Cruzipain, a major Trypanosoma cruzi antigen, promotes arginase II expression and survival of neonatal mouse cardiomyocytes

AOKI MP; GUIÑAZÚ NL; PELLEGRINI A; GOTOH T; MASIH D; GEA S

AMER PHYSIOLOGICAL SOC

Año: 2004 vol. 286 p. 206 - 206

p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">An intense myocarditis is frequently found in the acute phase of Trypanosoma cruzi infection. Despite the cardiac damage, infected individuals may remain asymptomatic for decades. Thus T. cruzi may directly prevent cardiomyocyte death to keep heart destruction in check. Recently, it has been shown that Schwann cell invasion by T. cruzi, their prime target in the peripheral nervous system, suppressed host cell apoptosis caused by growth factor deprivation. Likewise, the trans-sialidase of T. cruzi reproduced this antiapoptotic activity of the parasite. In this study, we have investigated the effect of cruzipain, another important T. cruzi antigen, on survival and cell death of neonatal BALB/c mouse cardiomyocyte cultures. We have found that cruzipain, as well as T. cruzi infection, promoted survival of cardiomyocytes cultured under serum deprivation. The antiapoptotic effect was