Trypanosoma cruzi: treatment with the iron chelator desferrioxamine reduces parasitemia and mortality in experimentally infected mice.
The effects of prolonged treatment with iron chelator (desferrioxamine) on the development of infection in mice inoculated with Y Trypanosoma cruzi were determined. Infected/treated mice presented lower levels of parasitemia and reduced mortality rate compared with infected/non-treated animals. The five out of twenty infected/treated mice that survived the acute phase of infection showed negative hemoculture and positive ELISA in the acute and chronic phases and positive PCR in the acute phase: in the chronic phase, three of the animals presented negative PCR. The single surviving infected/non-treated animal exhibited positive hemoculture, PCR and ELISA in both phases of infection. Infected groups presented lower levels of iron in the liver compared with treated/non-infected or non-treated/non-infected animals. The serum iron levels of the infected/non-treated group were higher on the 21st day post-infection in comparison with control and infected/treated groups. These results suggest that decrease of iron in the host leads to T. cruzi infection attenuation.
Arantes
Jerusa Marilda
JM
Núcleo de Pesquisas em Ciências Biológicas (NUPEB), Instituto de Ciências Exatas e Biológicas (ICEB), Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto (UFOP), Rua Costa Sena 171, 35 400-000 Ouro Preto, MG, Brazil.
Pedrosa
Maria Lúcia
ML
Martins
Helen Rodrigues
HR
Veloso
Vanja Maria
VM
de Lana
Marta
M
Bahia
Maria Terezinha
MT
Tafuri
Washington Luiz
WL
Carneiro
Cláudia Martins
CM
D000818:Animals; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality; D003676:Deferoxamine / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000032:analysis / Q000187:drug effects; D007501:Iron / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood; D008099:Liver / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D018512:Parasitemia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality; D017262:Siderophores / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D014774:Virulence / Q000187:drug effects
D006454:Hemoglobins; D017262:Siderophores; D007501:Iron; D003676:Deferoxamine