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Apodaca S, Di Salvatore M, Muñoz-Calderón A, Curto MDLÁ, Longhi SA, Schijman AG. Novel 3D human trophoblast culture to explore T. cruzi infection in the placenta. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2024; 14:1433424. [PMID: 39165920 PMCID: PMC11333438 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2024.1433424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2024] [Accepted: 07/08/2024] [Indexed: 08/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Human trophoblastic cell lines, such as BeWo, are commonly used in 2D models to study placental Trypanosoma cruzi infections. However, these models do not accurately represent natural infections. Three-dimensional (3D) microtissue cultures offer a more physiologically relevant in vitro model, mimicking tissue microarchitecture and providing an environment closer to natural infections. These 3D cultures exhibit functions such as cell proliferation, differentiation, morphogenesis, and gene expression that resemble in vivo conditions. Methods We developed a 3D culture model using the human trophoblastic cell line BeWo and nonadherent agarose molds from the MicroTissues® 3D Petri Dish® system. Both small (12-256) and large (12-81) models were tested with varying initial cell numbers. We measured the diameter of the 3D cultures and evaluated cell viability using Trypan Blue dye. Trophoblast functionality was assessed by measuring β-hCG production via ELISA. Cell fusion was evaluated using confocal microscopy, with Phalloidin or ZO-1 marking cell edges and DAPI staining nuclei. T. cruzi infection was assessed by microscopy and quantitative PCR, targeting the EF1-α gene for T. cruzi and GAPDH for BeWo cells, using three parasite strains: VD (isolated from a congenital Chagas disease infant and classified as Tc VI), and K98 and Pan4 (unrelated to congenital infection and classified as Tc I). Results Seeding 1000 BeWo cells per microwell in the large model resulted in comparable cellular viability to 2D cultures, with a theoretical diameter of 408.68 ± 12.65 μm observed at 5 days. Functionality, assessed through β-hCG production, exceeded levels in 2D cultures at both 3 and 5 days. T. cruzi infection was confirmed by qPCR and microscopy, showing parasite presence inside the cells for all three tested strains. The distribution and progression of the infection varied with each strain. Discussion This innovative 3D model offers a simple yet effective approach for generating viable and functional cultures susceptible to T. cruzi infection, presenting significant potential for studying the placental microenvironment.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Alejandro G. Schijman
- Laboratorio de Biología Molecular de la Enfermedad de Chagas, Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor Torres" (INGEBI), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Synthesis and study of the trypanocidal activity of catechol-containing 3-arylcoumarins, inclusion in β-cyclodextrin complexes and combination with benznidazole. ARAB J CHEM 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.arabjc.2021.103641] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
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Salgado F, Moncada-Basualto M, Pozo-Martinez J, Liempi A, Kemmerling U, Maya JD, Jaque P, Borges F, Uriarte E, Matos MJ, Olea-Azar C. Chemical and biological analysis of 4-acyloxy-3-nitrocoumarins as trypanocidal agents. ARAB J CHEM 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.arabjc.2020.102975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
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Veas R, Rojas-Pirela M, Castillo C, Olea-Azar C, Moncada M, Ulloa P, Rojas V, Kemmerling U. Microalgae extracts: Potential anti-Trypanosoma cruzi agents? Biomed Pharmacother 2020; 127:110178. [PMID: 32371317 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2020.110178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2020] [Revised: 04/08/2020] [Accepted: 04/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Chagas disease, caused by the protozoan parasiteTrypanosoma cruzi, has no effective treatment available. On the other hand, microalgae are aquatic organisms that constitute an interesting reservoir of biologically active metabolites. Moreover, some species of green and red algae present anti-protozoan activity. Our aim was to study the antiparasitic effects of aqueous, methanolic and ethanolic extracts from different microalgae. METHODS AND RESULTS Our results show that the methanolic extracts of S. obliquus and T. suecica as well as the ethanolic extracts of C. reinhardtii and T. suecica present trypanocidal activity on the infective extracellular trypomastigotes and intracellular amastigotes. In addition, the ethanolic extract of C. reinhardtii potentiates the activity of the conventional antichagasic drug nifurtimox. In order to identify some potential compounds with trypanocidal activity, we performed a phytochemical screening analyzing the presence of phenolic compounds, pigments and terpenoids. CONCLUSION The different microalgae extracts, particularly the ethanolic extract ofC. reinhardtii, are promising potential candidates for the development of future natural antichagasic drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rhonda Veas
- Instituto de Biología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso 2373223, Chile; Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago de Chile 8380453, Chile
| | - Maura Rojas-Pirela
- Instituto de Biología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso 2373223, Chile
| | - Christian Castillo
- Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago de Chile 8380453, Chile
| | - Claudio Olea-Azar
- Departamento de Química Analítica e Inorgánica, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas y Farmacéuticas, Universidad de Chile, Santiago de Chile 8380494, Chile
| | - Mauricio Moncada
- Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago de Chile 8380453, Chile; Departamento de Química Analítica e Inorgánica, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas y Farmacéuticas, Universidad de Chile, Santiago de Chile 8380494, Chile
| | - Pablo Ulloa
- Instituto de Biología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso 2373223, Chile; Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias, INIA-La Platina, Santiago de Chile 8831314, Chile
| | - Verónica Rojas
- Instituto de Biología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso 2373223, Chile.
| | - Ulrike Kemmerling
- Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago de Chile 8380453, Chile.
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Medina L, Castillo C, Liempi A, Herbach M, Cabrera G, Valenzuela L, Galanti N, de Los Angeles Curto M, Schijman AG, Kemmerling U. Differential infectivity of two Trypanosoma cruzi strains in placental cells and tissue. Acta Trop 2018; 186:35-40. [PMID: 30018029 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2018.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2018] [Revised: 06/13/2018] [Accepted: 07/02/2018] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Congenital Chagas disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi), has become epidemiologically relevant. The probability of congenital transmission depends on the maternal and developing fetal/newborn immune responses, placental factors and importantly, the virulence of the parasite. It has been proposed, that different genotypes of T. cruzi and their associated pathogenicity, virulence and tissue tropism may play an important role in congenital infection. Since there is no laboratory or animal model that recapitulates the complexities of vertical transmission in humans, here we studied parasite infectivity in human placental explants (HPE) as well as in the human trophoblast-derived cell line BeWo of the Y(DTU II) and the VD (TcVI) T. cruzi strains; the latter was isolated from a human case of congenital infection. Our results show that the VD strain is more infective and pathogenic than the Y strain, as demonstrated by qPCR and cell counting as well as by histopathological analysis. The present study constitutes the first approach to study the relationship between parasite two parasite strains from different genotypes and the infection efficiency in human placenta.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisvaneth Medina
- Programa de Anatomía y Biología del Desarrollo, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Chile
| | - Christian Castillo
- Programa de Anatomía y Biología del Desarrollo, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Chile
| | - Ana Liempi
- Programa de Anatomía y Biología del Desarrollo, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Chile
| | - Mathias Herbach
- Programa de Anatomía y Biología del Desarrollo, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Chile
| | - Gonzalo Cabrera
- Programa de Biología Celular y Molecular, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Chile
| | - Lucía Valenzuela
- Programa de Biología Celular y Molecular, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Chile
| | - Norbel Galanti
- Programa de Biología Celular y Molecular, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Chile
| | - María de Los Angeles Curto
- Laboratorio de Biología Molecular de la Enfermedad de Chagas, Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor Torres", Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Alejandro G Schijman
- Laboratorio de Biología Molecular de la Enfermedad de Chagas, Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor Torres", Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Ulrike Kemmerling
- Programa de Anatomía y Biología del Desarrollo, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Chile.
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Droguett D, Carrillo I, Castillo C, Gómez F, Negrete M, Liempi A, Muñoz L, Galanti N, Maya JD, Kemmerling U. Trypanosoma cruzi induces cellular proliferation in the trophoblastic cell line BeWo. Exp Parasitol 2016; 173:9-17. [PMID: 27939813 DOI: 10.1016/j.exppara.2016.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2016] [Revised: 11/29/2016] [Accepted: 12/05/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Congenital transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi) is partially responsible for the progressive globalization of Chagas disease. During congenital transmission the parasite must cross the placental barrier where the trophoblast, a continuous renewing epithelium, is the first tissue in contact with the parasite. The trophoblast turnover implies cellular proliferation, differentiation and apoptotic cell death. The epithelial turnover is considered part of innate immunity. We previously demonstrated that T. cruzi induces cellular differentiation and apoptosis in this tissue. Here we demonstrate that T. cruzi induces cellular proliferation in a trophoblastic cell line. We analyzed the cellular proliferation in BeWo cells by determining DNA synthesis by BrdU incorporation assays, mitotic index, cell cycle analysis by flow cytometry, as well as quantification of nucleolus organizer regions by histochemistry and expression of the proliferation markers PCNA and Ki67 by Western blotting and/or immunofluorescence. Additionally, we determined the ERK1/2 MAPK pathway activation by the parasite by Western blotting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Droguett
- Programa de Anatomía y Biología del Desarrollo, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Chile; Departamento de Estomatología, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Talca, Chile
| | - Ileana Carrillo
- Programa de Anatomía y Biología del Desarrollo, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Chile
| | - Christian Castillo
- Programa de Anatomía y Biología del Desarrollo, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Chile
| | - Fresia Gómez
- Programa de Anatomía y Biología del Desarrollo, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Chile
| | - Miguel Negrete
- Programa de Anatomía y Biología del Desarrollo, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Chile
| | - Ana Liempi
- Programa de Anatomía y Biología del Desarrollo, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Chile
| | - Lorena Muñoz
- Programa de Anatomía y Biología del Desarrollo, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Chile
| | - Norbel Galanti
- Programa de Biología Celular y Molecular, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Chile
| | - Juan Diego Maya
- Programa de Farmacología Molecular y Clínica, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Chile
| | - Ulrike Kemmerling
- Programa de Anatomía y Biología del Desarrollo, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Chile.
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Díaz-Luján C, Triquell MF, Castillo C, Hardisson D, Kemmerling U, Fretes RE. Role of placental barrier integrity in infection by Trypanosoma cruzi. Acta Trop 2016; 164:360-368. [PMID: 27686961 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2016.09.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2016] [Revised: 09/10/2016] [Accepted: 09/24/2016] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
American trypanosomiasis has long been a neglected disease endemic in LatinAmerica, but congenital transmission has now spread Chagas disease to cause a global health problem. As the early stages of the infection of placental tissue and the vertical transmission by Trypanosoma cruzi are still not well understood, it is important to investigate the relevance of the first structure of the placental barrier in chorionic villi infection by T. cruzi during the initial stage of the infection. Explants of human chorionic villi from healthy pregnant women at term were denuded of their syncytiotrophoblast and co-cultured for 3h, 24h and 96h with 800,000 trypomastigotes (simulating acute infection). T. cruzi infected cells were identified by immunohistochemistry for cytokeratin-7 (+cytotrophoblast) and CD68 (+macrophages), and the infection was quantified. In placental tissue, the parasite load was analyzed by qPCR and microscopy, and the motile trypomastigotes were quantified in culture supernatant. In denuded chorionic villous, the total area occupied by the parasite (451.23μm2, 1.33%) and parasite load (RQ: 87) was significantly higher (p<0.05) than in the entire villous (control) (5.98μm2, 0.016%) (RQ:1) and with smaller concentration of nitric oxide. Stromal non-macrophage cells were infected as well as cytotrophoblasts and some macrophages, but with significant differences being observed. The parasite quantity in the culture supernatant was significantly higher (p<0.05) in denuded culture explants from 96h of culture. Although the human complete chorionic villi limited the infection, the detachment of the first structure of the placenta barrier (syncytiotrophoblast) increased both the infection of the villous stroma and the living trypomastigotes in the culture supernatant. Therefore structural and functional alterations to chorionic villi placental barrier reduce placental defenses and may contribute to the vertical transmission of Chagas.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Díaz-Luján
- Cell Biology, Histology and Embryology Department, Facultad Cs. Médicas. Instituto de Biología Celular, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba-INICSA (CONICET), Argentina; Histology and Cytology, Medicine, Universidad Nacional de Villa María, Córdoba, Argentina.
| | - M F Triquell
- Cell Biology, Histology and Embryology Department, Facultad Cs. Médicas. Instituto de Biología Celular, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba-INICSA (CONICET), Argentina
| | - C Castillo
- Programa de Anatomía del Desarrollo, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Chile
| | - D Hardisson
- Hospital La Paz, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain
| | - U Kemmerling
- Programa de Anatomía del Desarrollo, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Chile
| | - R E Fretes
- Cell Biology, Histology and Embryology Department, Facultad Cs. Médicas. Instituto de Biología Celular, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba-INICSA (CONICET), Argentina; Histology, Embryology and Genetic-IICSHUM, Health Department, Universidad Nacional de La Rioja, Argentina; Histology and Cytology, Medicine, Universidad Nacional de Villa María, Córdoba, Argentina.
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Carrillo I, Droguett D, Castillo C, Liempi A, Muñoz L, Maya JD, Galanti N, Kemmerling U. Caspase-8 activity is part of the BeWo trophoblast cell defense mechanisms against Trypanosoma cruzi infection. Exp Parasitol 2016; 168:9-15. [DOI: 10.1016/j.exppara.2016.06.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2016] [Accepted: 06/17/2016] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
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Liempi A, Castillo C, Carrillo I, Muñoz L, Droguett D, Galanti N, Maya JD, Kemmerling U. A local innate immune response against Trypanosoma cruzi in the human placenta: The epithelial turnover of the trophoblast. Microb Pathog 2016; 99:123-129. [PMID: 27554274 DOI: 10.1016/j.micpath.2016.08.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2016] [Revised: 08/18/2016] [Accepted: 08/19/2016] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Congenital Chagas disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, is partially responsible for the progressive globalization of Chagas disease despite of its low transmission rate. The probability of congenital transmission depends on complex interactions between the parasite, the maternal and fetus/newborn immune responses and placental factors, being the latter the least studied one. During transplacental transmission, the parasite must cross the placental barrier where the trophoblast, a continuous renewing epithelium, is the first tissue to have contact with the parasite. Importantly, the epithelial turnover is considered part of the innate immune system since pathogens, prior to cell invasion, must attach to the surface of cells. The trophoblast turnover involves cellular processes such as proliferation, differentiation and apoptotic cell death, all of them are induced by the parasite. In the present review, we analyze the current evidence about the trophoblast epithelial turnover as a local placental innate immune response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Liempi
- Programa de Anatomía y Biología del Desarrollo, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Chile
| | - Christian Castillo
- Programa de Anatomía y Biología del Desarrollo, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Chile
| | - Ileana Carrillo
- Programa de Anatomía y Biología del Desarrollo, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Chile
| | - Lorena Muñoz
- Programa de Anatomía y Biología del Desarrollo, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Chile
| | - Daniel Droguett
- Programa de Anatomía y Biología del Desarrollo, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Chile; Departamento de Estomatología, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Talca, Chile
| | - Norbel Galanti
- Programa de Biología Celular y Molecular, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Chile
| | - Juan Diego Maya
- Programa de Farmacología Molecular y Clínica, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Chile
| | - Ulrike Kemmerling
- Programa de Anatomía y Biología del Desarrollo, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Chile.
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