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

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 March 2013

NOELIA L. GROSSO ,
MICAELA LOPEZ ALARCON ,
JAQUELINE BUA ,
SUSANA A. LAUCELLA ,
ADELINA RIARTE  and
LAURA E. FICHERA
NOELIA L. GROSSO
Affiliation:
Instituto Nacional de Parasitología Dr M. Fatala Chaben, ANLIS Malbran, Ministerio de Salud. Av. Paseo Colón 568 Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
MICAELA LOPEZ ALARCON
Affiliation:
Instituto Nacional de Parasitología Dr M. Fatala Chaben, ANLIS Malbran, Ministerio de Salud. Av. Paseo Colón 568 Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina Centro de Altos Estudios en Ciencias Humanas y de la Salud, Universidad Abierta Interamericana. Montes de Oca 745 Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
JAQUELINE BUA
Affiliation:
Instituto Nacional de Parasitología Dr M. Fatala Chaben, ANLIS Malbran, Ministerio de Salud. Av. Paseo Colón 568 Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
SUSANA A. LAUCELLA
Affiliation:
Instituto Nacional de Parasitología Dr M. Fatala Chaben, ANLIS Malbran, Ministerio de Salud. Av. Paseo Colón 568 Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
ADELINA RIARTE
Affiliation:
Instituto Nacional de Parasitología Dr M. Fatala Chaben, ANLIS Malbran, Ministerio de Salud. Av. Paseo Colón 568 Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
LAURA E. FICHERA*
Affiliation:
Instituto Nacional de Parasitología Dr M. Fatala Chaben, ANLIS Malbran, Ministerio de Salud. Av. Paseo Colón 568 Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
*
*Corresponding author. Avenida Paseo Colón 568 Ciudad de Buenos Aires, CP 1063Argentina. Tel: 54 11 43317732. Fax: 54 11 43317142. E-mail: lfichera@yahoo.com
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Summary

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.

Keywords

Trypanosoma cruzibenznidazoleallopurinolChagas cardiomyopathymice
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 140 , Issue 10 , September 2013 , pp. 1225 - 1233
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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