Enalapril in combination with benznidazole reduces cardiac inflammation and creatine kinases in mice chronically infected with Trypanosoma cruzi.
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2015
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Abstract
The protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi triggers an inflammatory process in mammalian heart causing events
such as fibrosis, changes in the architecture and functionality in this organ. Enalapril, an angiotensin II-converting enzyme
inhibitor, is a drug prescribed to ameliorate this heart dysfunction, and appears to exert a potential role in immune system
regulation. Our aim was to evaluate the chronic cardiac inflammatory parameters after therapeutic treatment with enalapril
and benznidazole in C57BL/6 mice infected with the VL-10 strain of T. cruzi. After infection, animals were treated with
oral doses of enalapril (25 mg/kg), benznidazole (100 mg/kg), or both during 30 days. Morphometric parameters and levels
of chemokines (CCL2, CCL5), IL-10, creatine kinases (CKs), and C-reactive protein were evaluated in the heart and
serum at the 120th day of infection. Enalapril alone or in combination with benznidazole did not change the number of
circulating parasites, but reduced cardiac leukocyte recruitment and total collagen in the cardiac tissue. Interestingly, the
combination therapy (enalapril/benznidazole) also reduced the levels of chemokines, CK and CK-MB, and C-reactive
proteins in chronic phase. In conclusion, during the chronic experimental T. cruzi infection, the combination therapy
using enalapril plus benznidazole potentiated their immunomodulatory effects, resulting in a low production of biomarkers
of cardiac lesions
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PENITENTE, A. R. et al. Enalapril in combination with benznidazole reduces cardiac inflammation and creatine kinases in mice chronically infected with Trypanosoma cruzi. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, v. 93, p. 976-982, 2015. Disponível em: <http://www.ajtmh.org/docserver/fulltext/14761645/93/5/976.pdf?expires=1500908996&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=C1AF0176A7057CAFD489718527489A0B>. Acesso em: 05 ago. 2017.