Trypanosoma cruzi: Impact of dual-clone infections on parasite biological properties in BALB/c mice

• Published in: Experimental parasitology Vol. 112; no. 4; pp. 237 - 246
• Main Authors: Martins, H.R., Toledo, M.J.O., Veloso, V.M., Carneiro, C.M., Machado-Coelho, G.L.L., Tafuri, W.L., Bahia, M.T., Valadares, H.M., Macedo, A.M., Lana, M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: San Diego, CA Elsevier Inc 01.04.2006; Elsevier
• Subjects: Animals; area under the parasitemia curve; Biological and medical sciences; Biological properties; Chagas Disease - parasitology; chi-square test; Clonal genotypes; day of maximum parasitemia; decreased parasitemia; DMP; Dual-clone infection; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genotype; HEM; hemoculture positivity; increased parasitemia; INF; infectivity; Kolmogorov–Smirnov test; Life cycle. Host-agent relationship. Pathogenesis; Mann–Whitney test; maximum parasitemia; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; MORT; mortality; nonsignificant difference at P > 0.05; not recorded due to subpatent parasitemia; number of significant differences; numbers of animals; PAR; Parasitemia - parasitology; patent period; Phylogeny; PPP; prepatent period; Protozoa; significant difference at P < 0.05; Time Factors; Trypanosoma cruzi; Trypanosoma cruzi - classification; Trypanosoma cruzi - genetics; Trypanosoma cruzi - physiology; Biological properties; PP; PAR; INF; MORT; MP; NR; D; NS; Dual-clone infection; DMP; KS; I; MW; Clonal genotypes; n; Trypanosoma cruzi; PPP; HEM; SD; S; χ 2; Kolmogorov-Smirnov test; #2; prepatent period; PP; significant difference at P<0.05; NS; area under the parasitemia curve; INF; infectivity; MORT; numbers of animals; Infectivity; decreased parasitemia; n; Parasitemia; Clone; Kinetoplastida; Protozoa; hemoculture positivity; MW; patent period; MP; not recorded due to subpatent parasitemia; I; nonsignificant difference at P>0.05; NR; Mortality; Rodentia; Mann- Whitney test; KS; increased parasitemia; D; maximum parasitemia; DMP; Parasite; Genotype; day of maximum parasitemia; PAR; mortality; +HEM; Parasitosis; number of significant differences; S; Infection; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Mouse; chi-square test; SD; Trypanosoma cruzi; Dual-clone infection; Clonal genotypes; Biological properties; PPP
• ISSN: 0014-4894; 1090-2449
• DOI: 10.1016/j.exppara.2005.11.006

Herein, we have analyzed major biological properties following dual-clone Trypanosoma cruzi infections in BALB/c mice. Eight T. cruzi clonal stocks, two of each principal genotype, including genotype 19 and 20 ( T. cruzi I), hybrid genotype 39 ( T. cruzi) and 32 ( T. cruzi II) were combined into 24 different dual-clone infections. Special attention was given to characterize biological parameters assayed including: prepatent period, patent period, maximum of parasitemia, day of maximum parasitemia, area under the parasitemia curve, infectivity, mortality, and hemoculture positivity. Our findings clearly demonstrated that features resultant of dual-clone infections of T. cruzi clonal stocks did not display either the characteristics of the corresponding monoclonal infections or the theoretical mixture based on the respective monoclonal infections. Significant changes in the expected values were observed in 4.2–79.2% of the mixtures considering the eight biological parameters studied. A lower frequency of significant differences was found for mixtures composed by phylogenetically distant clonal stocks. Altogether, our data support our hypothesis that mixed T. cruzi infections have a great impact on the biological properties of the parasite in the host and re-emphasizes the importance of considering the possible occurrence of natural mixed infections in humans and their consequences on the biological aspects of ongoing Chagas’ disease.