title: Aspirin treatment exacerbates oral infections by Trypanosoma cruzi.
abstract: Oral transmission of the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas disease, has been documented in Latin American countries. The reported cases of infection were due to the ingestion of contaminated fresh fruit, juices, or sugar cane juice. There have been few studies on the physiopathology of the disease in oral transmission cases. Gastritis is a common ailment that can be caused by poor dietary habits, intake of alcohol or other gastric irritants, bacterial infection, or by the widespread use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). This study investigated in a mouse model whether gastric mucosal injury, induced by aspirin, would affect the course of disease in animals infected with T. cruzi by the oral route. The CL14 and G strains of T. cruzi, both of low infectivity, were used. To this end, groups of BALB/c mice were treated during 5 days with aspirin (100 mg kg(-1)) before oral infection with T. cruzi metacyclic forms (4 × 10(5) or 5 × 10(7) parasites/mouse). Histological analysis and determination of nitric oxide and TNF-α were performed in gastric samples obtained 5 days after infection. Parasitemia was monitored from the thirteenth day after infection. The results indicate that aspirin treatment of mice injured their gastric mucosa and facilitated invasion by both CL14 and G strains of T. cruzi. Strain CL14 caused more severe infection compared to the G strain, as larger numbers of amastigote nests were found in the stomach and parasitemia levels were higher. Our study is novel in that it shows that gastric mucosal damage caused by aspirin, a commonly used NSAID, facilitates T. cruzi infection by the oral route.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Imunopatologia Experimental, Departamento de Ciências Patológicas, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Londrina, Paraná, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luana Aparecida
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Cossentini
authors.affiliation: Instituto Carlos Chagas, FIOCRUZ, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rosiane Valeriano
authors.initials: RV
authors.lastname: Da Silva
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Microbiologia, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Londrina, Paraná, Brazil.
authors.forename: Sueli Fumie
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Yamada-Ogatta
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Microbiologia, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Londrina, Paraná, Brazil.
authors.forename: Lucy Megumi
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Yamauchi
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Neurogastroenterologia, Departamento de Histologia, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Londrina, Paraná, Brazil.
authors.forename: Eduardo José
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: De Almeida Araújo
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Imunopatologia Experimental, Departamento de Ciências Patológicas, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Londrina, Paraná, Brazil. Electronic address: pingefilho@uel.br.
authors.forename: Phileno
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pinge-Filho
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000009:adverse effects*; D001241:Aspirin / Q000009:adverse effects*; D001628:Beverages / Q000469:parasitology; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000209:etiology* / Q000635:transmission; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates; D005260:Female; D016266:Food Parasitology; D005638:Fruit / Q000469:parasitology; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D005756:Gastritis / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000150:complications*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D009573:Nitrites / Q000378:metabolism; D013270:Stomach / Q000469:parasitology; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi / Q000187:drug effects; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates; D009573:Nitrites; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D001241:Aspirin
keywords: Chagas disease; Gastric mucosa; NSAIDs; Trypanosoma cruzi