title: Mexican Trypanosoma cruzi isolates: in vitro susceptibility of epimastigotes to anti-trypanosoma cruzi drugs and metacyclic forms to complement-mediated lysis.
abstract: Trypanosoma cruzi has a clonal organization with an ample array of genetic and phenotypic features and probably anaploid constitution. Consequently, the biological behavior, biochemistry, and molecular attributes may be distinctive for each parasite strain in different geographical regions. As far as we know, there is no published information on the susceptibility of Mexican T. cruzi stocks to anti-T. cruzi drugs such as benznidazole and gentian violet, or on its resistance to complement-mediated lysis. We studied 10 Mexican T. cruzi isolates from different geographical areas, such as the pacific coast (Oaxaca, Guerrero, and Nayarit States), central part of Mexico (Guanajuato State), Gulf of Mexico (Veracruz State), and the Yucatan Peninsula (Campeche State). We searched for the natural resistance to drugs in in vitro assay against the 10 Mexican isolates using epimastigote forms and the complement-mediated lysis using metacyclic trypomastigotes insect-derived in three of them (one for each geographic region). In general, we observed high resistance to benznidazole in all the Mexican isolates tested, but in the complement-mediated lysis test, they showed moderate to high susceptibility. Although it is necessary to expand this study by using trypomastigotes and the intracellular form to verify its biological role, we suggest that Mexican T. cruzi parasites may have a variable susceptibility to antibody-mediated lysis and high resistance to benznidazole.
authors.affiliation: Centro Investigación Enfermedades Tropicales, Universidad Autónoma de Campeche, Campeche, Mexico.
authors.forename: Floribeth
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: León-Pérez
authors.forename: Lorena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gómez-Garcia
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Alejandre-Aguilar
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: López
authors.forename: V M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Monteón
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D003165:Complement System Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D004351:Drug Resistance / Q000502:physiology; D005840:Gentian Violet / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005843:Geography; D006801:Humans; D008018:Life Cycle Stages / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D008800:Mexico; D009593:Nitroimidazoles / Q000633:toxicity*; D021261:Parasitic Sensitivity Tests; D014344:Trypanocidal Agents / Q000633:toxicity*; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan; D009593:Nitroimidazoles; D014344:Trypanocidal Agents; D003165:Complement System Proteins; D005840:Gentian Violet; C009999:benzonidazole