A novel nanoluciferase-based system to monitor Trypanosoma cruzi infection in mice by bioluminescence imaging.

ABSTRACT: Chagas disease, caused by the intracellular protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, affects 8-10 million people worldwide and represents a major public health challenge. There is no effective treatment or vaccine to control the disease that is characterized by a mild acute phase followed by a chronic life-long infection. Approximately 30% of chronically infected individuals develop cardiac and/or digestive pathologies. T. cruzi can invade a wide variety of nucleated cells, but only persists at specific tissues in the host. However, the mechanisms that determine tissue tropism and the progression of the infection have not been fully described. Identification of infection niches in animal models has been difficult due to the limited quantity of parasite-infected cells and their focal distribution in ti

SUBMITTER: Silberstein E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5908157 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature