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We analysed the production of nitric oxide (NO) intermediates by cells from BALB/c mice infected with either virulent (Tulahuén or RA) or avirulent (CA-1) strains of Trypanosoma cruzi. Peritoneal or spleen cells from mice infected with T. cruzi released NO when incubated without further stimuli. Cells from mice during the acute stage of infection accumulated higher levels of inducible NO synthase mRNA and produced both, before and after lypopolysaccharide stimulation, higher amounts of NO than cells from mice chronically infected with T. cruzi. NO synthesis showed similar kinetics in connection with all three strains of T. cruzi, but cells from mice inbred with the Tulahuén or RA strains released higher levels of IFN-gamma, an activator of the NO pathways, than cells from mice infected with the CA-1 strain. In vivo administration of L-Ng-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA), a competitive inhibitor of NO synthase, increased the susceptibility of mice to T. cruzi. We conclude that infection with T. cruzi induces NO production, and suggest that NO plays a role in the resistance against the parasite.

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