Trypanosoma cruzi infection in human placentas in vitro ex vivo induces the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines

MARÍA FERNANDA TRIQUELL; MARIANA PIEGARI; MARIA JOSE, MOREIRA ESPINOZA; CINTIA DÍAZ-LUJÁN; EVANGELINA BENIZIO; LUCIANA MEZZANO; RICARDO E FRETES

RESISTENCIA, CHACO

Simposio; XXX Reunión Anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Protozoología y Enfermedades Parasitarias. SIMPOSIO Internacional de Biología Celular y Molecular de la Enfermedad de Chagas (SAP 2018); 2018

Congenital Chagas has become a global health problem due to the migration of chagasicmothers from endemic to non-endemic countries. Pregnancy is a special situationbecause the mother has a change in its immune system, with a predominance of Th2cytokines. But, chagasic mothers with low incidence of transmission to the fetus have apredominance of pro-inflammatory Th1 cytokines. It has been shown that the placentaparticipates in the immune response and exert a deleterious effect on the parasite cell.Our laboratory has shown that, during placental tissue infection, there are changes in theexpression of immunoregulatory cytokines and matrix metalloproteinase-9.Therefore, we propose that during the phase of invasion by trypomastigotes anddifferentiation towards amastigotes, the chorionic villi modify the expression ofcytokines that could be related to infection or placental functionality.Placental villi explants were co-cultured for 4 and 24 hours with 1x10 5 trypomastigotes(Tulahuen strains) or without parasites (control). T. cruzi invasion was quantified byqPCR. Immunohistochemical analysis of TNFα, IFNγ, IL-1β and IL-10 expression wereperformed. In culture supernatant: quantification of TNFα, IFNγ, IL-1β and IL-10 byELISA were done.T. cruzi invasion at 4 and 24 hours post-infection was verified. Production of TNFα,IFNγ and IL-1β in syncytiotrophoblast and stromal cells of infected explants was higherthan noninfected (p<0.05). The same pattern was seen in the culture supernatants exceptfor IFNγ that did not have significant differences with the control. Both in culturesupernatant and tissue, the presence of the parasite produced a significant decrease inIL-10 (p <0.05).These results show that during the first 24hs of interaction placental barrier-T. cruzi,there was an increased production of pro-inflammatory Th1 cytokines and in turn,decrease the production of anti-inflammatory cytokines, but that could representfunctional adaptations of the placental tissue because infection was verified. Theseresults coincide with what was seen in peripheral blood studies of chagasic mothers,suggesting that the placental barrier contributes to that cytokine profile.