Trypanosoma cruzi Infection Promotes Vascular Remodeling and Coexpression of α-Smooth Muscle Actin and Macrophage Markers in Cells of the Aorta

VOLPINI, XIMENA; NATALI, LAUTARO; BRUGO, MARIA BELÉN; DE LA CRUZ-THEA, BENJAMIN; BAIGORRI, RUTH ELIANA; CERBÁN, FABIO MARCELO; FOZZATTI, LAURA; MOTRAN, CLAUDIA CRISTINA; MUSRI, MELINA MARA

ACS Infectious Diseases

American Chemical Society

Año: 2022

2373-8227

hagas disease is an emerging global health problem; however, itremains neglected. Increased aortic stiffness (IAS), a predictor of cardiovascularevents, has recently been reported in asymptomatic chronic Chagas patients.After vascular injury, smooth muscle cells (SMCs) can undergo alterationsassociated with phenotypic switch and transdifferentiation, promoting vascularremodeling and IAS. By studying different mouse aortic segments, we tested thehypothesis that Trypanosoma cruzi infection promotes vascular remodeling.Interestingly, the thoracic aorta was the most affected by the infection.Decreased expression of SMC markers and increased expression of proliferativemarkers were observed in the arteries of acutely infected mice. In acutely andchronically infected mice, we observed cells coexpressing SMC and macrophage(Mo) markers in the media and adventitia layers of the aorta, indicating that T.cruzi might induce cellular processes associated with SMC transdifferentiationinto Mo-like ce