Using Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes as a Model to Study Trypanosoma cruzi Infection

Chagas disease (ChD) is one of the most neglected tropical diseases, with cardiomyopathy being the main cause of death in Trypanosoma cruzi-infected patients. As the parasite actively replicates in cardiomyocytes (CMs), the heart remains a key target organ in the pathogenesis of ChD. Here we modeled ChD using human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived CMs (iPSC-CMs) to understand the complex interplay between the parasite and host cells. We showed that iPSC-CMs can get infected with the T. cruzi Y strain and that all parasite cycle stages can be identified in our model system. Importantly, characterization of T. cruzi-infected iPSC-CMs showed significant changes in their gene expression profile, cell contractility, and distribution of key cardiac markers. Moreover, these infected iPSC-CMs exhibited a pro-inflammatory profile as indicated by significantly elevated cytokine levels and cell-trafficking regulators. We believe our iPSC-CM model is a valuable platform to explore new treatment strategies for ChD.