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Herrera Choque AG, Cuna WR, Gabrielli S, Mattiucci S, Passera R, Rodriguez C. Parasitic Effects on the Congenital Transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi in Mother-Newborn Pairs. Microorganisms 2024; 12:1243. [PMID: 38930625 PMCID: PMC11206037 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms12061243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2024] [Revised: 06/11/2024] [Accepted: 06/13/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Maternal parasitemia and placental parasite load were examined in mother-newborn pairs to determine their effect on the congenital transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi. Parasitemia was qualitatively assessed in mothers and newborns by the microhematocrit test; parasite load was determined in the placental tissues of transmitting and non-transmitting mothers by the detection of T. cruzi DNA and by histology. Compared to transmitter mothers, the frequency and prevalence of parasitemia were found to be increased in non-transmitter mothers; however, the frequency and prevalence of parasite load were higher among the transmitter mothers than among their non-transmitter counterparts. Additionally, serum levels of interferon (IFN)-γ were measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in peripheral, placental, and cord blood samples. Median values of IFN-γ were significantly increased in the cord blood of uninfected newborns. The median IFN-γ values of transmitter and non-transmitter mothers were not significantly different; however, non-transmitter mothers had the highest total IFN-γ production among the group of mothers. Collectively, the results of this study suggest that the anti-T. cruzi immune response occurring in the placenta and cord is under the influence of the cytokines from the mother's blood and results in the control of parasitemia in uninfected newborns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Gabriela Herrera Choque
- Unidad de Inmunología Parasitaria, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, La Paz, Bolivia; (A.G.H.C.); (W.R.C.)
| | - Washington R. Cuna
- Unidad de Inmunología Parasitaria, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, La Paz, Bolivia; (A.G.H.C.); (W.R.C.)
| | - Simona Gabrielli
- Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy; (S.G.); (S.M.)
| | - Simonetta Mattiucci
- Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy; (S.G.); (S.M.)
| | - Roberto Passera
- Department of Medical Sciences, University of Torino, 10126 Torino, Italy;
| | - Celeste Rodriguez
- Unidad de Inmunología Parasitaria, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, La Paz, Bolivia; (A.G.H.C.); (W.R.C.)
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Horta AL, Gigley J, Boutet M, Lavau G, Weiss LM, Huang H. Memory-like NK Cells Are a Critical Component of Vaccine-Induced Immunity to Trypanosoma cruzi Infection. JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY (BALTIMORE, MD. : 1950) 2024; 212:617-631. [PMID: 38197653 PMCID: PMC10872457 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.2300509] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2024]
Abstract
Chagas disease by Trypanosoma cruzi infection is a major public health issue. The available therapeutic agents have limited efficacy and significant side effects. A reliable vaccine would reduce the threat of T. cruzi infections and prevent Chagas disease. Understanding the immune response to this infection would improve vaccine design. We previously demonstrated that adoptively transferred NK cells from mice immunized with highly attenuated T. cruzi, GFP-DDDHA strain, provided potent protection in naive recipients against secondary lethal challenge with various wild-type (WT) strains. To understand the importance of NK cells in protecting mice against T. cruzi infection, we performed an in-depth characterization of NK cell phenotype, responses, and memory-like traits during acute infections due to GFP-DDDHA and WT strains and in immunized mice during a recall response to a WT lethal challenge. NK cells robustly expanded and became more mature and cytolytic during the GFP-DDDHA strain immunization. NK cells in immunized mice responded more robustly after WT lethal challenge than during an acute primary WT infection. In addition, protection by immunization with the GFP-DDDHA strain is significantly weakened in NK cell-deficient mice and did not prevent parasitemia from WT lethal challenge, indicating that NK cells with memory-like traits were a critical component for early control of WT lethal challenge. Prior T. cruzi vaccine development studies have not included studies of this rapid NK response. These findings provide insights into overcoming existing challenges in developing a safe and effective vaccine to prevent this infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aline L. Horta
- Department of Pathology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, United States of America
| | - Jason Gigley
- Department of Molecular Biology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, United States of America
| | - Marie Boutet
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, United States of America
| | - Gregoire Lavau
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, United States of America
| | - Louis M. Weiss
- Department of Pathology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, United States of America
- Department of Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, United States of America
| | - Huan Huang
- Department of Pathology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, United States of America
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Sunderraj A, Cunha LM, Avila M, Alexandria S, Ferreira AM, de Oliveira-da Silva LC, Ribeiro ALP, Nunes MDCP, Sabino EC, Landay A, Kalil J, Chevillard C, Cunha-Neto E, Feinstein MJ. Parasite DNA and Markers of Decreased Immune Activation Associate Prospectively with Cardiac Functional Decline over 10 Years among Trypanosoma cruzi Seropositive Individuals in Brazil. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 25:44. [PMID: 38203212 PMCID: PMC10779141 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25010044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2023] [Revised: 11/27/2023] [Accepted: 12/12/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Parasitemia and inflammatory markers are cross-sectionally associated with chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy (CCC) among patients with Trypanosoma cruzi. However, the prospective association of the parasite load and host immune response-related characteristics with CCC (that is, progressors) among T. cruzi seropositive individuals has only been partially defined. In a cohort of T. cruzi seropositive patients in Montes Claros and São Paulo, Brazil who were followed over 10 years, we identified the association of a baseline T. cruzi parasite load and systemic markers of inflammation with a decline in cardiac function and/or the presence of cardiac congestion 10 years later. The progressors (n = 21) were individuals with a significant decline in the left ventricular ejection fraction and/or elevated markers of cardiac congestion after 10 years. The controls (n = 31) had normal markers of cardiac function and congestion at the baseline and at the follow-up. They were matched with the progressors on age, sex, and genetic ancestry. The progressors had higher mean parasite loads at the baseline than the controls (18.3 vs. 0.605 DNA parasite equivalents/20 mL, p < 0.05). Of the 384 inflammation-related proteins analyzed, 47 differed significantly at a false discovery rate- (FDR-) corrected p < 0.05 between the groups. There were 44 of these 47 proteins that were significantly higher in the controls compared to in the progressors, including the immune activation markers CCL21, CXCL12, and HCLS1 and several of the tumor necrosis factor superfamily of proteins. Among the individuals who were seropositive for T. cruzi at the baseline and who were followed over 10 years, those with incident CCC at the 10-year marker had a comparatively higher baseline of T. cruzi parasitemia and lower baseline markers of immune activation and chemotaxis. These findings generate the hypothesis that the early impairment of pathogen-killing immune responses predisposes individuals to CCC, which merits further study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashwin Sunderraj
- Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Luisa Marin Cunha
- Faculdade de Ciências Médicas de Santos, UNILUS, Santos 11045-101, Brazil
| | - Matheus Avila
- Faculdade de Ciências Médicas de Santos, UNILUS, Santos 11045-101, Brazil
| | - Shaina Alexandria
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA;
| | - Ariela Mota Ferreira
- Graduate Program in Health Sciences, State University of Montes Claros, Montes Claros 39401-089, Brazil;
| | | | - Antonio L. P. Ribeiro
- Department of Internal Medicine, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 31270-901, Brazil; (A.L.P.R.); (M.d.C.P.N.)
| | - Maria do Carmo Pereira Nunes
- Department of Internal Medicine, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 31270-901, Brazil; (A.L.P.R.); (M.d.C.P.N.)
| | - Ester C. Sabino
- Institute of Tropical Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 05403-000, Brazil; (L.C.d.O.-d.S.)
| | - Alan Landay
- Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology, Department of Medicine, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL 60612, USA
| | - Jorge Kalil
- Laboratory of Immunology, Heart Institute Instituto do Coração (InCor), School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 05403-000, Brazil;
| | - Christophe Chevillard
- Institut MarMaRa, TAGC Theories and Approaches of Genomic Complexity, Aix Marseille Université, 13385 Marseille, France;
| | - Edecio Cunha-Neto
- Laboratory of Immunology, Heart Institute Instituto do Coração (InCor), School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 05403-000, Brazil;
| | - Matthew J. Feinstein
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
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Millar AE, Wleklinski-Lee M, Kahn SJ. The Surface Protein Superfamily of Trypanosoma cruzi Stimulates a Polarized Th1 Response That Becomes Anergic. THE JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY 1999. [DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.162.10.6092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Abstract
Trypanosoma cruzi is an obligate intracellular parasite that chronically infects mammals. Extracellular mammalian stage trypomastigotes simultaneously express and release multiple members of the parasite’s surface protein superfamily; these extracellular proteins should stimulate MHC class II-restricted CD4 T cells. The surface protein superfamily, however, encodes variant epitopes that may inhibit this CD4 response. In this report the surface protein-specific CD4 response was investigated. CD4 cells isolated from acutely and chronically infected mice did not proliferate when stimulated with surface proteins. Adoptive transfer of surface protein-specific CD4 clones or immunization with a peptide encoding a surface protein T cell epitope protected mice during T. cruzi infection. These data strongly suggested that surface proteins were expressed and presented to CD4 cells during infection. Limiting dilution analysis identified an expanded population of surface protein-specific CD4 cells during the acute and chronic infection. These surface protein-specific CD4 cells did not produce IL-2 or IL-4, but did produce IFN-γ. Enzyme-linked immunospot analyses confirmed that many of the surface protein-specific CD4 cells produce IFN-γ. Together these results suggest that during T. cruzi infection a potentially protective CD4 response becomes anergic. It is possible that this anergy is induced by variant T cell epitopes encoded by the surface protein superfamily.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda E. Millar
- Department of Pediatrics and Pathobiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195
| | - Monika Wleklinski-Lee
- Department of Pediatrics and Pathobiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195
| | - Stuart J. Kahn
- Department of Pediatrics and Pathobiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195
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