Chagas' disease cardioneuropathy: Association of anti-Trypanosoma cruzi and anti-sciatic nerve antibodies

GEA, S.; ORDONEZ, P.; CERBAN, F.; IOSA, D.; CHIZZOLINI, C.; VOTTERO-CIMA, E.

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF TROPICAL MEDICINE AND HYGIENE

AMER SOC TROP MED & HYGIENE

Año: 1993 vol. 49 p. 581 - 581

0002-9637

he aim of this work was to study whether Trypanosoma cruzi infection could elicit humoral immune response to the well-defined parasite antigen acidic fraction separated from T. cruzi cytosol by isoelectric focusing and designated fraction IV (FIV) and whether this response could account for some of the autoreactive immune response against peripheral nerve components. Chagasic patients with positive serology for Chagas´ disease were classified as group I (n = 12) with normal electrocardiograms (ECG) and no signs of disease, group II (n = 12) with EGG abnormalities but without cardiomegaly, and group III (n = 12) with cardiomegaly and congestive heart failure. Sera from patients in group II showed the highest frequency of positive reactivity against FIV. Ninety-two percent had titers higher than 1/400 while the percentage for groups I and III was 50%. The autoreactive response against human sciatic nerve saline extract (SNS) was studied. The binding of IgG to SNS was positive in groups