role of selenium in intestinal motility and morphology in a murine model of Typanosoma cruzi infection

• Published in: Parasitology research (1987) Vol. 106; no. 6; pp. 1293 - 1298
• Main Authors: de Souza, Andréa Pereira, Sieberg, Ryan, Li, Hua, Cahill, Hannah R, Zhao, Dazhi, Araújo-Jorge, Tania C, Tanowitz, Herbert B, Jelicks, Linda A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Berlin/Heidelberg : Springer-Verlag 01.05.2010; Springer-Verlag; Springer
• Subjects: Animals; Antioxidants; Antiprotozoal Agents - therapeutic use; Biological and medical sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Chagas Disease - drug therapy; Chagas Disease - pathology; Drinking water; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gastrointestinal Motility - drug effects; Gastrointestinal system; Gastrointestinal Tract - pathology; General aspects; General aspects and techniques. Study of several systematic groups. Models; Health aspects; Immunology; Infection; Invertebrates; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Medical Microbiology; Mice; Microbiology; Original Paper; Radiography, Abdominal; Selenium - therapeutic use; Trypanosoma cruzi; Trypanosoma cruzi - drug effects; Lumen Diameter; Infected Mouse; Sodium Selenate; Intestinal Motility; Uninfected Mouse; Infection; Parasite; Models; Motility; Selenium; Morphology
• ISSN: 0932-0113; 1432-1955
• DOI: 10.1007/s00436-010-1794-1

Infection with Trypanosoma cruzi causes megasyndromes of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract in humans and animals. In the present study, we employed magnetic resonance imaging to non-invasively monitor the effect of selenium supplementation on alterations in the GI tract of T. cruzi-infected mice. CD1 mice infected with T. cruzi (Brazil strain) exhibited dilatation of the intestines similar to that we recently reported in infected C57Bl/6 mice. The average intestine lumen diameter increased by 65% and the increase was reduced to 29% in mice supplemented with 2 ppm selenium in the drinking water. When supplemented with 3 ppm selenium in chow the lumen diameter was also significantly reduced although the difference between the infected and infected supplemented mice was smaller. Intestinal motility in infected mice fed with selenium-enriched chow was increased compared with infected mice fed with normal unsupplemented chow and was not significantly different from intestinal motility in uninfected mice. We suggest that Se may be used to modulate the inflammatory, immunological, and/or antioxidant responses involved in intestinal disturbances caused by T. cruzi infection.