Analysis of classical and alternative activation in heart tissue during acute Trypanosoma cruzi infection in mice: arginase I is expressed in infiltrating CD68+ macrophages.

CUERVO H; PINEDA MA; AOKI MP; GEA S; FRESNO M; GÌRONÉS N

UNIV CHICAGO PRESS

Año: 2008 vol. 197 p. 1772 - 1772

p align="justify">In Chagas? disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, macrophages, cardiac and skeletal muscle cells are the main targets of infection. Parasite replication is controlled by Th1 responses and classical activation of macrophages, and linked to immune suppression. Contrarily, Th2 responses and alternative activated macrophages are thought to favour host cell growth and T. cruzi survival in vitro. We studied the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase and arginase, as markers of classical and alternative activation, respectively, in heart tissue during in vivo infection of susceptible BALB/c and resistant C57BL/6 mice. We found that expression of both enzymes, as well as ornithine decarboxylase, was higher in heart tissue of susceptible