Abstract
Chagas disease is a major public health problem in Latin America. The mixed Th1/Th2 immune response is required against Trypanosoma cruzi. Electrolyzed oxidizing water (EOW) has been shown to have germicidal efficacy. The objective of this study was to evaluate the EOW effectiveness in T. cruzi-infected BALB/c mice clinically, immunologically, and histologically. The severity of the infection was assessed by parasitaemia, general health condition, mortality, mega syndromes, and histological lesions. IgG, TNF-alpha, IFN-gamma, and IL-1 beta levels were quantified. The EOW administration showed a beneficial effect on parasitaemia, general physical condition, and mortality. High levels of IgG1 at 50 days postinfection were observed. Prophylactic EOW treatment was able to induce a predominantly TH1 immune response based on an IgG2a levels increase at the late acute phase, and a 10-fold increase of IFN-gamma in whole acute phase. EOW was able to control the acute phase infection as effectively as benznidazole. Splenomegaly was caused by EOW treatment and lymphadenopathy was stimulated by T. cruzi infection in all groups. Severe tissue damage was not prevented by EOW treatments. Moderate efficacy may be due to immunomodulatory properties and not to a direct toxic effect on the parasite.
Highlights
Chagas disease (ChD), or American trypanosomiasis, is an infection caused by the Trypanosoma cruzi parasite
In the gastrointestinal tract, no microscopic changes were observed in any of the groups. These findings suggested that both prophylactic and therapeutic Electrolyzed oxidizing water (EOW) administration contributed to the partial control of inflammation and the total control of tissue parasitism, results that resemble those found in the group of mice treated with benznidazole
This study is innovative as the effect of one type of electrolyzed water against a EOW on the modulation of the humoral and cellular immune response was evaluated in the murine protozoal disease is explored for the first time
Summary
Chagas disease (ChD), or American trypanosomiasis, is an infection caused by the Trypanosoma cruzi parasite. Pathogens 2020, 9, 974 million infected people worldwide, mostly in Latin America. It causes more than 10,000 deaths per year [1] and represents a loss of USD 10,000 to 11,000 per patient per year for health systems [2]. ChD has two phases: acute and chronic. In less than 1% of cases, a severe form capable of causing death can develop. The chronic phase can occur in two ways: the asymptomatic (latent) and the symptomatic form. One third of these patients will develop the symptomatic form within 20 years with specific organs being affected such as heart, esophagus and/or colon [3]
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