Association of Anti-β1 and Anti-M2 Antibodies with Autonomic Nervous System Modulation in Patients with Chronic Chagas Cardiomyopathy

Abstract

Chagas disease (CD) is one of the four leading causes of death from infectious and parasitic diseases in Brazil. [1][2][3] The elucidation of its pathogenesis was marked by pivotal studies that evaluated cross-reactivity between the ribosomal P protein of Trypanosoma cruzi and human ribosomal proteins (molecular mimicry), as well as by advances in the knowledge of the structure of β-adrenergic receptors, used as antigens to screen for specific anti-β-adrenergic antibodies in chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy (CCC). 4,5