Asociación Benéfica PRISMA, San Miguel, Lima, Peru.
Am J Pathol. 2011 Jul;179(1):281-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ajpath.2011.03.043. Epub 2011 May 14.
The guinea pig (Cavia porcellus) is a natural reservoir for Trypanosoma cruzi but has seldom been used as an experimental infection model. We developed a guinea pig infection model for acute and chronic Chagas disease. Seventy-two guinea pigs were inoculated intradermally with 10(4) trypomastigotes of T. cruzi strain Y (experimental group); 18 guinea pigs were used as control group. Eight animals from the experimental group and two from the control group were sacrificed 5, 15, 20, 25, 40, 55, 115, 165, and 365 days after inoculation. During the acute phase (15 to 55 days), we observed parasitemia (with a peak on day 20) and positive IgM and IgG Western blots with anti-shed acute-phase antigen bands. The cardiac tissue showed vasculitis, necrosis (on days 40 to 55), moderate to severe inflammation, and abundant amastigote nests. Smaller numbers of amastigote nests were also present in kidney, brain, and other organs. In the early chronic phase (115 to 165 days), parasitemia disappeared and anti-T. cruzi IgG antibodies were still detectable. In cardiac tissue, the number of amastigote nests and the grade of inflammation decreased. In the chronic phase (365 days), the cardiac tissue showed vasculitis and fibrosis; detectable parasite DNA was associated with higher grades of inflammation. The experimental T. cruzi infection model in guinea pigs shows kinetics and pathologic changes similar to those of the human disease.
豚鼠（Cavia porcellus）是克氏锥虫的天然宿主，但很少被用作实验感染模型。我们建立了一种用于急性和慢性恰加斯病的豚鼠感染模型。72 只豚鼠经皮内接种 10（4）条克氏锥虫 Y 株的滋养体（实验组）；18 只豚鼠作为对照组。实验组的 8 只动物和对照组的 2 只动物分别在接种后 5、15、20、25、40、55、115、165 和 365 天被处死。在急性期（15 至 55 天），我们观察到了寄生虫血症（第 20 天达到峰值）和抗脱落急性相抗原带的阳性 IgM 和 IgG 免疫印迹。心脏组织显示血管炎、坏死（第 40 至 55 天）、中度至重度炎症和丰富的内阿米巴巢。肾脏、大脑和其他器官也存在较少数量的内阿米巴巢。在早期慢性期（115 至 165 天），寄生虫血症消失，抗克氏锥虫 IgG 抗体仍可检测到。在心脏组织中，内阿米巴巢的数量和炎症程度减少。在慢性期（365 天），心脏组织显示血管炎和纤维化；可检测到的寄生虫 DNA 与更高等级的炎症相关。豚鼠实验性克氏锥虫感染模型显示出与人类疾病相似的动力学和病理变化。
