ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Angiogenesis has been implicated in tissue injury in several noninfectious diseases, but its role in Chagas disease (CD) physiopathology is unclear. OBJECTIVES: The present study aimed to investigate the effect of Trypanosoma cruzi infection on cardiac angiogenesis during the acute phase of experimental CD. METHODS: The signalling pathway involved in blood vessel formation and cardiac remodelling was evaluated in Swiss Webster mice infected with the Y strain of T. cruzi. The levels of molecules involved in the regulation of angiogenesis, such as vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A), Flk-1, phosphorylated extracellular-signal-regulated protein kinase (pERK), hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), CD31, α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and also the blood vessel growth were analysed during T. cruzi infection. Hearts were analysed using conventional histopathology, immunohistochemistry and western blotting. FINDINGS: In this study, our data demonstrate that T. cruzi acute infection in mice induces exacerbated angiogenesis in the heart and parallels cardiac remodelling. In comparison with noninfected controls, the cardiac tissue of T. cruzi-infected mice presented higher levels of (i) HIF-1α, VEGF-A, Flk-1 and pERK; (ii) angiogenesis; (iii) α-SMA+ cells in the tissue; and (iv) collagen -1 deposition around blood vessels and infiltrating throughout the myocardium. MAIN CONCLUSIONS: We observed cardiac angiogenesis during acute experimental T. cruzi infection parallels cardiac inflammation and remodelling.
Subject(s)
Chagas Disease , Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A , Mice , Animals , Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A/metabolism , Ventricular Remodeling , Chagas Disease/metabolism , Heart , Myocardium/pathologyABSTRACT
BACKGROUND Angiogenesis has been implicated in tissue injury in several noninfectious diseases, but its role in Chagas disease (CD) physiopathology is unclear. OBJECTIVES The present study aimed to investigate the effect of Trypanosoma cruzi infection on cardiac angiogenesis during the acute phase of experimental CD. METHODS The signalling pathway involved in blood vessel formation and cardiac remodelling was evaluated in Swiss Webster mice infected with the Y strain of T. cruzi. The levels of molecules involved in the regulation of angiogenesis, such as vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A), Flk-1, phosphorylated extracellular-signal-regulated protein kinase (pERK), hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), CD31, α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and also the blood vessel growth were analysed during T. cruzi infection. Hearts were analysed using conventional histopathology, immunohistochemistry and western blotting. FINDINGS In this study, our data demonstrate that T. cruzi acute infection in mice induces exacerbated angiogenesis in the heart and parallels cardiac remodelling. In comparison with noninfected controls, the cardiac tissue of T. cruzi-infected mice presented higher levels of (i) HIF-1α, VEGF-A, Flk-1 and pERK; (ii) angiogenesis; (iii) α-SMA+ cells in the tissue; and (iv) collagen -1 deposition around blood vessels and infiltrating throughout the myocardium. MAIN CONCLUSIONS We observed cardiac angiogenesis during acute experimental T. cruzi infection parallels cardiac inflammation and remodelling.
ABSTRACT
HSV-1 affects approximately 67% of the world population. Here, we sought to use the CRISPR / Cas9 system with the UL39 target, essential for virus replication. The sgRNA sequence was inserted into plasmid (PX459-UL39). Vero cells were transfected with PX459-UL39, and inhibition of viral replication was assessed 24 and 48 hours later using plaque assays and fluorescence and qPCR. Fluorescence analyzes revealed the presence of anti-HSV-1 CRISPR/Cas9 within Vero cells, and qPCR showed that the viral load decreased by> 95% of cells transfected with anti-HSV-1 CRISPR / Cas9. Our data demonstrate the usefulness of the PX459-UL39 to inhibit HSV-1 infection.
ABSTRACT
Primary cultures of cardiomyocytes represent a useful model for analyzing cardiac cell biology as well as pathogenesis of several cardiovascular disorders. Our aim was to standardize protocols for determining the damage of cardiac cells cultured in vitro by measuring the creatine kinase and its cardiac isotype and lactate dehydrogenase activities in the supernatants of mice cardiomyocytes submitted to different protocols of cell lysis. Our data showed that due to its higher specificity, the cardiac isotype creatine kinase was the most sensitive as compared to the others studied enzymatic markers, and can be used to monitor and evaluate cardiac damage in in vitro assays.
Subject(s)
Animals , Mice , Cardiovascular Diseases , Creatine Kinase , Isoenzymes , L-Lactate Dehydrogenase , Myocytes, Cardiac , Biomarkers , Cardiovascular Diseases , Cell Culture Techniques , Microscopy, Electron , Sensitivity and SpecificityABSTRACT
Primary cultures of cardiomyocytes represent a useful model for analyzing cardiac cell biology as well as pathogenesis of several cardiovascular disorders. Our aim was to standardize protocols for determining the damage of cardiac cells cultured in vitro by measuring the creatine kinase and its cardiac isotype and lactate dehydrogenase activities in the supernatants of mice cardiomyocytes submitted to different protocols of cell lysis. Our data showed that due to its higher specificity, the cardiac isotype creatine kinase was the most sensitive as compared to the others studied enzymatic markers, and can be used to monitor and evaluate cardiac damage in in vitro assays.
