title: Cytokine profiling in Chagas disease: towards understanding the association with infecting Trypanosoma cruzi discrete typing units (a BENEFIT TRIAL sub-study).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Chagas disease caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi is an important public health problem in Latin America. The immunological mechanisms involved in Chagas disease pathogenesis remain incompletely elucidated. The aim of this study was to explore cytokine profiles and their possible association to the infecting DTU and the pathogenesis of Chagas disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  109 sero-positive T. cruzi patients and 21 negative controls from Bolivia and Colombia, were included. Flow cytometry assays for 13 cytokines were conducted on human sera. Patients were divided into two groups: in one we compared the quantification of cytokines between patients with and without chronic cardiomyopathy; in second group we compared the levels of cytokines and the genetic variability of T. cruzi.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Significant difference in anti-inflammatory and pro-inflammatory cytokines profiles was observed between the two groups cardiac and non-cardiac. Moreover, serum levels of IFN-γ, IL-12, IL-22 and IL-10 presented an association with the genetic variability of T.cruzi, with significant differences in TcI and mixed infections TcI/TcII.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Expression of anti-inflammatory and pro-inflammatory cytokines may play a relevant role in determining the clinical presentation of chronic patients with Chagas disease and suggests the occurrence of specific immune responses, probably associated to different T. cruzi DTUs.
authors.affiliation: Centro de investigaciones en Microbiología y Parasitología Tropical (CIMPAT), Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Poveda
authors.affiliation: Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fresno
authors.affiliation: Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Núria
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gironès
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Diagnostic and Monitoring Biomarkers, Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz - FIOCRUZ, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: Olindo A
authors.initials: OA
authors.lastname: Martins-Filho
authors.affiliation: Centro de investigaciones en Microbiología y Parasitología Tropical (CIMPAT), Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia.
authors.forename: Juan David
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Ramírez
authors.affiliation: Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Julien
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Santi-Rocca
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Division, Internal Medicine Department, Medical School of Ribeirao Preto, Universidad de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: José A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Marin-Neto
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Cardiology Division, McMaster University, PHRI-HHSC, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Carlos A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Morillo
authors.affiliation: Electrofisiología, Clínica Abood Shaio, Bogotá, Colombia.
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rosas
authors.affiliation: Centro de investigaciones en Microbiología y Parasitología Tropical (CIMPAT), Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia.
authors.forename: Felipe
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Guhl
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002598:Chagas Cardiomyopathy / Q000276:immunology; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000276:immunology* / Q000469:parasitology*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism*; D016002:Discriminant Analysis; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines