Murine infection by Trypanosoma cruzi clone Sylvio X10/4: mechanisms involved in parasite control and in development of chronic heart pathology

• Grant number: 10/51145-0
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: September 01, 2010
• End date: October 31, 2012
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Immunology
• Principal Investigator: José Maria Álvarez Mosig
• Grantee: José Maria Álvarez Mosig
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Considering that there are few studies focusing on low virulence strains of T. cruzi and because these strains could account for a significant fraction of the parasites responsible for the human infection, the present project aims at evaluating the murine infection by low virulence T. cruzi Sylvio X10/4, a parasite clone that induces very low levels of parasitaemia in immunocompetent mice and in C3H/HePAS mice promotes development of a chronic myocarditis which display many of the characteristics of the human disease. The intended studies can be grouped in two large sub-projects: I) Analysis of the immune response during infection with T. cruzi Sylvio X10/4, a sub-project that focuses on three questions: a) Control of Sylvio X10/4 parasites at the blood; b) Interaction of Sylvio X10/4 parasites with cells of the macrophage lineage; and c) Invasion of the central nervous system during infection by Sylvio X10/4 parasites. II) Comparative analysis of the interaction of Sylvio X10/4 parasites with primary cardiomyocytes obtained from C3H/HePAS and C57BL/6 mice, this is, from mouse strains which are respectively susceptible and resistant to the development of chronic myocarditis in infections by this parasite. (AU)