Distinctive histopathology and modulation of cytokine production during oral and intraperitoneal Trypanosoma cruzi Y strain infection

• Published in: Parasitology 2014-06, Vol.141 (7), p.904-913
• Main Authors: KUEHN, CHRISTIAN C., OLIVEIRA, LUIZ GUSTAVO R., MIRANDA, MARIZA ABREU, PRADO, JOSÉ CLÓVIS
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Chagas Disease - parasitology; Cytokines - metabolism; Gene Expression Regulation; Histopathology; Immune response; Lymphocytes; Male; Parasitemia; Parasites; Rats; Rats, Wistar; T-Lymphocyte Subsets; Time Factors; Trypanosoma cruzi; Trypanosoma cruzi - classification; Vector-borne diseases
• ISSN: 0031-1820; 1469-8161; 1469-8161
• DOI: 10.1017/S0031182013002059

Acute Chagas disease outbreaks are related to the consumption of food or drink contaminated by triatomine feces, thus making oral infection an important route of transmission. Both vector-borne and oral infections trigger important cardiac manifestations in the host that are related to a dysregulated immune response. The aims of this work were to evaluate possible alterations of lymphocyte CD4+/CD8+ sub-populations, Th1 and Th2 cytokines, nitrite concentrations and cardiac histopathology. One group of male Wistar rats was intraperitoneally infected (I.P.) with 1×105 metacyclic trypomastigotes of the T. cruzi Y strain, and another group of Wistar rats was orally infected (O.I.) with 8×105 metacyclic trypomastigotes of the same strain. The intraperitoneal infection triggered statistically enhanced parasite and peritoneal macrophage numbers, increased concentrations of NO and IL-12 and elevated cardiac inflammatory foci when compared with the oral infection. However, proliferation of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells were not statistically different for oral and intraperitoneal routes.