title: Fighting the oxidative assault: the Trypanosoma cruzi journey to infection.
abstract: Activation of professional phagocytes with the concomitant generation of oxidant species is a medullar innate immune process for the control of acute Trypanosoma cruzi infection. Recent data reinforce the hypothesis that parasites more prepared to deal with the host-oxidative assault are more efficient for the establishment of Chagas disease. For instance, parasites overexpressing peroxiredoxins are more resistant to macrophage-derived peroxynitrite, a key cytotoxic oxidant produced in the phagosome towards the internalized parasite. Differentiation to the infective metacyclic trypomastigote is accompanied by an increased expression of antioxidant enzymes. Moreover, augmented antioxidant enzyme expression and activities correlate with higher parasite virulence in experimental infections. The potency of the parasite antioxidant armamentarium influences the final fate of the Trypanosoma cruzi journey to macrophage invasion at the onset of infection.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Bioquímica, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la República, Montevideo-Uruguay, Uruguay.
authors.forename: Lucía
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Piacenza
authors.forename: María Noel
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Alvarez
authors.forename: Gonzalo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Peluffo
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Radi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000469:parasitology*; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D006801:Humans; D008264:Macrophages / Q000276:immunology* / Q000469:parasitology*; D016877:Oxidants / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D013312:Stress, Physiological; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi / Q000276:immunology* / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D016877:Oxidants