Influence of the use of Rivastigmine on the oxidative stress caused by the QM2 strain of Trypanosoma cruzi

• Grant number: 22/11790-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: December 01, 2022
• End date: November 30, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Parasitology - Protozoology of Parasites
• Principal Investigator: Luciamare Perinetti Alves Martins
• Grantee: Bárbara de Araújo Gonçalves
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina de Marília (FAMEMA). Secretaria de Desenvolvimento Econômico (São Paulo - Estado). Marília , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Chagas disease (CD) is an infectious disease caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, classified by the World Health Organization not only as a neglected disease, but a public health problem in Latin America. This character is mainly due to the importance of prophylaxis in controlling the disease, since its treatment still proves to be quite challenging, with a single option available for this. Although the main presentation of the disease is the cardiac form - directly affecting the cardiomyocytes - lesions can occur in organs such as the esophagus and colon in its digestive form, resulting in damage to the gastrointestinal nerve plexuses, impairing muscle tone and peristalsis and, consequently, , the quality of life of the carrier. Taking into account that such plexuses present cholinergic transmission, it is of great importance to understand the role of the cholinergic anti-inflammatory reflex, in which the local release of acetylcholine occurs through the vagus nerve and consequent inhibition and attenuation of the inflammatory response by means of a decrease in release of cytokines such as TNF-±, and IL-1, 6 and 8, and in the production of free radicals that are directly involved in the genesis of the target organ lesions observed in this disease. Therefore, this study intends to investigate the influence of an anticholinesterase drug, rivastigmine, on the oxidative stress caused by the QM2 strain of T.cruzi in Swiss mice.