Molecular Characterization of the cry Gene profile of Bacillus thuringiensis Isolated from a Caribbean Region of Colombia.

In order to characterize native strains of Bacillus thuringiensis of the Colombian Caribbean with toxic effect against insect vectors, 28 samples of bacteria identified as B. thuringiensis were isolated from different soils and muds around the city of Valledupar. Using a biological test, five isolates of B. thuringiensis showed toxic effect against larvae of Aedes aegypti. PCR methods were used to detect cry1, cry2, cry4B, cry10 and cyt1 genes. Cry1 and cry2 genes were detected in 35.7% and 32.1% of the 28 isolates analyzed, respectively. Surprisingly, reduced lengths of cry4B gene segments were detected in 28.6% of B. thuringiensis samples. The presence of cry10 or cyt1 was not detected in any of the 28 samples of B. thuringiensis, despite the high sensitivity of the assays used. The results show that B. thuringiensis samples from the Colombian Caribbean have atypical characteristics compared to those of Latin America and elsewhere in the world, which is consistent with the idea that the geographic origin of B. thuringiensis samples is associated with their biological and genetic characteristics.

Detection of the G3 genotype of Echinococcus granulosus from hydatid cysts of Chilean cattle using COX1 and ND1 mitochondrial markers.

For a deeper understanding of the phylogenetic relationships of Echinococcus genotypes and species in different intermediate hosts, we analyzed samples from human and bovine hydatid cysts. For this, segments of the cytochrome oxidase (COX1) and NADH dehydrogenase (ND1) mitochondrial genes were used. To obtain sufficient amounts of the ND1 marker to be sequenced properly, a new variant of the PCR assay was implemented. Phylogenetic analysis with both markers showed that most of the analyzed samples correspond to genotype G1. However, a sample from cysts of a bovine lung (Q21), with the COX1 marker, was grouped in a node together with a sample belonging to genotype G3. In the phylogenetic tree obtained with the ND1 marker, this sample was grouped with sequences of genotypes G3, G2, and G4. Analyzing the single nucleotide polymorphic (SNP) sites of both markers, it was observed that the Q21 sequence is almost identical to the G3 sequence and differ in only one SNP from the G2 sequence, and is completely different from G4. These results are noteworthy, since neither G2 nor G3 genotypes have been described previously in Chile, raising the possibility that the G3 genotype is present in these latitudes. This information is highly relevant; it can be employed to uncover additional unknown details of transmission cycles of this important parasite.

[Estimation of costs caused by cystic echinococcosis]. / Estimación del impacto económico de la equinococosis quística en Chile y análisis de las posibles causas que han dificultado su erradicación.

BACKGROUND: Hydatid disease or cystic echinococcosis, caused by the parasite Echinococcus granulosus, has a worldwide distribution, affecting people of working age and can cause high levels of morbidity and even death. AIM: To estimate the economic impact at the human and animal level caused by the disease in Chile. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We analyzed information about the disease obtained from reports and publications emanated from the Chilean Ministry of Health, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the U.S. National Institute of Statistics and the National Agricultural Service. Animal derived costs were estimated evaluating the expenses for pharmacological treatment of infected dogs and animal production losses derived from confiscations and reductions in meat production. RESULTS: The total number of patients who underwent surgery to remove a hydatid cyst in Chile during 2012, was estimated as 767 individuals. The annual costs derived only from surgical treatment, were estimated in USD 2.46 million. Summing the costs of sick leaves and loss of productivity, the costs at the human level ascended to USD 3.13 million. Considering human and animal costs, the annual economic burden of the disease was estimated in USD 14.35 million. CONCLUSIONS: The Analysis of the regional distribution of human and animal hydatidosis, suggests a significant environmental contamination with parasite eggs in high incidence regions such as Aysén, Araucanía, BioBío and Coquimbo. The efficiency of control programs for the disease would be greatly improved if the causes for these regional contaminations are elucidated.

Microsatellite marker analysis shows differentiation among Trypanosoma cruzi populations of peripheral blood and dejections of Triatoma infestans fed on the same chronic chagasic patients : microsatellite marker analysis and T. cruzi.

To investigate whether Trypanosoma cruzi populations found in chagasic cardiopathic and non-cardiopathic patients are genetically differentiated, three molecular microsatellite markers were analysed. This analysis was also applied to compare T. cruzi samples from peripheral blood or dejections of Triatoma infestans fed on the blood of the same patients. In order to obtain the first objective, analyses of predominant T. cruzi genotypes were conducted using three approaches: a locus-by-locus analysis; a Fisher method across three loci; and analysis of molecular variance by Genepop and Arlequin programs. Only with one locus and on the blood samples was a significant differentiation detected among non-cardiopathic and cardiopathic groups, which was not confirmed by the other two methods. On the contrary, with the three approaches, it was found that T. cruzi clones present in the blood of patients are genetically differentiated from those detected in dejections of T. infestans fed on the same patients. Our results showed that the most frequent lineage both in blood as well as in triatomine dejection samples was TcI. No significant difference in T. cruzi lineage distribution was observed among chagasic cardiopathic and non-cardiopathic patients. The majority of the samples (50-60%) had only one T. cruzi clone (uniclonal) either in blood or dejection samples.

Phylogenetic analysis of microsatellite markers further supports the two hybridization events hypothesis as the origin of the Trypanosoma cruzi lineages.

To better understand the evolution of the etiologic agent of Chagas disease, we cloned and sequenced 25 alleles from five Tripanosoma cruzi microsatellite markers. The study of the sequences showed highly conserved alleles present in T. cruzi clones belonging to TCI, TCIIc, and TCIIe. This result was also confirmed by the phylogenetic analysis of MCLE01 allele sequences. The examination by capillary electrophoresis of six microsatellite markers from 19 T. cruzi clones showed a high proportion of the alleles found both in the TCI and TCII sublineages. The phylogenetic reconstruction of these 19 clones produced a tree with two major clusters with bootstrap support of 100% and 95%. The first cluster includes T. cruzi clones belonging to the TCI and TCIIa lineages. The second cluster is composed of TCI, TCIIc, TCIId, and TCIIe T. cruzi clones. The analysis of five microsatellite markers in the CLBrener genome showed that almost all the microsatellite markers are synteny; non-Esmeraldo and Esmeraldo haplotypes probably come from the TCIIc and TCIIb lineages. Taken together, our results are in agreement with the two hybridization events hypothesis as the origin of current T. cruzi lineages.

Variation in Trypanosoma cruzi clonal composition detected in blood patients and xenodiagnosis triatomines: implications in the molecular epidemiology of Chile.

To identify Trypanosoma cruzi clones from chronically infected individuals, they were transferred to triatomines by the xenodiagnosis test (XD) with Triatoma infestans. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and hybridization assays were performed to detect minicircle DNA in human blood samples and triatomine feces, using probes to determine the T. cruzi clones present. T. cruzi clone 19 (TcI) resulted the most prevalent in humans, with a frequency of 0.70 compared with a frequency of 0.53 in triatomines. T. cruzi clone 39 (TcIId) was the most prevalent in T. infestans, with a frequency of 0.65 compared with 0.33 in humans. The T. cruzi clone 43 (TcIIe) was not detected in blood samples; nevertheless, it was present at a rate of 0.17 in T. infestans feces. In conclusion, the T. cruzi clones are associated to each host, suggesting that selective amplification of clones occurs in human and triatomines.

Comparison of Trypanosoma cruzi detection by PCR in blood and dejections of Triatoma infestans fed on patients with chronic Chagas disease.

In this study, we compare the sensitivity of detecting Trypanosoma cruzi in dejections of Triatoma infestans nymphs that had fed on the blood of chronic chagasic patients, with detection of T. cruzi in peripheral blood, using a polymerase chain reaction assay (PCR-D and PCR-B, respectively). Fifty-seven chronic patients were evaluated who were positive (group I) or negative (group II) by xenodiagnosis (XD). Patients showed 84.8 and 75% positive PCR results in both kinds of samples in groups I and II, respectively. Six cases (10.5%) showed positive PCR-D and negative PCR-B, five of them belonged to group I. In contrast, five cases of group II showed negative PCR-D and positive PCR-B. Overall, the PCR-D assay gave positive results in 52 out of 57 samples (91.2%), while 51 out of 57 (89.5%) were positive by PCR-B. In comparison, only 57.9% were positive by XD (p = 0.0001). In conclusion, PCR performed in dejection or blood was more sensitive for the parasite detection than xenodiagnosis. All patients (100%) were detected positive when both, PCR-D and PCR-B, were applied.

Detection of high percentage of Trypanosoma cruzi infection, the etiologic agent of Chagas disease, in wild populations of Colombian Caribbean triatomines.

In Colombia it is estimated that about 900,000 persons are infected with T. cruzi. There are 25 triatomine species and 5 of them have been reported infected with T. cruzi in the Colombian Caribbean region. In order to obtain more information about the triatomine populations in this region, 89 wild triatomines were collected from four Colombian Departments. The most frequent specie collected was Rhodnius pallescens (65%), followed by Rhodnius prolixus (20%), Panstrongylus geniculatus (10.1%) and Triatoma dimidiata (1%), found in Bolivar, Córdoba, Atlántico/Sucre, and Bolívar Departments, respectively. The majority of triatomines (95.5%) were captured in the arboreal ecotope and 76.4% were found infected with T. cruzi. Interestingly, some of these triatomine species were captured in Departments in which they had not previously been reported and also new finding of triatomine species infected with T. cruzi. These results are relevant, because they can be consequence of a continued geographical expansion of this parasite, not only in the Colombian Caribbean region, but even in all Latin America. The information presented here will contribute in the surveillance and control strategies of the vectors infected with T. cruzi that circulate in four department of Colombian Caribbean region in order to interrupt the transmission to human dwelling.

Trypanosoma cruzi Calreticulin Topographical Variations in Parasites Infecting Murine Macrophages.

Trypanosoma cruzi calreticulin (TcCRT), a 47-kDa chaperone, translocates from the endoplasmic reticulum to the area of flagellum emergence. There, it binds to complement components C1 and mannan-binding lectin (MBL), thus acting as a main virulence factor, and inhibits the classical and lectin pathways. The localization and functions of TcCRT, once the parasite is inside the host cell, are unknown. In parasites infecting murine macrophages, polyclonal anti-TcCRT antibodies detected TcCRT mainly in the parasite nucleus and kinetoplast. However, with a monoclonal antibody (E2G7), the resolution and specificity of the label markedly improved, and TcCRT was detected mainly in the parasite kinetoplast. Gold particles, bound to the respective antibodies, were used as probes in electron microscopy. This organelle may represent a stopover and accumulation site for TcCRT, previous its translocation to the area of flagellum emergence. Finally, early during T. cruzi infection and by unknown mechanisms, an important decrease in the number of MHC-I positive host cells was observed.

Use of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and hybridization assays to detect Trypanosoma cruzi in chronic chagasic patients treated with itraconazole or allopurinol.

The presence of Trypanosoma cruzi in chronic chagasic patients with negative xenodiagnosis (XD) after 6 years following completion of therapy with either itraconazole or allopurinol was assessed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and hybridization assays. A 330-bp DNA fragment amplified from the hypervariable regions of T. cruzi kinetoplastid minicircles was hybridized with total 32P-labeled kinetoplast DNA as probes. PCR alone enabled the identification of T. cruzi nucleotide sequences in 40% of the patients treated with itraconazole and in 60% of patients treated with allopurinol. PCR used in combination with hybridization detected parasite DNA in 60% and 53% of XD negative individuals treated with itraconazole or allopurinol, respectively. These results show that PCR and hybridization are more sensitive than conventional parasitological techniques in diagnosing patients that have undergone chemotherapy with itraconazole or allopurinol.

Microsatellite loci-based distribution of Trypanosoma cruzi genotypes from Chilean chronic Chagas disease patients and Triatoma infestans is concordant with a specific host-parasite association hypothesis.

The objective of this study was to investigate if there is specific host-parasite association in Chilean populations of Trypanosoma cruzi. For this purpose, two groups of parasites were analyzed, one from chronic chagasic patients, and the other from Triatoma infestans triatomines in three regions of the country. The first group consisted of four types of samples: parasites from peripheral blood of non-cardiopathic T. cruzi infected patients (NB); parasites from their corresponding xenodiagnosis (NX); parasites from peripheral blood of T. cruzi infected cardiopathic patients (CB) and parasites from their xenodiagnostics (CX). The T. infestans sample in turn was from three regions: III, V and M (Metropolitan). The genetic differentiation by the Fisher exact method, the lineage distribution of the samples, the molecular phylogeny and the frequency of multiclonality were analysed. The results show that not only are the groups of T. cruzi clones from Chagas disease patients and vectors genetically differentiated, but also all the sub-groups (NB, NX, CB and CX) from the III, V and M regions. The analysis of lineage distribution was concordant with the above results, because significant differences among the percentages of TcI, TcIII and hybrids (TcV or TcVI) were observed. The phylogenetic reconstruction with these Chilean T. cruzi samples was coherent with the above results because the four chagasic samples clustered together in a node with high bootstrap support, whereas the three triatomine samples (III, V and M) were located apart from that node. The topology of the tree including published T. cruzi clones and isolates was concordant with the known topology, which confirmed that the results presented here are correct and are not biased by experimental error. Taken together the results presented here are concordant with a specific host-parasite association between some Chilean T. cruzi populations.

Trypanosoma cruzi calreticulin: a novel virulence factor that binds complement C1 on the parasite surface and promotes infectivity.

In Trypanosoma cruzi, calreticulin (TcCRT) translocates from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to the area of flagellum emergence. We propose herein that the parasite uses this molecule to capture complement C1, in an infective apoptotic mimicry strategy. Thus, TcCRT/C1 interactions, besides inhibiting the classical pathway of complement activation as previously shown in our laboratories, will also promote infectivity. This fact correlates with significant increases in TcCRT mRNA levels during early infection stages of a VERO cell line. In vitro, the collagenous and globular C1q domains simultaneously bind TcCRT and antigen aggregated Igs, respectively. Accordingly, mouse immunizations with TcCRT induced humoral responses that, after challenge, correlated with increased parasitemia. Thus, on the parasite surface, whole Igs anti-TcCRT promote C1 deposits on trypomastigotes while, as expected, F(ab')2 fragments decrease it. Likewise, pretreatment of the parasites with whole anti-TcCRT antibodies augmented parasitemia and mortality in mice. In contrast, pretreatment with F(ab')2 fragments anti-TcCRT, devoid of their capacity to provide additional C1q binding sites, was protective. Most important, while pretreatment of trypomastigotes with C1q increased infectivity in the RAW murine cell line, as well as mice mortality and parasitemia, the F(ab')2 fragments significantly interfered with the C1q-dependent infectivity. Differently from other surface molecules involved in infectivity, TcCRT uses C1 as an adaptor molecule to recognize host cells. As expected, since TcCRT is one of several cell surface parasite molecules participating in infectivity, attempts to interfere with the C1/TcCRT interactions with F(ab')2 fragments, were moderately but significantly effective, both in vitro and in vivo.

Molecular mechanisms involved in the inactivation of the first component of human complement by Trypanosoma cruzi calreticulin.

Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi), the agent of Chagas' disease, the sixth most important neglected tropical disease worldwide, causes 50,000 deaths per year in Latin America. T. cruzi calreticulin (TcCRT), a highly pleiotropic chaperone molecule, plays important roles in several host/parasite interactions. Among other functions, we have previously shown that TcCRT, translocated from the endoplasmic reticulum to the area of flagellar emergence, binds human C1q and inhibits activation of the classical pathway in vitro. Based on a series of in vitro experiments, we propose here two mechanisms to explain how TcCRT inhibits the classical pathway at the initial stages of C1 (q, r, s) activation. First, TcCRT interacts in vitro with both solid phase bound active C1s and C1, but impairment of C4 activating capacity is evident only when the serine proteases are within the structural context of the macromolecular first component. Although C1s activity, in this context, is inhibited by TcCRT, the serine protease is not displaced from the C1 complex. Second, TcCRT prevents C1 formation, by interfering with the ability of the (C1r-C1s)(2) tetramer to bind C1q. These complement inhibitory effects are better explained by direct interaction of the parasite protein with C1, rather than by the TcCRT capacity to bind calcium, an essential element for the functional integrity of C1.

Estimación del impacto económico de la equinococosis quística en Chile y análisis de las posibles causas que han dificultado su erradicación / Estimation of costs caused by cystic echinococcosis

Background: Hydatid disease or cystic echinococcosis, caused by the parasite Echinococcus granulosus, has a worldwide distribution, affecting people of working age and can cause high levels of morbidity and even death. Aim: To estimate the economic impact at the human and animal level caused by the disease in Chile. Material and Methods: We analyzed information about the disease obtained from reports and publications emanated from the Chilean Ministry of Health, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the U.S. National Institute of Statistics and the National Agricultural Service. Animal derived costs were estimated evaluating the expenses for pharmacological treatment of infected dogs and animal production losses derived from confiscations and reductions in meat production. Results: The total number of patients who underwent surgery to remove a hydatid cyst in Chile during 2012, was estimated as 767 individuals. The annual costs derived only from surgical treatment, were estimated in USD 2.46 million. Summing the costs of sick leaves and loss of productivity, the costs at the human level ascended to USD 3.13 million. Considering human and animal costs, the annual economic burden of the disease was estimated in USD 14.35 million. Conclusions: The Analysis of the regional distribution of human and animal hydatidosis, suggests a significant environmental contamination with parasite eggs in high incidence regions such as Aysén, Araucanía, BioBío and Coquimbo. The efficiency of control programs for the disease would be greatly improved if the causes for these regional contaminations are elucidated.

Differential distribution of Trypanosoma cruzi clones in human chronic chagasic cardiopathic and non-cardiopathic individuals.

PCR and Southern blot hybridization were used to determine the distribution of Trypanosoma cruzi clones in 37 chronic chagasic cardiopathic and non-cardiopathic patients. Parasite DNA amplified from peripheral blood or dejections of Triatoma infestans fed on patient blood was hybridized with probes containing hypervariable minicircle nucleotide sequences capable of detecting three sublineages of T. cruzi. Probes Z-I and Z-IIb detect unique sequences in lineages TcI and TcIIb, respectively. Probe Z-hybrid detects sequences of lineages TcIId and TcIIe. T. cruzi clones of the Z-I sublineage were detected in 62.2% of T. infestans dejections and 5.4% of peripheral blood samples. Clones of Z-IIb and Z-hybrid sublineages had similar distribution in blood and dejection samples. Interestingly, clones of the Z-IIb sublineage were significantly lower in cardiopathic than in non-cardiopathic patients (23.5% versus 75%; P=0.0006). Clones of the Z-hybrid sublineage were found in 29.4% of cardiopathic and 75% of non-cardiopathic patients, respectively (P=0.0051). By contrast, clones of sublineage Z-I were similarly distributed in both groups of patients. The low frequency of Z-IIb and Z-hybrid sublineage clones detected in cardiopathic patients suggests that the immunological mechanisms involved in controlling and eliminating these T. cruzi parasites may be detrimental to the host, leading to the development of chagasic cardiomyopathy.

Dissimilar distribution of Trypanosoma cruzi clones in humans after chemotherapy with allopurinol and itraconazole.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this work was to study the distribution of Trypanosoma cruzi clones after treatment failure with itraconazole or allopurinol in infected humans. METHODS: Blood samples from treated and untreated individuals were used to detect T. cruzi by PCR assays and were confirmed by hybridization tests using total kinetoplast DNA as a universal probe. Also, xenodiagnosis (XD) tests were performed with Triatoma infestans fed from the same group of patients. We performed Southern-blot analyses of PCR products from blood or XD samples using a panel of four genotype-specific probes: corresponding to T. cruzi clones TcI, TcIIb, TcIId and TcIIe. The membranes were hybridized with radiolabelled probes and exposed in a Personal Molecular Imager. RESULTS: When comparing the presence of T. cruzi clones in the allopurinol-treated group with the non-treated group significant differences were only observed for XD samples. Clone TcI was present in 9/13 (69.2%) of the XD samples of the treated group, but only in 8/27 (29.6%) in the non-treated group (P = 0.0178). When the itraconazole-treated group and the control group were compared, significant differences were found in both the blood and XD samples. In blood, the clone TcIIb was detected in 6/17 (35.5%) of the treated group and in 18/27 (66.7%) of the non-treated group (P = 0.0207). When XD samples were analysed, the clone TcI was observed in 14/17 (82.3%) of the itraconazole-treated group but only in 8/27 (29.6%) of the control group (P = 0.0006), which suggests resistance of this clone to itraconazole. CONCLUSIONS: We detected a dissimilar distribution of T. cruzi clones in treated and untreated groups of patients. The presence of TcI increased in patients treated with allopurinol and itraconazole, whereas the presence of TcIIb decreased in itraconazole-treated patients. The type of T. cruzi clone that prevails suggests that TcI is resistant to both drugs and that TcIIb is susceptible to itraconazole.

[No association between persistence of the parasite and electrocardiographic evolution in treated patients with Chagas disease]. / La mejoría electrocardiográfica con el tratamiento de la enfermedad de Chagas crónica, es independiente de la persistencia de Trypanosoma cruzi.

BACKGROUND: At the present time the assessment of results of treatment of Chagas disease is mainly parasitological. Anti Trypanosoma cruzi IgGs remain positive practically lifelong and electrocardiographic tracings are not usually used as criteria of improvement. AIM: To determine, in a long term follow up, if electrocardiographic evolution is associated with the persistence of the parasite in treated patients with chronic Chagas disease. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Thirty patients with chronic Chagas disease that participated in a randomized trial of treatment with itraconazole or allopurinol, were studied. Seven years after treatment, patients were classified in group I if they had a positive xenodiagnosis test, polymerase chain reaction and hybridization in blood or in group II if they had negative tests. A 12 lead electrocardiogram (EKG) was performed each year to all patients. RESULTS: Seventeen patients were classified in group I and 13 in group II. At baseline 10 patients in group I and 8 in group II had a normal EKG. Six years after treatment 13 patients in group I and 10 in group II had a normal tracing. Of those with a normal tracing at baseline, only one patient in each group presented alterations after six years. A regression of abnormal tracings was observed in four and three patients of groups I and II respectively. CONCLUSIONS: There is no association between the persistence of the parasite in treated patients with Chagas disease and the evolution of electrocardiographic tracings.

Cytotoxicity and trypanocidal activity of nifurtimox encapsulated in ethylcyanoacrylate nanoparticles.

The aim of the present study was to study the trypanocidal activity of nanoparticles loaded with nifurtimox in comparison with the free drug against Trypanosoma cruzi, responsible for Chagas' disease. Ethylcyanoacrylate nanoparticles acted as the delivery system into cells. As the obligate replicative intracellular form is amastigote, in vitro studies were performed on this form of parasite as well as on cell culture derived trypomastigotes. The fluorescence method used here was very useful as it allowed for the simultaneous study of trypanocide activity and cytotoxicity by determining living or dead parasites within living or dead host cells. According to these results, the greatest trypanocide activity on cell culture-derived trypomastigotes was recorded for nifurtimox-loaded nanoparticles with a 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) twenty times less than that of the free drug. The cytotoxicity of unloaded nanoparticles at low concentrations was similar to that obtained by free drug when evaluated on Vero cells. Furthermore, nifurtimox-loaded nanoparticles showed increased trypanocide activity on intracellular amastigotes with an IC50 thirteen times less than that of nifurtimox. We also observed that the unloaded nanoparticles possess the previously-described trypanocide activity, similar to the standard solution of nifurtimox, although the mechanism for this has not yet been elucidated. In conclusion, it was possible to establish in vitro conditions using nifurtimox encapsulated nanoparticles in order to decrease the doses of the drug and thus to obtain high trypanocidal activity on both free trypomastigotes and intracellular amastigotes with low cytotoxicity for the host cell.

[Immunophenotyping of peripheral blood lymphocytes from Chilean chronic chagasic patients by flow cytometry]. / Inmunofenotipificación de linfocitos en sangre periférica de pacientes chagásicos crónicos chilenos mediante citometría de flujo.

BACKGROUND: Cellular immune mechanisms of the resistance to infection by T cruzi as well as the pathogenesis of Chagas disease are still controversial. AIM: To quantify and analyse the peripheral blood immune cells from chagasic and non chagasic patients by flow cytometry. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Peripheral blood samples were taken from 21 individuals seropositive for Chagas disease, under no specific treatment. Control samples from 21 healthy blood donors were also obtained. To quantify immune cells populations by flow cytometry, antibodies against CD3, CD4, CD8, CD16/56, CD45/14, CD19 and HLA-DR markers were used. RESULTS: The percentage of CD8+ cells was low and the CD4+/CD8+ ratio was high in chagasic patients, compared to their non infected counterparts. No statistically significant differences in the number of CD4+, NK, B, CD4+HLADR+ and CD8+HLADR+ cells, were observed within the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: These results show that Chilean chronic chagasic patients have lower percentage of CD8+ cells and higher CD4+/CD8+ ratio than non infected individuals.

The classical activation pathway of the human complement system is specifically inhibited by calreticulin from Trypanosoma cruzi.

The high resistance of Trypanosoma cruzi trypomastigotes, the causal agent of Chagas' disease, to complement involves several parasite strategies. In these in vitro studies, we show that T. cruzi calreticulin (TcCRT) and two subfragments thereof (TcCRT S and TcCRT R domains) bind specifically to recognition subcomponents of the classical and lectin activation pathways (i.e., to collagenous tails of C1q and to mannan-binding lectin) of the human complement system. As a consequence of this binding, specific functional inhibition of the classical pathway and impaired mannan-binding lectin to mannose were observed. By flow cytometry, TcCRT was detected on the surface of viable trypomastigotes and, by confocal microscopy, colocalization of human C1q with surface TcCRT of infective trypomastigotes was visualized. Taken together, these findings imply that TcCRT may be a critical factor contributing to the ability of trypomastigotes to interfere at the earliest stages of complement activation.