Influence of the long-term Trypanosoma cruzi infection in vertebrate host on the genetic and biological diversity of the parasite.

Veloso, Vanja Maria; Romanha, Alvaro José; Lana, Marta de; Murta, Silvane Maria Fonseca; Carneiro, Claudia Martins; Alves, Cíntia Fontes; Borges, Erika Carime; Tafuri, Washington Luiz; Coelho, George Luiz Lins Machado; Chiari, Egler; Bahia, Maria Terezinha

Influence of the long-term Trypanosoma cruzi infection in vertebrate host on the genetic and biological diversity of the parasite.

Date

2005

Authors

Veloso, Vanja Maria

Romanha, Alvaro José

Lana, Marta de

Murta, Silvane Maria Fonseca

Carneiro, Claudia Martins

Alves, Cíntia Fontes

Borges, Erika Carime

Tafuri, Washington Luiz

Coelho, George Luiz Lins Machado

Chiari, Egler

Abstract

The influence of the long-term Trypanosoma cruzi infection in vertebrate host on the biological and genetic properties of the parasite was evaluated. Four T. cruzi isolates obtained from different chronic chagasic dogs infected with Berenice-78 T. cruzi strain during 2 and 7 years were comparatively analyzed. The long-term T. cruzi infection has led to alterations in parasitemia, virulence and pathogenicity of Be-78 strain for mice. These biological parameters varied from low to high in realation to the parental strain. Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA and isoenzyme profiles detected two distinct genetic groups of parasites. The first group included the parental strain and two T. cruzi isolates, and the second group the two other isolates. Interestingly, the isolates of the second group showed a reversibility of the genetic profile to the parental strain after 25 passages in mice. No correlation between the genetic groups and biological properties of the isolates was observed. Our findings confirmed the population heterogeneity of the Be-78 strain, and showed how differently it responds to the long-term infection in the same vertebrate hosts.

Citation

VELOSO, V. M. et al. Influence of the long-term Trypanosoma cruzi infection in vertebrate host on the genetic and biological diversity of the parasite. Parasitology Research, v. 96, p.382-389, 2005. Disponível em: <http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00436-005-1373-z>. Acesso em: 10 jan. 2017.