Trypanosoma cruzi-cardiomyocyte interaction: role of fibronectin in the recognition process and extracellular matrix expression in vitro and in vivo

We investigated the involvement of fibronectin (FN) in Trypanosoma cruzi-cardiomyocyte invasion and the extracellular matrix (ECM) components expression during T. cruzi infection in vivo and in vitro. Treatment of trypomastigotes with FN or a synthetic peptide (MRGDS) prior to cardiomyocyte interaction reduced T. cruzi infection, indicating that FN mediates the parasite invasion through its RGD sequence. In murine experimental Chagas' disease, an enhancement of the ECM components was detected in the myocardium during the late acute infection, coinciding with inflammatory infiltrates accumulation. In contrast, highly infected cardiomyocytes displayed a reduction in FN expression in vitro, while laminin spatial distribution was altered. Although it has been demonstrated that cardiomyocytes are able to synthesize cytokines upon T. cruzi infection, our data suggest that matrix remodeling is dependent on cytokines secreted by inflammatory cells recruited in immune response.