Combined treatment with benznidazole and allopurinol in mice infected with a virulent Trypanosoma cruzi isolate from Nicaragua

We evaluated the effect of chemotherapy with a sequential combined treatment of a low dose of benznidazole and allopurinol, in different schedules of administration, in experimental models of acute and chronic Trypanosoma cruzi infection. Mice were infected with Nicaragua T. cruzi isolate, a virulen...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Grosso, Noelia Lorena, López Alarcón, Maria Micaela, Bua, Jacqueline Elena, Laucella, Susana Adriana, Riarte, Adelina, Fichera, Laura Edith
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2013
País:Argentina
Institución:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Repositorio:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/24765
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/11336/24765
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Trypanosoma Cruzi
Benznidazole
Allopurinol
Chagas Cardiomyopathy
Mice
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/3.3
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/3
Descripción
Sumario:We evaluated the effect of chemotherapy with a sequential combined treatment of a low dose of benznidazole and allopurinol, in different schedules of administration, in experimental models of acute and chronic Trypanosoma cruzi infection. Mice were infected with Nicaragua T. cruzi isolate, a virulent parasite from an endemic area of Nicaragua, genotyped as TcI (Grosso et al. 2010). We assessed survival rate, IgG levels, histopathological studies and quantified parasitaemia. A 15% survival rate was recorded in untreated mice during the acute phase of T. cruzi infection. Allopurinol administered immediately after benznidazole treatment was able to reduce parasitaemia and attenuate tissue damage by reducing inflammation. Trypanosoma cruzi-specific antibodies also decreased in 40–50% of the treated mice. The addition of allopurinol during the chronic phase showed the highest beneficial effect, not only by reducing parasitaemia but also by lowering the degree of inflammation and fibrosis.