title: Influence of melatonin therapy and orchiectomy on T cell subsets in male Wistar rats infected with Trypanosoma cruzi.
abstract: Gonadal steroids exert an important influence on the host immune response during infection. Changes resulting from the absence or replacement of gonadal hormones may represent a distinct evolution of a particular parasite. Taking into account the greater susceptibility of males to parasites, the magnitude of the immune response seems to depend on the interaction of many hormones that will act synergistically with other immune cells. The aims of this research were to evaluate the effects of the luck of male sex hormones due to orchiectomy, and the influence of oral administration of melatonin on the immune response of male Wistar rats infected with the Y strain of Trypanosoma cruzi. The percentage of CD3(+) CD4(+) and CD3(+) CD8(+) lymphocyte T cell subsets were evaluated using flow cytometry and the measurement of IL-2 and IL-12. For all parameters examined, a synergistic action of melatonin and orchiectomy on the host's immune response was observed, promoting an effective response against the parasite during the acute phase of infection. These results offer insight into other possibilities for possibly controlling T. cruzi proliferation through melatonin therapy and also the stimulatory effects on host's immune response triggered by the absence of male gonadal steroids during the acute phase of infection.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Análises Clínicas, Toxicológicas e Bromatológicas, Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. santello@fcfrp.usp.br
authors.forename: Fabricia H
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Santello
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Del Vecchio Filipin
authors.forename: Leony C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Caetano
authors.forename: Vânia
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Brazão
authors.forename: Luana N
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Caetano
authors.forename: Carla D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Dos Santos
authors.forename: Míriam P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Alonso Toldo
authors.forename: José C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: do Prado
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017252:CD3 Complex / Q000378:metabolism; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology*; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D018664:Interleukin-12 / Q000378:metabolism; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008550:Melatonin / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D009919:Orchiectomy; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi
chemical_list: D017252:CD3 Complex; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D007376:Interleukin-2; D018664:Interleukin-12; D008550:Melatonin