Induction of macrophage activation and opsonizing antibodies by Trypanosoma cruzi subpopulations

Macrophage activation and production of opsonizing antibodies were studied in mice either infected with a lethal and reticulotropic Trypanosoma cruzi strain, RA, or with a non lethal and myotropic strain, CA-I, as well as with a clone, K98 (derived from CA-I), similar to the parental strain. Measurement of macrophage respiratory burst by chemiluminescence disclosed that T. cruzi infection induced an enhancement of the respiratory burst, no matter the parasite subpopulation employed. But, while in mice surviving RA infection the respiratory burst was higher than during the acute period and parasitaemia was efficiently controlled, in mice infected with K98 enhanced respiratory burst coexisted with measurable levels of parasitaemia either at acute or chronic infection periods. Macrophage activation was also proved by enhanced trypanocidal activity in macrophages derived from mice infected with any of the parasite subpopulations. Sera from RA mice opsonized and lysed T. cruzi bloodstream forms efficiently, whereas sera from CA-I or K98 mice neither lysed nor opsonized this parasite stage. All three subpopulations assayed here showed IgG bound to their membranes in vivo and similar capping kinetics, but only antibodies bound to RA parasites invariably triggered lysis. Therefore, the role played by macrophage activation in resistance and control of Pm levels is related to some features of each T. cruzi subpopulation, such as its capacity to invade macrophages and to elicit opsonizing antibodies.