ABSTRACT
Chagas' disease, which is an important health problem in humans, is caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi. The cellular and molecular mechanisms, involved in the selective tropism of T. cruzi to different organs remain largely unknown. In this study we designed a PCR-based molecular diagnosis method in order to study the tropism and growth kinetics of T. cruzi in a murine model infected with parasites isolated from an endemic area of Mexico. The growth kinetics and parasite tropism of T. cruzi were also evaluated in the blood and other tissues. We observed that T. cruzi isolates from the Western Mexico showed a major tropism to mouse heart and skeletal muscles in this murine model.
Subject(s)
Chagas Disease/diagnosis , Chagas Disease/parasitology , Polymerase Chain Reaction/methods , Trypanosoma cruzi/growth & development , Trypanosoma cruzi/isolation & purification , Adolescent , Adult , Animals , Chagas Disease/pathology , Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay/methods , Female , Heart/parasitology , Histocytochemistry , Humans , Male , Mice , Mice, Inbred BALB C , Molecular Diagnostic Techniques , Muscles/parasitology , Sensitivity and Specificity , Tropism , Trypanosoma cruzi/pathogenicityABSTRACT
In this work a review on viral emerging infectious diseases is discussed. Some examples such as hemorrhagic fevers diseases, the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and zoonotic diseases, are included. In this review are discussed the main factors influencing the widespread and geographic distribution of viral emerging diseases, finally some important actions directed to strength the prevention and control measures of viral emerging diseases, are discussed.
Subject(s)
Virus Diseases/epidemiology , Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/epidemiology , Animals , Hemorrhagic Fevers, Viral/epidemiology , Hemorrhagic Fevers, Viral/transmission , Humans , Virus Diseases/prevention & control , Virus Diseases/transmission , Zoonoses/epidemiologyABSTRACT
Patients with alcoholic hepatic cirrhosis have a higher predisposition to acquiring infections than healthy individuals, suggesting an alteration in the immune system. They also exhibit an important decrease in certain plasmatic constituents such as zinc, albumin, and transferrin which are involved in the normal immune response. The blastoid transformation of lymphocytes stimulated in vitro with phytohemagglutinin M and P in patients with alcoholic hepatic cirrhosis was studied and the results were correlated with the plasmatic constituents aforementioned. The rate of blastoid transformation was significantly lower (p < .001) in these patients when compared to the control group, but did not correlate directly with the concentration of zinc, albumin, transferrin or circulating globulins. Patients' plasma significantly inhibited the response of normal cells to stimulation with phytohemagglutinin and Concanavalin A; nevertheless, the blastoid transformation of lymphocytes in these patients was not restored to normal levels when incubated with control plasma.
