Humoral immune response against P2β from Trypanosoma cruzi in persons with chronic Chagas disease: its relationship with treatment against parasites and myocardial damage

Risk Factors for Progression to Chronic Chagas Cardiomyopathy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Approximately one-third of people with chronic Trypanosoma cruzi infection develop Chagas cardiomyopathy, which carries a poor prognosis. Accurate prediction of which individuals will go on to develop Chagas cardiomyopathy remains elusive. We performed a systematic review of literature comparing characteristics of individuals with chronic Chagas disease with or without evidence of cardiomyopathy. Studies were not excluded on the basis of language or publication date. Our review yielded a total of 311 relevant publications. We further examined the subset of 170 studies with data regarding individual age, sex, or parasite load. A meta-analysis of 106 eligible studies indicated that male sex was associated with having Chagas cardiomyopathy (Hedge's g: 1.56, 95% CI: 1.07-2.04), and a meta-analysis of 91 eligible studies indicated that older age was associated with having Chagas cardiomyopathy (Hedge's g: 0.66, 95% CI: 0.41-0.91). A meta-analysis of four eligible studies did not find an association between parasite load and disease state. This study provides the first systematic review to assess whether age, sex, and parasite load are associated with Chagas cardiomyopathy. Our findings suggest that older and male patients with Chagas disease are more likely to have cardiomyopathy, although we are unable to identify causal relationships due to the high heterogeneity and predominantly retrospective study designs in the current literature. Prospective, multidecade studies are needed to better characterize the clinical course of Chagas disease and identify risk factors for progression to Chagas cardiomyopathy.

Review of pharmacological options for the treatment of Chagas disease

Chagas disease (CD) is a worldwide problem, with over 8 million people infected in both rural and urban areas. CD was first described over a century ago, but only two drugs are currently available for CD treatment: benznidazole (BZN) and nifurtimox (NF). Treating CD-infected patients, especially children and women of reproductive age, is vital in order to prevent long-term sequelae, such as heart and gastrointestinal dysfunction, but this aim is still far from being accomplished. Currently, the strongest data to support benefit-risk considerations come from trials in children. Treatment response biomarkers need further development as serology is being questioned as the best method to assess treatment response. This article is a narrative review on the pharmacology of drugs for CD, particularly BZN and NF. Data on drug biopharmaceutical characteristics, safety and efficacy of both drugs are summarized from a clinical perspective. Current data on alternative compounds under evaluation for CD treatment, and new possible treatment response biomarkers are also discussed. Early diagnosis and treatment of CD, especially in paediatric patients, is vital for an effective and safe use of the available drugs (i.e. BZN and NF). New biomarkers for CD are urgently needed for the diagnosis and evaluation of treatment efficacy, and to guide efforts from academia and pharmaceutical companies to accelerate the process of new drug development.

Ten-year follow-up of the largest oral Chagas disease outbreak. Laboratory biomarkers of infection as indicators of therapeutic failure

Trypanosoma cruzi uses various mechanisms of infection to access humans. Since 1967, food contaminated with metacyclic trypomastigotes has triggered several outbreaks of acute infection of Chagas disease by oral transmission. Follow-up studies to assess the effectiveness of anti-parasitic treatment of oral outbreaks are rather scarce. Here, we report a 10-year laboratory follow-up using parasitological, serological, and molecular tests of 106 individuals infected in 2007 of the largest known outbreak of orally transmitted Chagas disease, which occurred in Caracas city, Venezuela. Before treatment (2007), specific IgA, IgM and IgG, were found in 71% (75/106), 90% (95/106) and 100% (106/106), respectively, in addition to 21% (9/43) parasitemia, Complement Mediated Lysis (CML) in 98% (104/106) and 79% (34/43) parasitic DNA for PCR. Blood culture detected parasitemia up to 18 months post-treatment in 6% (6/106) of the patients. In 2017, the original number of cases in the follow-up decreased by 46% and due to the country's economic situation, not all the trials could be carried out in the entire population. During follow-up, IgA and IgM disappeared promptly, with IgM persisting in 19% (20/104) of the patients three years after treatment. The anti-T. cruzi IgG remained positive 10 years later in 41% (20/49) of the individuals evaluated. CML remained positive seven years later in 79% (65/82) of the cases. PCR positive cases decreased after treatment but progressively recovered, being positive in 69% (32/46) of the individuals evaluated in 2017. The group of children (under 18 years of age) showed the highest PCR positivity with 76% (26/34) of the cases, but their parasitic load tended to diminish, while in adults the parasitic load regained their initial values. The simultaneous evaluation of serological tests and PCR of the patients allowed us to separate patients among responders and non-responders to the anti-parasitic treatment, and this information prompted us to apply a second anti-parasitic treatment in the group of non-responders. In this population not subjected to the like lihood of re-infection, adult patients were more likely to be non-responders when compared to children. These results suggest that rigorous laboratory follow-up with T. cruzi infectious biomarkers is essential to detect cases of parasite persistence.

A Parasite Biomarker Set for Evaluating Benznidazole Treatment Efficacy in Patients with Chronic Asymptomatic Trypanosoma cruzi Infection

One of the current greatest challenges of Chagas disease is the establishment of biomarkers to assess the efficacy of drugs in a short period of time. In this context, the reactivity of sera from 66 adults with chronic indeterminate Chagas disease (IND) for a set of four Trypanosoma cruzi antigens (KMP11, PFR2, HSP70, and 3973^d) was analyzed before and after benznidazole treatment. The results showed that the reactivity against these antigens decreased at 9, 24, and 48 months after treatment. Moreover, the 42.4% and 68.75% of IND patients met the established standard criteria of therapeutic efficacy (STEC) at 24 and 48 months posttreatment, respectively. Meeting the STEC implied that there was a continuous decrease in the reactivity of the patient sera against the four antigens after treatment and that there was a substantial decrease in the reactivity for at least two of the antigens. This important decrease in reactivity may be associated with a drastic reduction in the parasite load, but it is not necessarily associated with a parasitological cure. After treatment, a positive PCR result was only obtained in patients who did not meet the STEC. The percentage of granzyme B⁺/perforin⁺ CD8⁺ T cells was significantly higher in patients who met the STEC than in those who did not meet the STEC (35.2% versus 2.2%; P < 0.05). Furthermore, the patients who met the STEC exhibited an increased quality of the multifunctional response of the antigen-specific CD8⁺ T cells compared with that in the patients who did not meet the STEC.

Combined analysis of cross-reacting antibodies anti-β1AR and anti-B13 in advanced stages of Chagas heart disease

OBJECTIVE

Autoantibodies cross-reacting with the β1 adrenergic receptor (anti-β1AR and anti-p2β) and cardiac myosin antigens (anti-B13) have been related to the pathogenesis of chronic Chagas heart disease (CCHD). Studies exploring their levels in different stages are scarce. We aimed to evaluate the relationship of these autoantibodies with the clinical profile of chronic patients, especially regarding their classificatory accuracy in severe presentation with heart failure.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We conducted a cross-sectional study of 155 T. cruzi-seropositive patients and 26 age- and gender-matched healthy controls. They were categorised in three stages of CCHD. Serum antibodies were measured by specific immunoassays. Symptomatic individuals showed increased levels of anti-β1AR and anti-B13, while anti-p2β antibodies were similar between groups. A composite logistic regression model including anti-B13, anti-β1AR antibody levels and age was able to predict systolic heart failure yielding an area under the curve of 83% (sensitivity of 67% and specificity of 89%).

CONCLUSIONS

In our study, anti-β1AR and anti-B13 antibodies were higher in individuals with chronic Chagas heart disease stage III, mainly in those with dilated cardiomyopathy associated with systolic heart failure. Logistic regression analysis showed that both antibodies were good predictors of severe CCHD. As well as being involved in disease progression, anti-β1AR and anti-B13 antibodies may be used as a serum marker of poor prognosis in terms of heart compromise.

Membranous nephropathy PLA2R+ associated with Chagas disease

Chagas disease (CD) — a tropical parasitic disease caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi — is a major health problem in Latin America. The immune response against the parasite is responsible for chronic CD lesions. Currently, there are no reports of an association between CD and membranous nephropathy (MN). The detection of the phospholipase A2 receptor (PLA2R) as a target antigen in idiopathic MN can improve the differential diagnosis of primary and secondary forms of MN. The authors report the case of a male patient with positive serology for CD who presented sudden death and underwent autopsy. Histological sections of the heart showed multifocal inflammatory infiltrate composed mainly of mononuclear cells, leading to myocardiocytes necrosis and interstitial fibrosis. The kidneys showed a MN with positive expression for PLA2R. As far as we know, this is the first report of a case of primary MN in a patient with CD, with severe chronic cardiomyopathy and heart failure.

Biomarkers of therapeutic responses in chronic Chagas disease: state of the art and future perspectives

The definition of a biomarker provided by the World Health Organization is any substance, structure, or process that can be measured in the body, or its products and influence, or predict the incidence or outcome of disease. Currently, the lack of prognosis and progression markers for chronic Chagas disease has posed limitations for testing new drugs to treat this neglected disease. Several molecules and techniques to detect biomarkers in Trypanosoma cruzi-infected patients have been proposed to assess whether specific treatment with benznidazole or nifurtimox is effective. Isolated proteins or protein groups from different T. cruzi stages and parasite-derived glycoproteins and synthetic neoglycoconjugates have been demonstrated to be useful for this purpose, as have nucleic acid amplification techniques. The amplification of T. cruzi DNA using the real-time polymerase chain reaction method is the leading test for assessing responses to treatment in a short period of time. Biochemical biomarkers have been tested early after specific treatment. Cytokines and surface markers represent promising molecules for the characterisation of host cellular responses, but need to be further assessed.

Biological markers for evaluating therapeutic efficacy in Chagas disease, a systematic review

The most neglected aspects of Chagas disease (CD) have been patient care and treatment. Despite recent progress in the development of potentially improved drugs, there is no consensus among different research groups on the lack of therapeutic response markers to evaluate efficacy of newly proposed drugs early after treatment. A systematic review of current evidence regarding molecules which are potential biomarkers for therapeutic response has been conducted using quality assessment and target responses as primary criteria. The review provides a panorama of the cumulative evidence and specific needs for development of a battery of complementary biomarkers which together fulfill ideal or acceptable criteria to evaluate early responses to treatment for chronic CD. There are several marker candidates which together may fulfill acceptable criteria to indicate the efficacy of a trypanocidal treatment. Data from ongoing studies are considered essential to improve assessment of existing markers and to identify those for early follow-up of treated patients.

β1-selective adrenoceptor antagonists increase plasma levels of anti-p2β antibodies and decrease cardiac involvement in chronic progressive Chagas heart disease

BACKGROUND

Studies indicate that antibodies cross-reacting with cardiac β1 adrenergic receptors are likely to play a role in the development of chronic Chagas heart disease (CCHD). In parallel, clinical trials have shown that β1 antagonist drugs exert beneficial effects in the prognosis of patients with CCHD. In a group of patients with CCHD undergoing therapy with β1-blockers, we have now evaluated the levels of anti-p2β antibodies and the severity of CCHD.

METHODS

We performed a cross-sectional study in Trypanosoma cruzi seropositive patients categorized according to a standard CCHD classification. All individuals were subjected to a complete clinical examination.

RESULTS

There was no association between CCHD stages, electrocardiographic conduction disturbances, and echocardiogram pathological signs with the levels of autoantibodies. However, when patients were analyzed according to selective cardio-β1-blocker therapy, those receiving treatment had higher levels of anti-p2β. Patients from CCHD stage III treated with combined therapy of cardio-β1-selective blockers, enalapril, and statins, presented decreased cardiac involvement and lower score of risk of mortality than individuals from the same group who were not treated.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that selective cardio-β1-blockers might modify the autoantibody anti-p2β levels, and that combined therapy in patients with stage III CCHD might be associated with lower cardiac involvement and risk score of mortality in patients with heart failure. Longitudinal studies will help to ascertain the proper role of β1-blockers in the immunopathological processes underlying chronic Chagas disease.

Advances and challenges towards a vaccine against Chagas disease

Chagas disease is major public health problem, affecting nearly 10 million people, characterized by cardiac alterations leading to congestive heart failure and death of 20-40% of the patients infected with Trypanosoma cruzi, the protozoan parasite responsible for the disease. A vaccine would be key to improve disease control and we review here the recent advances and challenges of a T. cruzi vaccine. There is a growing consensus that a protective immune response requires the activation of a Th1 immune profile, with the stimulation of CD8 (+) T cells. Several vacines types, including recombinant proteins, DNA and viral vectors, as well as heterologous prime-boost combinations, have been found immunogenic and protective in mouse models, providing proof-of-concept data on the feasibility of a preventive or therapeutic vaccine to control a T. cruzi infection. However, several challenges such as better end-points, safety issues and trial design need to be addressed for further vaccine development to proceed.