Luz M R, van Leuven F, de Araújo-Jorge T C
Departmento de Ultra-estrutura e Biologia Celular, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Parasitol Res. 1995;81(8):662-7. doi: 10.1007/BF00931843.
Alpha-Macroglobulins (AM) are protease inhibitors with important roles in inflammation and in immunomodulation that behave as acute-phase proteins in many experimental models. In the present work the levels of AM in the plasma of outbred Swiss albino mice acutely infected with Trypanosoma cruzi were studied. The results showed that increased levels of AM were present in the majority of the infected mice and that AM levels increased independently of the rise in parasitaemia. There was a high degree of heterogeneity in the intensity of the modulation of AM levels as well as in the kinetics of AM synthesis. This heterogeneity was related neither with the intensity of infection nor with the sex of the host. No correlation between AM levels and survival to the acute phase could be observed in the outbred mice. The consequence of such a heterogeneity is unclear, although AM as immunoregulatory molecules could play a role in the development of the symptoms of the chronic phase of Chagas' disease.
α-巨球蛋白（AM）是一类蛋白酶抑制剂，在炎症和免疫调节中发挥重要作用，在许多实验模型中表现为急性期蛋白。在本研究中，对急性感染克氏锥虫的远交系瑞士白化小鼠血浆中的AM水平进行了研究。结果显示，大多数感染小鼠的AM水平升高，且AM水平的升高与寄生虫血症的升高无关。AM水平调节强度以及AM合成动力学存在高度异质性。这种异质性既与感染强度无关，也与宿主性别无关。在远交系小鼠中未观察到AM水平与急性期存活率之间的相关性。尽管AM作为免疫调节分子可能在恰加斯病慢性期症状的发展中起作用，但这种异质性的后果尚不清楚。
