Comparison between the antigenic composition of bloodstream and cell culture-derived trypomastigotes of Trypanosoma cruzi.

Antigens of bloodstream and cell culture-derived trypomastigotes of T. cruzi were compared by western blotting using sera of chronic chagasic patients as a source of antibodies. The immunoblots demonstrated that the two forms display extensive homology except for the 85- and 52-kDa bands. These antigens were more strongly stained in culture-derived trypomastigotes. Although the reported differences are not related to major antigens, these results might offer an explanation for previous studies showing that culture-derived trypomastigotes are more antigenic and infective in vitro than bloodstream trypomastigotes.