Effects of Trypanosoma cruzi infection in Balb/c and NIH mouse strains

Abstract

Introduction. Chagas disease is an infection caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi and transmitted by the vector
Triatoma dimidiata, known in El Salvador as “chinche picuda”. This disease has always been of scientific interest in animal models. Objective. Identify the effect of Trypanozoma cruzi infection in mice of different strains (BALB/c and NIH) and sex. Methodology. Eight groups were established: four infected with Trypanosoma cruzi and four uninfected groups, distributed by strain and sex, with five mice per group. The body weight of the mice was recorded for six weeks. In addition, blood samples from the infected groups were prepared on slides for parasitemia counts. At the end of the study, the spleen and heart were extracted from both groups for statistical analyses. Results. The infected groups showed an increase in weight compared to their control groups. In the NIH strain, females had higher parasitemia, whereas in the BALB/c strain, males had higher parasitemia. The organs of the infected groups were significantly larger compared to those of the control groups, except in the heart of the BALB/c strain. Regarding organ weight, significant differences were observed only in the heart of the male BALB/c strain, while the opposite was true for the spleen. Conclusion. Males of the BALB/c strain are more susceptible to Trypanosoma cruzi, presenting higher levels of parasitemia among the groups studied.