T. Cruzi

SUMMARYAs Chagas disease remains prevalent in the Americas, it is important that healthcare professionals and researchers are aware of the screening, diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment recommendations for the populations of patients they care for and study. Management of Trypanosoma cruzi infection in immunocompromised hosts is challenging, particularly because, regardless of antitrypanosomal treatment status, immunocompromised patients with Chagas disease are at risk for T. cruzi reactivation, which can be lethal...

Chagas disease, caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi , affects 6-7 million people worldwide. The dichloromethane extract obtained from the aerial parts of Gymnocoronis spilanthoides var subcordata showed trypanocidal activity in vitro. The fractionation of the dewaxed organic extract via column chromatography led to the isolation of three diterpenoids: ent -9α,11α-dihydroxy-15-oxo-kaur-16-en-19-oic acid or adenostemmoic acid B, (16 R )- ent -11α-hydroxy-15-oxokauran-19-oic acid and ent -11α-hydroxy-15-oxo-kaur-16-en-19-oic acid...

In the present work, the hexane extract of aerial parts of Baccharis quitensis Kunth. was subjected to chromatographic fractionation to afford two alkyl phenylpropanoids: n -docosyl ( E)-p -coumarate ( 1 ) and n -tetracosyl (E)-p -coumarate ( 2 ) as well as five diterpenes: ent- kaurenoic acid ( 3 ), grandifloric acid ( 4 ), 15β-senecioyl-oxy- ent -kaur-16-en-19-oic acid ( 5 ), and 15-oxo- ent -kaurenoic acid ( 6 ). Using an ex-vivo assay with macrophages infected with Trypanosoma cruzi , compounds 1 and 2 demonstrated high potency against intracellular amastigotes, with EC50 values of 7...

BACKGROUND: Chagas disease, a zoonosis transmitted mainly by hematophagous insects of the subfamily Triatominae, is caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, classified into six discrete typing units (DTUs: TcI-TcVI and Tcbat). METHODS: Insect vectors were collected from 84 human dwellings in the municipality of Santo Domingo Tehuantepec, Oaxaca, Mexico; 4.76% were infested. DTUs were determined using conventional and nested PCR. RESULTS: The infection rate was 43...

BACKGROUND/INTRODUCTION: Adipose tissue (AT) has been highlighted as a promising reservoir of infection for viruses, bacteria and parasites. Among them is Trypanosoma cruzi , which causes Chagas disease. The recommended treatment for the disease in Brazil is Benznidazole (BZ). However, its efficacy may vary according to the stage of the disease, geographical origin, age, immune background of the host and sensitivity of the strains to the drug. In this context, AT may act as an ally for the parasite survival and persistence in the host and a barrier for BZ action...

In July and October 2023, two live triatomine bugs were found inside a home in New Castle County, Delaware. The bugs were identified as Triatoma sanguisuga, the most widespread triatomine bug species in the United States. Triatoma sanguisuga is a competent vector of Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease. The two specimens were tested via real-time PCR (qPCR) for infection with T. cruzi, and one of the specimens was positive. Despite T. sanguisuga being endemic to the area, attainment of accurate species identification and T...

BACKGROUND: The brain and the immune systems represent the two primary adaptive systems within the body. Both are involved in a dynamic process of communication, vital for the preservation of mammalian homeostasis. This interplay involves two major pathways: the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). SUMMARY: The establishment of infection can affect immunoneuroendocrine interactions, with functional consequences for immune organs, particularly the thymus...

Trypanosoma cruzi is the causative agent of Chagas disease, a chronic pathology that affects the heart and/or digestive system. This parasite invades and multiplies in virtually all nucleated cells, using a variety of host cell receptors for infection. T. cruzi has a gene that encodes an ecotin-like inhibitor of serine peptidases, ISP2. We generated ISP2-null mutants (Δisp2) in T. cruzi Dm28c using CRISPR/Cas9. Epimastigotes of Δisp2 grew normally in vitro but were more susceptible to lysis by human serum compared to parental and ISP2 add-back lines...

Chagas disease (CD) is a neglected disease caused by Trypanosoma cruzi Chagas, 1909. Causative treatment can be achieved with two drugs: benznidazole or Nifurtimox. There are some gaps that hinder progress in eradicating the disease. There is no test that can efficiently assess cure control after treatment. Currently, the decline in anti-T. cruzi antibody titres is assessed with conventional serological tests, which can take years. However, the search for new markers of cure must continue to fill this gap. The present study aimed to evaluate the decline in serological titres using chimeric proteins after treatment with benznidazole in chronic patients diagnosed with CD...

Nitroimidazole compounds are well-known bioactive substances, and the structural activity relationship has been reported whereby the position of the nitro group within the imidazole ring has a large influence on the activity. This study focuses on synthesising new trypanocidal agents from the hybridisation of metronidazole with different natural phenols (eugenol, dihydroeugenol and guaiacol). Two different coupling methodologies have been explored in order to analyse the influence of the connector on bioactivity: i) classic direct esterification (AD compounds) and ii) "click" chemistry using a triazole connector (AC compounds)...

Chagas disease (CD) (American trypanosomiasis caused by Trypanosoma cruzi ) is a parasitic disease endemic in 21 countries in South America, with increasing global spread. When administered late in the infection, the current antiparasitic drugs do not prevent the onset of cardiac illness leading to chronic Chagasic cardiomyopathy. Therefore, new therapeutic vaccines or immunotherapies are under development using multiple platforms. In this study, we assessed the feasibility of developing an mRNA-based therapeutic CD vaccine targeting two known T...

Cyclic nucleotide binding domains (CNB) confer allosteric regulation by cAMP or cGMP to many signaling proteins, including PKA and PKG. PKA of phylogenetically distant Trypanosoma is the first exception as it is cyclic nucleotide-independent and responsive to nucleoside analogues (Bachmaier et al., 2019). Here, we show that natural nucleosides inosine, guanosine and adenosine are nanomolar affinity CNB ligands and activators of PKA orthologs of the important tropical pathogens Trypanosoma brucei , Trypanosoma cruzi, and Leishmania ...

BACKGROUND: Chagas disease and leishmaniasis affect a significant portion of the Latin American population and still lack efficient treatments. In this context, natural products emerge as promising compounds for developing more effective therapies, aiming to mitigate side effects and drug resistance. Notably, species from the Amaryllidaceae family emerge as potential reservoirs of antiparasitic agents due to the presence of diverse biologically active alkaloids. PURPOSE: To assess the anti-Trypanosoma cruzi and anti-Leishmania infantum activity of five isolated alkaloids from Hippeastrum aulicum Herb...

Trypanosoma cruzi infection in dogs can cause heart failure and sudden death with few treatment options available. A litter of 4 dogs living in a T cruzi endemic area were randomized to prophylaxis and nonprophylaxis groups as part of a study evaluating a modified benznidazole dosing regimen administered twice weekly to prevent T cruzi infection during a vector transmission season. The 2 dogs that received prophylaxis remained healthy without T cruzi infection or cardiac disease for >2 years. One dog that did not receive prophylaxis died unexpectedly with acute T cruzi-induced pancarditis, and the second dog tested positive for T cruzi and developed complex arrhythmias with markedly increased cardiac troponin I and improved with a higher benznidazole treatment dose...

BACKGROUND: Triatoma garciabesi, a potential vector of the parasitic protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, which is the causative agent of Chagas disease, is common in peridomestic and wild environments and found throughout northwestern and central Argentina, western Paraguay and the Bolivian Chaco. Genetic differentiation of a species across its range can help to understand dispersal patterns and connectivity between habitats. Dispersal by flight is considered to be the main active dispersal strategy used by triatomines...

INTRODUCTION: Oral transmission of T. cruzi is probably the most frequent transmission mechanism in wild animals. This observation led to the hypothesis that consuming raw or undercooked meat from animals infected with T. cruzi may be responsible for transmitting the infection. Therefore, the general objective of this study was to investigate host-pathogen interactions between the parasite and gastric mucosa and the role of meat consumption from infected animals in the oral transmission of T...

Ecoepidemiology is an emerging field that attempts to explain how biotic, environmental, and even social factors influence the dynamics of infectious diseases. Particularly in vector-borne diseases, the study under this approach offers us an overview of the pathogens, vectors, and hosts that coexist in a given region and their ecological determinants. As a result of this, risk predictions can be established in a changing environment and how it may impact human populations. This paper is aimed at evaluating some ecoepidemiological characteristics of Chagas disease in a natural reserve in southeastern Mexico that borders human settlements...

BACKGROUND: Chagas disease (CD), caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, is the most important endemic anthropozoonosis in Argentina. Since 2010, the World Health Organization has highlighted the urgent need to validate diagnostic systems that allow rapid detection of T. cruzi, infection in primary healthcare centers. Serological rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) for T. cruzi, infection could be used to improve case management, as RDTs do not require specialized laboratories or highly trained staff to use them...

Leishmaniasis and Chagas disease are parasitic infections that affect millions of people worldwide, producing thousands of deaths per year. The current treatments against these pathologies are not totally effective and produce some side effects in the patients. Acrylonitrile derivatives are a group of compounds that have shown activity against these two diseases. In this work, four novels synthetic acrylonitriles were evaluated against the intracellular form and extracellular forms of L. amazonensis and T. cruzi...

Chagas' is a neglected disease caused by the eukaryotic kinetoplastid parasite, Trypanosoma cruzi. Currently, approximately 8 million people are infected worldwide, most of whom are in the chronic phase of the disease, which involves cardiac, digestive, or neurologic manifestations. There is an urgent need for a vaccine because treatments are only effective in the initial phase of infection, which is generally underdiagnosed. The selection and combination of antigens, adjuvants, and delivery platforms for vaccine formulations should be designed to trigger mixed humoral and cellular immune responses, considering that T...