Desenvolvimento das alterações cardíacas, hepáticas e pulmonares em camundongos coinfectados com Schistosoma mansoni e Trypanosoma cruzi

Abstract

Schistosomiasis mansoni is endemic in developing countries, with over 200 million people infected worldwide. In Brazil, 25 million people live in risk areas, where 10 - 20% of individuals are infected. Chagas' disease is an infectious disease caused by obligate intracellular protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi called, with a prevalence of about 7 million to 8 million people infected worldwide. The disease predominantly affects countries of South and Central America and currently is a neglected tropical disease. Whereas there are common areas endemic for both diseases, the present study investigated the onset and progression of liver damage, heart and lung coinfected animals experimentally with Schistosoma mansoni and T. cruzi. As the immune profile that extends along each disease is antagonistic, this study supports the hypothesis that adverse immunological interactions may alter the natural course of infections and change lesion patterns in the liver, heart and lung, major target organs of schistosomiasis and Chagas disease. Our results showed that prior infection with S. mansoni modified the natural history of Chagas disease, increasing the number of blood parasites, which unlike the animals infected only with T. cruzi, maintained the patent parasitaemia throughout the experiment. However, coinfection was beneficial to reduce the severity of Chagas cardiomyopathy and lung damage in remote areas to schistosomiasis granuloma. In the liver, an increase in susceptibility to infection with T. cruzi, evidenced by higher parasitism, pronounced liver damage and increased granulomas schistosomiasis unorganized.