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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.
Sec. Parasite and Host
Volume 14 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2024.1437339

Trypanosoma cruzi-derived exovesicles contribute to parasite infection, tissue damage, and apoptotic cell death during ex vivo infection of human placental explants

Provisionally accepted

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease, can be congenitally transmitted by crossing the placental barrier. This study investigates the role of T. cruzi-derived exovesicles (TcEVs) in facilitating parasite infection and the consequent tissue damage and apoptotic cell death in human placental explants (HPEs). Our findings demonstrate that TcEVs significantly enhance the parasite load and induce tissue damage in HPEs, both in the presence and absence of the parasite. Through histopathological and immunohistochemical analyses, we show that TcEVs alone can disrupt the placental barrier, affecting the basal membrane and villous stroma. The induction of apoptotic cell death is evidenced by DNA fragmentation, caspase 8 and 3, and p18 fragment immunodetection. This damage is exacerbated when TcEVs are combined with T. cruzi infection. These findings suggest that TcEVs play a critical role in the pathogenesis of congenital Chagas disease by disrupting the placental barrier and facilitating parasite transmission to the fetus. This study provides new insights into the mechanisms of transplacental transmission of T. cruzi and highlights the potential of targeting TcEVs as a therapeutic strategy against congenital Chagas disease.

    Keywords: Trypanosoma cruzi, Placenta, Tissue damage, Infection, Exovesicles

    Received: 23 May 2024; Accepted: 11 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Fernández-Moya, Oviedo, Liempi, Guerrero-Muñoz, Rivas, Arregui, Araneda, Cornet-Gomez, Maya, Müller, Osuna, Castillo and Kemmerling. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Christian Castillo, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile
    Ulrike Kemmerling, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile

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