Evasion and Immuno-Endocrine Regulation in Parasite Infection: Two Sides of the Same Coin in Chagas Disease?

ALEXANDRE MORROT,; SILVINA VILLAR; FLORENCIA GONZALEZ; ANA ROSA PEREZ

IMMUNE EVASION STRATEGIES IN PROTOZOAN-HOST INTERACTIONS

Frontiers in Immunology and Frontiers in Microbiology

Lugar: Abhay Satoskar,; Año: 2023; p. 156 - 165

Chagas disease is a serious illness caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosomacruzi. Nearly 30% of chronically infected people develop cardiac, digestive, or mixedalterations, suggesting a broad range of host-parasite interactions that finally impactupon chronic disease outcome. The ability of T. cruzi to persist and cause pathologyseems to depend on diverse factors like T. cruzi strains, the infective load andthe route of infection, presence of virulence factors, the parasite capacity to avoidprotective immune response, the strength and type of host defense mechanisms and thegenetic background of the host. The host-parasite interaction is subject to a constantneuro-endocrine regulation that is thought to influence the adaptive immune system,and as the infection proceeds it can lead to a broad range of outcomes, ranging frompathogen elimination to its continued persistence in the host. In this context, T. cruzievasion strategies and host defense mechanisms can be envisioned as two sides of thesame coin, influencing parasite persistence and different outcomes observed in Chagasdisease. Understanding how T. cruzi evade host’s innate and adaptive immune responsewill provide important clues to better dissect mechanisms underlying the pathophysiologyof Chagas disease.