SALVIGENIN AFFECTS THE PROLIFERATION AND ULTRASTRUCTURE OF TRYPANOSOMA CRUZI EPIMASTIGOTES

CANO, ROCIO YASMIN; CIFUENTES, DIEGO; SOSA MIGUEL ANGEL; LOZANO ESTEBAN SEBASTIAN

Congreso; XXXVII Reunión Científica Anual Sociedad de Biología de Cuyo; 2019

Trypanosoma cruzi is the causal etiologic agent of Chagas disease. In cultures, this parasite is mainly found in the epimastigote formand a low percentage in the infective form trypomastigote. The current chemotherapy against T. cruzi is insufficient because theavailable drugs, Nifurtimox and Benznidazole, have limited activity, and show toxic side effects in patients. Therefore, the"screening" of purified molecules from natural sources, mainly plant leaves has become an important tool for the fight againstChagas disease. Many natural compounds, extracted from plants native of Argentina, have been shown to be effective against theparasite. Among them, flavonoids are an important family of molecules that have been widely studied. In this work we analyze theeffect of the natural flavonoid Salvigenin (SVG) isolated from Baccharis scandens on the growth of T. cruzi epimastigotes (strainDm28c). SVG showed an antiproliferative effects on epimastigotes, even at low concentrations. This effect was irreversible even inthe short term of exposure to the compound. SVG significantly decreases the mitochondrial activity of the parasites, at all theconcentrations tested (1, 5 and 10 μg/ml). This alteration is related to changes in ROS levels observed with the treatment. When weanalyze the ultrastructure of the parasites we observed a disorganization of the cytoplasm at a general level, an increase incytoplasmic vacuolization. Also, the presence of structures that appear to be like ―membrane blisters is highlighted. From theseresults it is necessary to identify the molecular targets of the parasites for the action of this compound and to determine if SVG canaffect the life cycle of T cruzi.