[Myocardial cellular damage and the activity of the mitochondrial ATP synthase in rats infected with a Colombian strain of Trypanosoma cruzi].
BACKGROUND
Chagas disease is the main cause of cardiomyopathy in endemic regions of Latin America. Alterations in the cardiac mitochondrial energy metabolism caused by Trypanosoma cruzi can be involved in the development of this cardiomyopathy during the course of Chagas disease.


OBJECTIVE
The cellular injury of the rat myocardium was investigated in rats infected with the Colombian Mg8 strain of Trypanosoma cruzi. The activity of mitochondrial ATP synthase was measured to determine the relationship heart damage with the energy metabolism.


METHODS
Two groups of five rats each were infected with tripomastigotes, with 1 group of 6 rats serving as controls. The course of infection was characterized by parasitological, histopathological and molecular studies. The mitochondrial ATP synthase activity of the myocardium was evaluated in all rats.


RESULTS
Peak parasitaemia (day 26 post infection) and the time of parasite clearance from circulating blood (day 60 post infection) were determined for acute and chronic phase models. The histopathological and molecular results showed that the Colombian Mg8 strain has tropism to the cardiac tissue and causes considerable cellular injury of the myocardium in rats during both phases. Despite the lesions observed in infected rats, no statistical difference in the activity of the mitochondrial ATPsynthase was observed between them and the non-infected rats.


CONCLUSIONS
Mitochondrial energy metabolism of the cardiomyocites does not appear to change during cellular injury of rat myocardium associated with infection by the Colombian Mg8 T. cruzi strain.
D000818:Animals; D002598:Chagas Cardiomyopathy / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003105:Colombia / Q000453:epidemiology; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D025261:Mitochondrial Proton-Translocating ATPases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D009206:Myocardium / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity*
D025261:Mitochondrial Proton-Translocating ATPases
Lesión celular del miocardio y actividad de la ATPsintasa mitocondrial en ratas infectadas con una cepa colombiana de Trypanosoma cruzi.