Immunopathology of Chagas disease

Abstract

The main clinical forms of Chagas disease (acute, indeterminate and chronic cardiac)

Chagas Disease in Mexico: Report of 14 Cases of Chagasic Cardiomyopathy in Children

“…As previously mentioned, these lesions are result of an inflammatory and fibrotic process, as a consequence of a type IV immune response with delayed hypersensitivity, activation of memory T cells, and mononuclear cell recruitment to the inflammation site. In these cases, a reinfection caused by a demonstrated continued cohabitation with the vector favors chronicity and lesion progression, as demonstrated by Dr. Chagas himself (Chagas 1911;Tarleton 1995;Andrade 1999;Marin-Neto et al 2007;Salazar-Schettino et al 2009;Rassi and Marin-Neto 2010).…”

Chagas heart disease: pathophysiologic mechanisms, prognostic factors and risk stratification

“…Normal myocardium is composed of various cell populations: (i) cardiac myocytes tethered within an extracellular scaffolding of fibrillar collagen and (ii) non-cardiac myocytes, which include endothelial and vascular smooth muscle cells of the intramural coronary circulation and fibroblasts located in the interstitial and perivascular spaces. A large body of evidence indicates that myocardial structure in CHD is affected by three key pathological processes: inflammation, cell death and fibrosis (Andrade 1999). The inflammatory infiltrate consists mainly of T lymphocytes, with a predominance of CD8 + cells.…”

Estandarización de la técnica de aglutinación directa para el inmunodiagnóstico de la enfermedad de Chagas

“…La patogénesis de la enfermedad chagásica crónica no está completamente esclarecida (4), aunque se han postulado como posibles mecanismos el daño progresivo por la persistencia del parásito (5-7) y las anomalías específicas producidas por la respuesta inmunitaria del huésped (8).…”