Dados do Trabalho

Título

The role of Theracurmin on parasite and inflammatory modulation in mice infected with Colombian strain of Trypanosoma cruzi

Introdução

Theracurmin (THERA) is an improved formulation of curcumin which is a bioactive element and one of the main substances found in the rhizome (underground stem) of Curcuma (Curcuma longa). Its anti-inflammatory properties have pointed out this bioactive compound as a mitigating possibility in pathological cases after an overwhelming inflammatory response. Such need arose from the lack of an effective drug to minimize the damage derived from the chronic inflammatory response triggered by Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiologic agent of Chagas’ disease. Such response is characterized by the expression/release of inflammatory mediators that favors the activation and the recruitment of distinct immune cells into different tissues to eliminate the parasite.

Objetivo(s)

The present research intended to evaluate the effectiveness of the THERA (CurcuminRich®, Natural Factors, Canada) treatment over the inflammatory and parasitological response in mice infected by T. cruzi.

Material e Métodos

THERA (CurcuminRich®, Natural Factors, Canada) was used in the treatment over the inflammatory and parasitological response in 32 male Swiss mice infected by 1000 trypomastigote forms of the Colombian strain of T. cruzi. Animals were grouped as: (i) uninfected, (ii) uninfected + THERA, (iii) T. cruzi, and (iv) T. cruzi + THERA. They were treated with 30 mg/Kg of THERA (by gavage) for a period of 30 days and parasitemia was evaluated daily. On the 30th day post-infection, animals were euthanized and testicles, heart, gastrocnemius muscle, and blood (1mL) collected for morphological and immunological assays.

Resultados e Conclusão

Animals that were infected and treated with THERA presented a reduction in parasitemia and in the levels of IL-15 (testicles, heart, and gastrocnemius), CCL2 (heart), and IL-6 (testicles). Therefore, it is concluded that THERA acts on controlling blood parasitic and exert modulatory effect on IL-15, CCL2 and IL-6, based on the inflammatory foci/tissue.

This work was supported by: CNPq, CAPES, FAPEMIG, UFOP and UFMG. We also thank the Inflammation Immunobiology Laboratory - LABIIN.

Palavras-chave

Theracurmin, Curcumin, Trypanosoma cruzi, inflamatory response.