title: Antagonistic effect of atorvastatin on high fat diet induced survival during acute Chagas disease.
abstract: Chagasic cardiomyopathy, which is seen in Chagas disease, is the most severe and life-threatening manifestation of infection by the kinetoplastid Trypanosoma cruzi. Adipose tissue and diet play a major role in maintaining lipid homeostasis and regulating cardiac pathogenesis during the development of Chagas cardiomyopathy. We have previously reported that T. cruzi has a high affinity for lipoproteins and that the invasion rate of this parasite increases in the presence of cholesterol, suggesting that drugs that inhibit cholesterol synthesis, such as statins, could affect infection and the development of Chagasic cardiomyopathy. The dual epidemic of diabetes and obesity in Latin America, the endemic regions for Chagas disease, has led to many patients in the endemic region of infection having hyperlipidemia that is being treated with statins such as atorvastatin. The current study was performed to examine mice fed on either regular or high fat diet for effects of atorvastatin on T. cruzi infection-induced myocarditis and to evaluate the effect of this treatment during infection on adipose tissue physiology and cardiac pathology. Atorvastatin was found to regulate lipolysis and cardiac lipidopathy during acute T. cruzi infection in mice and to enhance tissue parasite load, cardiac LDL levels, inflammation, and mortality in during acute infection. Overall, these data suggest that statins, such as atorvastatin, have deleterious effects during acute Chagas disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY 10461, USA.
authors.forename: Dazhi
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Public Health Research Institute, Rutgers State University, 225 Warren Street, Newark, NJ 07103, USA.
authors.forename: Kezia
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lizardo
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY 10461, USA; Department of Physiology and Biophyiscs, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY 10461, USA.
authors.forename: Min Hui
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY 10461, USA; Department of Physiology and Biophyiscs, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY 10461, USA.
authors.forename: Kamalakar
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ambadipudi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY 10461, USA.
authors.forename: Jose
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lora
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Biophyiscs, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY 10461, USA; The Gruss Magnetic Resonance Research Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY 10461, USA.
authors.forename: Linda A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Jelicks
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY 10461, USA; Department of Microbiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Public Health Research Institute, Rutgers State University, 225 Warren Street, Newark, NJ 07103, USA. Electronic address: jfn31@njms.rutgers.edu.
authors.forename: Jyothi F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Nagajyothi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D000069059:Atorvastatin / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D002598:Chagas Cardiomyopathy / Q000401:mortality*; D059305:Diet, High-Fat / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D008297:Male; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents; D000069059:Atorvastatin
keywords: Adipose tissue; Cardiomyopathy; Chagas disease; High fat diet; Lipidopathy; Metabolic disorder