Although imaging the live Trypanosoma cruzi parasite is a routine technique in most laboratories, identification of the parasite in infected tissues and organs has been hindered by their intrinsic opaque nature. We describe a simple method for in vivo observation of live single-cell Trypanosoma cruzi parasites inside mammalian host tissues. BALB/c or C57BL/6 mice infected with DsRed-CL or GFP-G...

The in-vitro activities of four anticancer alkyllysophospholipids, ET-18-OCH3 (edelfosine), hexadecylphosphocholine (miltefosine), ilmofosine and SRI 62-834, were determined with ED50 values for Leishmania donovani and Trypanosoma cruzi amastigotes between 0.2 and 5.0 microM and for Trypanosoma brucei trypomastigotes between 7.0 and 50.8 microM. In BALB/c mice miltefosine and ilmofosine were th...

Autochthonous transmission of the Chagas disease parasite, Trypanosoma cruzi, was detected in a patient in rural New Orleans, Louisiana. The patient had positive test results from 2 serologic tests and hemoculture. Fifty-six percent of 18 Triatoma sanguisuga collected from the house of the patient were positive for T. cruzi by PCR.

This report describes the molecular characterization of the Tc8.2 gene of Trypanosoma cruzi. Both the Tc8.2 gene and its encoded protein were analyzed by bioinformatics, while Northern blot and RT-PCR were used for the transcripts. Besides, immunolocalization of recombinant protein was done by immunofluorescence and electron microscopy. Analysis indicated the presence of a single copy of Tc8.2 ...

In ELISAs, sera of individuals infected by Trypanosoma cruzi show absorbance values above a cut-off value. The cut-off is generally computed by means of formulas that need absorbance readings of negative (and sometimes positive) controls, which are included in the titer plates amongst the unknown samples. When no controls are available, other techniques should be employed such as change-point a...

It has previously been shown using immunological techniques that antigens from Trypanosoma cruzi adsorb to mammalian cells. Here we have used radioactively-labelled T. cruzi antigens to investigate the nature of the antigens bound. We have demonstrated that numerous T. cruzi polypeptides rapidly become adsorbed to mammalian cells in tissue culture. These polypeptides dissociate from the mammali...

Chagas disease, an infection with the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, is increasingly diagnosed among humans in the southern United States. We assessed exposure of shelter dogs in Texas to T. cruzi; seroprevalence across diverse ecoregions was 8.8%. Canine serosurveillance is a useful tool for public health risk assessment.

Triatomine insects (Hemiptera: Reduviidae), commonly known as kissing bugs, are a potential health problem in the southwestern United States as possible vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease. Although this disease has been traditionally restricted to Latin America, a small number of vector-transmitted autochthonous US cases have been reported. Because triatomine bu...

Some medicinal plants are a potential source of new drugs, in order to improve the treatment of Chagas disease whose treatment is still a challenge. In this study, the in vitro anti-epimastigote activity of certain fractions of Achillea biebersteinii, A. millefolium, Satureja mutica and S. macrantha was evaluated. Diethyl ether fractions of Achillea species and acetone fractions of Satureja spe...

A series of 44 4-aminopiperidine derivatives was screened in vitro against four protozoan parasites (Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense, Trypanosoma cruzi, Leishmania donovani, and Plasmodium falciparum). This screening identified 29 molecules selectively active against bloodstream-form T. b. rhodesiense trypomastigotes, with 50% inhibitory concentrations (IC50) ranging from 0.12 to 10 microM, and ...