Trypanosoma cruzi infection increases atherosclerotic lesion in ApoE-deficient mice.

Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) is the major ligand for the transporting and removal of chylomicrons and lipoproteins by the liver. Since the creation of the ApoE-knockout mice, it is well established that ApoE deficiency results in spontaneous atherosclerosis in aged animals. Atherosclerosis is also observed in animals infected with Trypanosoma cruzi, a protozoan that elicits a systemic inflammatory response in mammalian hosts, culminating in damage to cardiac, neuronal, and endothelial cells. Pro-atherogenic effects related to the experimental infection with T. cruzi may be induced by inflammatory components affecting the vascular wall. Herein, we evaluated whether infection with different strains of T. cruzi worsened the atherogenic lesions observed in aged ApoE-/- mice. After four weeks of infection with Berenice-78 (Be-78) or Colombian (Col) strains of the parasite, mice presented increased CCL2 and CCL5 production and high migration of inflammatory cells to cardiac tissue. Although the infection with either strain did not affect the survival rate, only the infection with Col strain caused abundant parasite growth in blood and heart and increased aortic root lesions in ApoE-/- mice. Our findings show, for the first time that ApoE exerts a protective anti-atherosclerotic role in the aortic root of mice in the acute phase of experimental infection with the Col strain of T. cruzi. Further studies should target ApoE and nutritional interventions to modulate susceptibility to cardiovascular disabilities after T. cruzi infection, minimizing the risk of death in both experimental animals and humans.