Chronic Chagas Disease: analysis of oxidative mechanisms in animals infected and treated with Curcumin DS17

• Grant number: 24/21546-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2025
• End date: March 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Pharmacy
• Principal Investigator: Vânia Brazão Muniz
• Grantee: Ana Letícia do Amaral Ramos
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto (FCFRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 23/02254-1 - Benznidazole and Curcumin: Evaluation of metabolic, lipid and neuroimmunoendocrine changes in Wistar rats infected with Trypanosoma cruzi., AP.R

Abstract

An important factor involved in the progression of Chagas disease is the production of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS). It is known that high levels of these in tissues contribute to oxidative stress, generating tissue damage that is reflected in the severity of Chagas disease. In addition, considering that chronic Chagas cardiopathy has a worse prognosis than non-inflammatory dilated cardiomyopathies, we can hypothesize that the various inflammatory mediators produced locally are involved in the worse prognosis. The progression of Chagas infection is intensely influenced by the balance of the immune-endocrine system, and although the immunological mechanisms that provide protection or promote the formation of cardiac lesions during Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi) infection are not yet fully understood. The modulation of immune responses to the administration of pharmacologically active substances in experimental models infected with T. cruzi has contributed significantly to the investigation of new therapies for Chagas disease. The cardioprotective and antioxidant actions of curcumin are increasingly being studied. Therefore, the proposal consists of performing a study of the cardiac alterations that occur during the evolution of chronic Chagas disease. Thus, the proposal of this work is unprecedented, since there are no studies available that describe the effects of solid dispersion of DS17 curcumin in animals chronically infected with T. cruzi. The results of this work, with the analysis of the involvement of oxidative stress during chronic Chagas infection, will be of great importance in the development of future immune-therapeutic intervention strategies that aim to provide the host with efficient direction of the immune response during the infection.