Trypanosoma cruzi: Treatment with the iron chelator desferrioxamine reduces parasitemia and mortality in experimentally infected mice

• Published in: Experimental parasitology Vol. 117; no. 1; pp. 43 - 50
• Main Authors: Arantes, Jerusa Marilda, Pedrosa, Maria Lúcia, Martins, Helen Rodrigues, Veloso, Vanja Maria, de Lana, Marta, Bahia, Maria Terezinha, Tafuri, Washington Luiz, Carneiro, Cláudia Martins
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: San Diego, CA Elsevier Inc 01.09.2007; Elsevier
• Subjects: analysis of variance; Animals; ANOVA; Biological and medical sciences; Chagas Disease - drug therapy; Chagas Disease - mortality; d.p.i; day post-infection; Deferoxamine - pharmacology; Deferoxamine - therapeutic use; deoxyribonucleic acid; desferrioxamine; DFO; DFO-treated/non-infected control; DNA; EDTA; ELISA; enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Hemoglobins - analysis; Hemoglobins - drug effects; i.p; infected with T. cruzi but not treated with DFO; INT; intraperitoneal; Iron - analysis; Iron - blood; Iron chelator; Life cycle. Host-agent relationship. Pathogenesis; LIT; live infusion tryptose medium; Liver - chemistry; Liver - drug effects; Male; Mice; NINT; NIT; non-treated/non-infected control; Parasitemia - drug therapy; Parasitemia - mortality; PCR; polymerase chain reaction; Protozoa; Siderophores - pharmacology; Siderophores - therapeutic use; treatment groups—infected with T. cruzi and treated with DFO; Trypanosoma cruzi; Trypanosoma cruzi - drug effects; Trypanosoma cruzi - pathogenicity; Virulence - drug effects; NINT; i.p; IT; DFO; EDTA; INT; Iron chelator; Trypanosoma cruzi; ANOVA; DNA; d.p.i; LIT; NIT; Mice; PCR; ELISA; Kinetoplastida; Protozoa; Mortality; Rodentia; Parasite; Iron; Parasitosis; Deferoxamine; Infection; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Mouse; Parasitemia
• ISSN: 0014-4894; 1090-2449
• DOI: 10.1016/j.exppara.2007.03.006

The effects of prolonged treatment with iron chelator (desferrioxamine) on the development of infection in mice inoculated with Y Trypanosoma cruzi were determined. Infected/treated mice presented lower levels of parasitemia and reduced mortality rate compared with infected/non-treated animals. The five out of twenty infected/treated mice that survived the acute phase of infection showed negative hemoculture and positive ELISA in the acute and chronic phases and positive PCR in the acute phase: in the chronic phase, three of the animals presented negative PCR. The single surviving infected/non-treated animal exhibited positive hemoculture, PCR and ELISA in both phases of infection. Infected groups presented lower levels of iron in the liver compared with treated/non-infected or non-treated/non-infected animals. The serum iron levels of the infected/non-treated group were higher on the 21st day post-infection in comparison with control and infected/treated groups. These results suggest that decrease of iron in the host leads to T. cruzi infection attenuation.