Parasite-Induced Chronic Inflammation Is Not Exacerbated by Immunotherapy before or duringTrypanosoma cruziInfection

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Trypanosoma cruzi infection causes Chagas' disease, a chronic inflammatory disease. The specific inflammatory responses that cause Chagas' disease remain unclear, but data argue that parasites that persist in the host stimulate chronic self-damaging immune responses. Because T. cruzi appears to stimulate self-damaging responses, the enthusiasm to develop vaccines that boost antiparasite responses that might increase self-damaging responses has been limited. We previously demonstrated that immunization with a T. cruzi trans-sialidase protein or adoptive transfer of trans-sialidase-specific T-cell clones decreased parasitemia, morbidity, and mortality. Here we report that immunization or adoptive transfer with the protein or clones, before or during T. cruzi infection, boosts the anti-T. cruzi immune response without exacerbating acute or chronic tissue inflammation. These results argue that prophylactic and therapeutic immunotherapy for Chagas' disease can be developed safely.