Article
Trypanosoma cruzi-Induced Central Nervous System Alterations: From the Entry of Inflammatory Cells to Potential Cognitive and Psychiatric Abnormalities
Registro en:
SILVA, Andréa Alice da; et al. Trypanosoma cruzi-Induced Central Nervous System Alterations: From the Entry of Inflammatory Cells to Potential Cognitive and Psychiatric Abnormalities. Journal of Neuropathology, v.1, Article ID N100901, 13p, 2010.
2090-2344
10.4303/jnp/N100901
Autor
Silva, Andréa Alice da
Pereira, Glaucia Vilar
Souza, Amanda Santos de
Silva, Rafael Rodrigues
Rocha, Mônica Santos
Lannes-Vieira, Joseli
Resumen
Trypanosoma cruzi, a protozoan parasite and the
causative agent of Chagas disease, is capable of inducing
meningoencephalitis. Independent of the progression from
acute to chronic myocarditis observed in immunocompetent
T. cruzi-infected patients, inflammation of the central nervous
system (CNS) self-resolves during acute infection. In
contrast, in chronically infected immunocompromised Chagas
disease patients, the CNS is a major site of reactivation,
which can lead to severe and frequently fatal meningoencephalitis.
More than one hundred years after the discovery
of Chagas disease, many questions concerning the molecular
mechanisms involved in the induction and resolution of
T. cruzi-provoked meningoencephalitis remain unanswered.
The study of murine models that reproduce crucial aspects
of T. cruzi-elicited CNS inflammation has not only shed light
on some of these questions, but it has also raised additional
ones. Here, we discuss our results in the context of the current
literature, questioning the involvement of CNS alterations
caused by the inflammation and parasite in the behavioral
abnormalities observed during T. cruzi infection. 2030-01-01