title: Effects of high-fat chow on heart tissue in acute and chronic experimental murine schistosomiasis mansoni.
abstract: This study aimed to investigate myocardial injuries in mice infected with Schistosoma mansoni and fed a high-fat chow. Sections of myocardial tissue from S. mansoni-infected mice, and controls that had been killed 9 and 17 weeks post-infection, were stained with H&E and Picrosirius red. Histopathological examination, stereological design-based method (optical disector) and morphometry (vessels, cardiomyocytes and an amount of collagen) were used. Data were analysed using two-way ANOVA. Regardless of time of infection, myocardial tissue from the infected mice fed high-fat chow showed myocarditis characterized by a higher number of inflammatory foci, several areas displaying coagulation of cardiac fibres, a greater loss of cardiomyocytes and fibroblast proliferation than in the standard chow control. Comparing infected mice from acute and chronic infections, a higher cardiomyocyte hyperplasia (P < 0·0001) and higher amounts of collagen (P < 0·05) were observed than in standard chow control. In addition, all animals fed high-fat chow showed lower numerical density and total number of cardiomyocytes (P < 0·05), thicker vessel walls and narrowed luminal intramyocardial vessels (P > 0·05) than in the standard chow control. Altogether the data supported the view that a double burden has a synergistic deleterious effect on the myocardial tissue.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Helmintologia Romero Lascasas Porto, Disciplina de Parasitologia, Departamento de Microbiologia, Imunologia e Parasitologia, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 20550-170, Brasil.
authors.forename: V C
authors.initials: VC
authors.lastname: Góes
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Neves
authors.forename: A C M B
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Alencar
authors.forename: A V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Gomes
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Machado-Silva
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000818:Animals; D001808:Blood Vessels / Q000473:pathology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D059305:Diet, High-Fat; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D051379:Mice; D009206:Myocardium / Q000473:pathology*; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000473:pathology; D012555:Schistosomiasis mansoni / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D004041:Dietary Fats