They identify cells 'destructive' of others infected by the parasite that causes Chagas disease
They identify cells 'destructive' of others infected by the parasite that causes Chagas disease
They identify cells 'destructive' of others infected by the parasite that causes Chagas disease
Scientists of the Institute of Parasitology and Biomedicine López Neyra belonging to the Superior Council of Scientific Research (Spain), in collaboration with experts from the Virgen de la Arrixaca Hospital in Murcia, have described the implication of a type of immune system cells in the control of the chronic Chagas disease.
In particular, this group of lymphocyte cells responsible for defending the human body of foreign substances recognizes the presence of the parasite that causes this serious disease and acts by destroying this microorganism in infected cells.
According to the conclusions of this study, collected in the article 'Impact of benznidazole treatment on the functional response of Trypanosoma cruzi antigen-specific CD4 + CD8 + T cells in chronic Chagas disease patients' and published in the journal PLoS Negl Trop Dis, these cells could be an important component against infection during the chronic phase of this disease. "The findings reflected in this work shed light on the understanding of a cell population poorly described at the functional level in the context of this tropical disease," says the Manuel López Discovery Foundation, a researcher at the López Neyra Institute of Parasitology and Biomedicine of the CSIC.
In figures, Chagas disease is endemic to Latin America, where it affects more than 8 million people, and causes the death of approximately 20,000 each year, mainly due to heart damage, according to data from the World Health Organization. In Spain, the figure is around 70,000 people affected.
Outline about how the proposed treatment acts on the cells. (Photo: Discover Foundation)
The most common symptoms in the acute phase of this pathology caused by the unicellular parasite Trypanosoma cruzi are associated with fever, headache, shortness of breath, swelling and abdominal or chest pain, including neurological alterations. "These changes are irreversible and in many cases they cause death. Chagas disease, which is transmitted through different routes such as blood transfusions or from mothers to children, is curable if treatment is given immediately after infection occurs. In cases of patients in chronic phase, a suitable antiparasitic plan can stop or prevent the progression of it, "explains López.
In this study, experts have analyzed the response of a series of specialized cells of the immune system, specifically how they act and develop or deactivate according to the degree of the disease. It is a cell population scientifically named as CD4 + CD8 +, high T, whose percentage increases in the chronic phase of the disease after applying a treatment, already in force against Chagas, which almost completely eliminates the parasite at the beginning of the acute stage of said disease.
To do this, they have performed in vivo tests with 38 patients suffering from an advanced state of this disease, 20 asymptomatic and 18 with heart damage who never received any treatment for their disease.
After administering an oral medication, known as benznidazole, for 60 days, all patients underwent a clinical follow-up for 48 months, which consisted of extracting blood and analyzing the lymphocytes and other clinical parameters in order to evaluate their association with the progress or stagnation of this pathology. "After all this time, the treatment with this drug has shown that in any of the cases, that is, both in chronic patients without apparent symptoms or in those suffering from heart disease as a result of this disease, it is effective, increasing the frequency and functional capacity of the aforementioned lymphocyte cells, "says this researcher.
Thus, these cells are capable of killing those already infected in patients with chronic Chagas disease. In those with ailments in the heart, despite the fact that cardiac damage persists, the aforementioned immune activation occurs, making it possible to control the infection. On the other hand, in patients without symptoms, the cells enhance their cytotoxic capacity favoring their fight against the parasite.
This study, funded by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, the Carlos III Institute and FEDER Funds, continues to deepen the search for possible cellular biomarkers that can be used as tools to assess therapeutic efficacy in the chronic phase of the disease. Chagas (Source: Discover Foundation)
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