[Trypanosoma cruzi pathology. Strain dependent?].
There is agreement today about the role that the characteristics of the population of Trypanosoma cruzi play in the pathogenesis of the different clinical forms of Chagas disease. In our laboratory, we have studied the outcome of the infection of mice with two populations with polar biological behaviour: RA and CA-I. We have demonstrated that the neuromuscular damage is, in part, mediated by different T cell subsets. We have also observed that the T cell phenotype responsible for the pathology and the targetted tissues depend on the parasite population. Although we found no differences regarding the reactivity of IgG to native nerve structures in sera from mice infected with either strain, it is presumed that the humoral response would play an additional role in the development of strain-dependent neuromuscular pathology since passive transfer of sera from mice infected with RA triggered alterations of the nerve action potential whereas sera from CA-I-infected mice did not. We have also detected a reduction in the fertility of female mice infected with CA-I/K98, whereas females infected with RA showed no difference in comparison with uninfected controls. However, congenital transmission was only observed in mice infected with RA. The differences observed in fertility, in newborn survival, and in the number of fetal resorptions in mice infected with the myotropic strain could be attributed to the uterine inflammatory response, since no estrous alterations were observed between infected and control groups.
Gonzalez Cappa
S M
SM
Departamento de Microbiología, Parasitología e Inmunología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina. smgcappa@fmed.uba.ar
Mirkin
G A
GA
Solana
M E
ME
Tekiel
V S
VS
D000818:Animals; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan / Q000276:immunology; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology*; D005260:Female; D016131:Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D009468:Neuromuscular Diseases / Q000469:parasitology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D013045:Species Specificity; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi / Q000145:classification* / Q000276:immunology
D000953:Antigens, Protozoan