher when compared to their congenic partners. Mortality was significantly higher in three of the four lpr strains. The results indicate that a single autosomal recessive gene which is associated with autoimmunity can influence susceptibility to acute T. cruzi infection in mice.     

CCR5 plays a critical role in the development of myocarditis and host protection in mice infected with Trypanosoma cruzi

The pathogenesis of myocarditis during Trypanosoma cruzi infection is poorly understood. We investigated the role played by chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) in the influx of T cells to the cardiac tissue of T. cruzi-infected mice. mRNA and protein for the CCR5 ligands CCL3, CCL4, and CCL5 were detected in the hearts of infected mice in association with CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. There was a high level of CCR5 expression on CD8+ T cells in the hearts of infected mice. Moreover, CCR5 expression on CD8+ T cells was positively modulated by T. cruzi infection. CCR5-deficient mice infected with T. cruzi experienced a dramatically inhibited migration of T cells to the heart and were also more susceptible to infection. These results suggest that CCR5 and its ligands play a central role in the control of T cell influx in T. cruzi-infected mice. Knowledge of the mechanisms that trigger and control the migration of cells to the heart in patients with Chagas disease may help in the design of drugs that prevent myocarditis and protect against the development of severe disease.     

Effect of reinfection on the development of rats infected with Trypanosoma cruzi

The present study was undertaken in order to demonstrate that reinfection could modify parasitemia, serum antibodies, electrocardiographic patterns and/or myocardial lesions already observed in a rat model. Experimental groups IG: rats infected at weaning with 1 x 10(6) T. cruzi; RG: same as IG plus reinoculations each 30 days until completion on day 150; IG1: 51 day old infected rats; C: controls. A high parasitemia was detected in IG and RG until day 20 showing a tendency to become negative on day 30. No parasites were observed in RG after the first reinoculation which could not be attributed to the old age of the host since there was no parasitemia in IG1. Xenodiagnosis were negative in all three groups. Serum antibodies were not significantly modified in RG in comparison with IG, except for 7S antibodies, since RG showed higher titres in some days under study. No distinct patterns of basal ECG were observed in infected rats. The ajmaline test reduced the heart rate (HR) showing no treatment dependence. The PR, QaT and QRS were significantly lengthened in all groups regarding the basal one (p less than 0.05), except for the QaT in C. Besides, the PR and QaT alterations were greater in the infected rats (p less than 0.05). There was also present a wide variety of electric axis orientations, regarding the basal value, accompanied by morphological changes more evident in the RG. The incidence of cardiac lesions histologically detected in the infected group was significantly higher than in C (p less than 0.01).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines in pregnant women chronically infected with Trypanosoma cruzi

Mother-to-child transmission of intracellular parasites could be related to the production of immunoregulatory cytokines. The levels of gamma interferon (IFN-gamma), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and lnterleukin (IL)-10 were evaluated during pregnancy in sera of women chronically infected with Trypanosoma cruzi that delivered infected or non-infected children. The levels of IL-10 increased in both, women only pregnant and only infected, compared to non-infected non-pregnant women. However, in pregnant women chronically infected with T. cruzi, IL-10 did not increase significantly, neither in the mothers of infected nor in the mothers of non-infected children. The levels of the inflammatory cytokine TNF-alpha were not affected in normal pregnancy but increased in the infected mothers of non-infected children. The levels of IFN-gamma did not increase in the groups studied, indicating that the production of this pro-inflammatory cytokine was controlled, even when the levels of IL-10 did not increase, as in pregnant women chronically infected with T. cruzi.     

Neurochemical measurements in the brains of mice infected with Trypanosoma brucei brucei (TREU 667)

Trypanosoma brucei brucei (TREU 667) infected mice were used as a model of African trypanosomiasis, a disease in which neuropsychiatric manifestations occur. To study the possible neurochemical basis of these abnormalities, we measured brain acetylcholine receptor numbers, activities of the cholinergic enzymes, choline acetyltransferase (CAT), and acetylcholinesterase (AChE), and regional concentrations of the monoamines, dopamine (DA), serotonin (5-HT), and norepinephrine (NE), and their acid metabolites, homovanillic acid (HVA), 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC), and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) in mice infected with T. b. brucei. There were no significant changes in CAT or AChE activities or acetylcholine receptor numbers at either 35 or 50 days post-infection (PI). At day 35 PI, the only significant finding was a decrease in 5-HIAA concentration in the brain stem, a change which did not persist to day 50 PI. At day 50 PI there were, however, significant increases in DA concentration in the brain stem and NE concentrations in the hippocampus, cerebellum, brain stem and striatum. To establish a chronic relapsing murine model, mice were treated with diminazene aceturate (Berenil) at day 60 PI and killed 60 days later (120 days PI). In these mice, 5-HT concentrations were significantly increased in the hypothalamus and decreased in the cortex. In addition, 5-HIAA concentrations were increased in the striatum and hypothalamus and HVA concentrations were increased in the striatum and hippocampus. Our data, taken together with that of others, suggests that there are alterations in the monoaminergic, but not in the cholinergic, neuronal system, in African trypanosomiasis. These data may form the basis for the neuropsychiatric abnormalities that are associated with this disease.