Chagas' disease: an update on immune mechanisms and therapeutic strategies

Abstract

The final decade of the 20th century was marked by an alarming resurgence in infectious diseases caused by tropical parasites belonging to the kinetoplastid protozoan order. Among the pathogenic trypanosomatids, some species are of particular interest due to their medical importance. These species include the agent responsible for Chagas' disease, Trypanosoma cruzi. Approximately 8 to 10 million people are infected in the Americas, and approximately 40 million are at risk. in the present review, we discuss in detail the immune mechanisms elicited during infection by T. cruzi and the effects of chemotherapy in controlling parasite proliferation and on the host immune system.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Instituto Nacional de Biologia Estrutural e QuImica Medicinal em Doencas Infecciosas (INBEQMeDI)Univ São Paulo, Inst Biomed Sci, Dept Parasitol, São Paulo, BrazilMackenzie Presbeterian Univ, Ctr Biomol Sci & Hlth, São Paulo, BrazilNatl Univ Rosario, Sch Med Sci, Inst Immunol, Rosario, Santa Fe, ArgentinaCSIC, Inst Parasitol & Biomed Lopez Neyra, Granada, SpainUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Microbiol Immunol & Parasitol, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Microbiol Immunol & Parasitol, São Paulo, BrazilFAPESP: 08/57596-4FAPESP: 07/08648-9CNPq: 473906/2008-2Web of Scienc