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Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg., 68(2), 2003, pp. 242-247
Copyright © 2003 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

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ANALYSIS OF THE PRESENCE OF TRYPANOSOMA CRUZI IN THE HEART TISSUE OF THREE PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC CHAGAS’ HEART DISEASE

FERNANDO E. ELIAS, CARLOS A. VIGLIANO, RUBÉN P. LAGUENS, MARIANO J. LEVIN, AND CLAUDIA BEREK
Deutsches Rheuma ForschungsZentrum, Berlin, Germany; Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular, Buenos Aires, Argentina; División Patología, Instituto de Cardiología y Cirugía Cardiovascular Fundación Favaloro, Buenos Aires, Argentina

It is still unclear to what extent myocarditis-associated, chronic Chagas’ heart disease is due to persisting Trypanosoma cruzi. In the present study, we have analyzed tissue samples from the hearts of three patients with this disease. In situ hybridization provided little evidence for the presence of intact T. cruzi, even at sites of strong inflammation. Nevertheless, micromanipulation techniques detected remnants of both T. cruzi kinetoplast DNA and nuclear DNA. Trypanosoma cruzi DNA was also detected in single macrophages dissected directly from frozen heart tissue sections. Thus, this analysis demonstrates that T. cruzi kinetoplast DNA and nuclear DNA are widely dispersed in the heart tissue, although in low amounts. Since we rarely detected intact T. cruzi parasites during the chronic phase of Chagas’ heart disease, we can exclude heart tissue as a major parasite reservoir.

Received June 12, 2002. Accepted for publication October 28, 2002.

Acknowledgments: We thank Dr. Meyer zum Büschenfeld and Dr. M. Hontebeyrie for the generous gift of murine heart tissues infected with T. cruzi, and Sonia Lafon for technical assistance.

Financial support: This work was supported by the European Union EU program (ARG/B7-3011/94/28A), and partially supported by the World Health Organization Special Program for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases; the International Atomic Energy Agency; the University of Buenos Aires (grant ANPC-FONCYT 05-802, SECyT); Beca Ramón Carrillo (Ministry of Health of Argentina); and the Bunge y Born Foundation of Argentina. Mariano J. Levin was supported in part by an International Research Scholar Grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (Chevy Chase, MD). The Deutsche Rheuma ForschungsZentrum is supported by the Berlin Senate of Research and Education.

Authors’ addresses: Fernando E. Elias, Genethor GmbH, Robert-Rössle-Strasse 10, D-13125 Berlin, Germany, Telephone: 49-30-9489 2515, Fax: 49-30-9489 2516, E-mail: f.elias{at}gmx.net. Carlos A. Vigliano and Rubén P. Laguens, Departamento de Anatomía Pa-tológica, Instituto de Cardiología y Cirugía Cardiovascular, Fundación Favaloro, Solís 453, 1428 Buenos Aires, Argentina, Telephone: 54-114-378-1315. Mariano J. Levin, Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular, Vuelta de Obligado 2490, 1428 Buenos Aires, Argentina, Telephone: 54-11-4786-5516, Fax: 54-11-4786-8578, E-mail: mlevin{at}dna.uba.ar. Claudia Berek, Deutsches Rheuma-ForschungsZentrum, Schumannstrasse 20/21, 10117 Berlin, Germany, Telephone: 49-30-28460 711, Fax: 49-30-28460 712, E-mail: berek{at}drfz.de.




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