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de Alba Alvarado MC, Torres Gutiérrez E, Cabrera Bravo M, Zenteno Galindo E, Villarreal Muñoz JA, Salazar Schettino PM, Bucio Torres MI. Main Cardiac Histopathologic Alterations in the Acute Phase of Trypanosoma cruzi Infection in a Murine Model. Pathogens 2023; 12:1084. [PMID: 37764892 PMCID: PMC10534729 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens12091084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2023] [Revised: 08/06/2023] [Accepted: 08/17/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Symptoms in the acute phase of Chagas disease are usually mild and nonspecific. However, after several years, severe complications like dilated heart failure and even death may arise in the chronic phase. Due to the lack of specific symptoms in the acute phase, the aim of this work was to describe and analyze the cardiac histopathology during this phase in a CD1 mouse model by assessing parasitism, fibrotic damage, and the presence and composition of a cellular infiltrate, to determine its involvement in the pathogenesis of lesions in the cardiac tissue. Our results indicate that the acute phase lasts about 62 days post-infection (dpi). A significant increase in parasitemia was observed since 15 dpi, reaching a maximum at 33 dpi (4.1 × 106). The presence of amastigote nests was observed at 15-62 dpi, with a maximum count of 27 nests at 35 dpi. An infiltrate consisting primarily of macrophages and neutrophils was found in the cardiac tissue within the first 30 days, but the abundance of lymphocytes showed an 8 ≥ fold increase at 40-62 dpi. Unifocal interstitial fibrosis was identified after 9 dpi, which subsequently showed a 16 ≥ fold increase at 40-60 dpi, along with a 50% mortality rate in the model under study. The increased area of fibrotic lesions revealed progression in the extent of fibrosis, mainly at 50-62 dpi. The presence of perivasculitis and thrombus circulation disorders was seen in the last days (62 dpi); finally, cases of myocytolysis were observed at 50 and 62 dpi. These histopathological alterations, combined with collagen deposition, seem to lead to the development of interstitial fibrosis and damage to the cardiac tissue during the acute phase of infection. This study provides a more complete understanding of the patterns of histopathological abnormalities involved in the acute phase, which could help the development of new therapies to aid the preclinical tests of drugs for their application in Chagas disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariana C. de Alba Alvarado
- Departamento de Microbiología y Parasitología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán, Mexico City 04510, Mexico; (M.C.d.A.A.); (E.T.G.); (M.C.B.)
| | - Elia Torres Gutiérrez
- Departamento de Microbiología y Parasitología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán, Mexico City 04510, Mexico; (M.C.d.A.A.); (E.T.G.); (M.C.B.)
| | - Margarita Cabrera Bravo
- Departamento de Microbiología y Parasitología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán, Mexico City 04510, Mexico; (M.C.d.A.A.); (E.T.G.); (M.C.B.)
| | - Edgar Zenteno Galindo
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán, Mexico City 04510, Mexico;
| | - José Antonio Villarreal Muñoz
- División de Investigación, Secretaria General, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán, Mexico City 04510, Mexico;
| | - Paz María Salazar Schettino
- Departamento de Microbiología y Parasitología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán, Mexico City 04510, Mexico; (M.C.d.A.A.); (E.T.G.); (M.C.B.)
| | - Martha Irene Bucio Torres
- Departamento de Microbiología y Parasitología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán, Mexico City 04510, Mexico; (M.C.d.A.A.); (E.T.G.); (M.C.B.)
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De Alba-Alvarado MC, Torres-Gutiérrez E, Reynoso-Ducoing OA, Zenteno-Galindo E, Cabrera-Bravo M, Guevara-Gómez Y, Salazar-Schettino PM, Rivera-Fernández N, Bucio-Torres MI. Immunopathological Mechanisms Underlying Cardiac Damage in Chagas Disease. Pathogens 2023; 12:pathogens12020335. [PMID: 36839607 PMCID: PMC9959418 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens12020335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2022] [Revised: 02/13/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2023] [Indexed: 02/18/2023] Open
Abstract
In Chagas disease, the mechanisms involved in cardiac damage are an active field of study. The factors underlying the evolution of lesions following infection by Trypanosoma cruzi and, in some cases, the persistence of its antigens and the host response, with the ensuing development of clinically observable cardiac damage, are analyzed in this review.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariana Citlalli De Alba-Alvarado
- Departamento de Microbiología y Parasitología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán, México City 04510, Mexico
| | - Elia Torres-Gutiérrez
- Departamento de Microbiología y Parasitología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán, México City 04510, Mexico
| | - Olivia Alicia Reynoso-Ducoing
- Departamento de Microbiología y Parasitología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán, México City 04510, Mexico
| | - Edgar Zenteno-Galindo
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán, México City 04510, Mexico
| | - Margarita Cabrera-Bravo
- Departamento de Microbiología y Parasitología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán, México City 04510, Mexico
| | - Yolanda Guevara-Gómez
- Departamento de Microbiología y Parasitología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán, México City 04510, Mexico
| | - Paz María Salazar-Schettino
- Departamento de Microbiología y Parasitología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán, México City 04510, Mexico
| | - Norma Rivera-Fernández
- Departamento de Microbiología y Parasitología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán, México City 04510, Mexico
- Correspondence: (N.R.-F.); (M.I.B-T.)
| | - Martha Irene Bucio-Torres
- Departamento de Microbiología y Parasitología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán, México City 04510, Mexico
- Correspondence: (N.R.-F.); (M.I.B-T.)
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Vanrell MC, Martinez SJ, Muñoz LI, Salassa BN, Gambarte Tudela J, Romano PS. Induction of Autophagy by Ursolic Acid Promotes the Elimination of Trypanosoma cruzi Amastigotes From Macrophages and Cardiac Cells. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2022; 12:919096. [PMID: 36004334 PMCID: PMC9394444 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.919096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2022] [Accepted: 06/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Chagas disease, caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, is an infectious illness endemic to Latin America and still lacks an effective treatment for the chronic stage. In a previous study in our laboratory, we established the protective role of host autophagy in vivo during T. cruzi infection in mice and proposed this process as one of the mechanisms involved in the innate immune response against this parasite. In the search for an autophagy inducer that increases the anti-T. cruzi response in the host, we found ursolic acid (UA), a natural pentacyclic triterpene with many biological actions including autophagy induction. The aim of this work was to study the effect of UA on T. cruzi infection in vitro in the late infection stage, when the nests of intracellular parasites are forming, in both macrophages and cardiac cells. To test this effect, the cells were infected with T. cruzi for 24 h and then treated with UA (5–10 µM). The data showed that UA significantly decreased the number of amastigotes found in infected cells in comparison with non-treated cells. UA also induced the autophagy response in both macrophages and cardiac cells under the studied conditions, and the inhibition of this pathway during UA treatment restored the level of infection. Interestingly, LC3 protein, the main marker of autophagy, was recruited around amastigotes and the acidic probe LysoTracker localized with them, two key features of xenophagy. A direct cytotoxic effect of UA was also found on trypomastigotes of T. cruzi, whereas epimastigotes and amastigotes displayed more resistance to this drug at the studied concentrations. Taken together, these data showed that this natural compound reduces T. cruzi infection in the later stages by promoting parasite damage through the induction of autophagy. This action, in addition to the effect of this compound on trypomastigotes, points to UA as an interesting lead for Chagas disease treatment in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- María Cristina Vanrell
- Laboratorio de biología de Trypanosoma cruzi y la célula hospedadora, Instituto de Histología y Embriología de Mendoza, Instituto de Histología y Embriología de Mendoza-Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (IHEM-CONICET)-Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina
- Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina
- *Correspondence: María Cristina Vanrell, ; Patricia Silvia Romano,
| | - Santiago José Martinez
- Laboratorio de biología de Trypanosoma cruzi y la célula hospedadora, Instituto de Histología y Embriología de Mendoza, Instituto de Histología y Embriología de Mendoza-Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (IHEM-CONICET)-Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina
| | - Lucila Ibel Muñoz
- Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica, Universidad Juan Agustín Maza, Mendoza, Argentina
| | - Betiana Nebaí Salassa
- Laboratorio de biología de Trypanosoma cruzi y la célula hospedadora, Instituto de Histología y Embriología de Mendoza, Instituto de Histología y Embriología de Mendoza-Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (IHEM-CONICET)-Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina
- Facultad de Odontología, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina
| | | | - Patricia Silvia Romano
- Laboratorio de biología de Trypanosoma cruzi y la célula hospedadora, Instituto de Histología y Embriología de Mendoza, Instituto de Histología y Embriología de Mendoza-Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (IHEM-CONICET)-Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina
- Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina
- *Correspondence: María Cristina Vanrell, ; Patricia Silvia Romano,
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