Cruzipain, a major Trypanosoma cruzi antigen, conditions the host immune response in favor of parasite

GIORDANENGO L; GUIÑAZÚ N; STEMPIN C; FRETES R; CERBÁN F; GEA S

WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH

Lugar: Alemania; Año: 2002 vol. 32 p. 1003 - 1003

e recently demonstrated that humoral immune response to cruzipain, a major antigen of Trypanosoma cruzi parasite, is implicated in the pathogenesis of experimental Chagas´ disease. In the present study, the spleen cell phenotype and the cytokine profile induced by cruzipain in immunized mice were analyzed. The results showed that cruzipain increases the number of spleen cells with large size and granularity. Splenocyte populations with CD19(+), Mac-1(+), Gr-1(+) and CD11c(+) positive surface markers significantly increased in immune mice compared to controls ones. Histological study revealed the presence of high number of megacariocyte and granulocyte-macrophage progenitors, indicating extramedullary hemopoiesis in spleens of immune mice. The finding of high levels of IL-4, IL5 and IL-10 and low levels of IFN-gamma and IL-12 in supernatants of immune cells stimulated with cruzipain indicates a preferential activation of T2 type cells in immune animals. To investigate the role of innat