Trypanosoma cruzi: methoprene is a potent agent to sterilize blood infected with trypomastigotes

The effects of methoprene, a juvenile hormone analogue (JHA), on Trypanosoma cruzi bloodstream trypomastigotes (Tulahuen strain, Tul 2 stock) were studied. It was observed that 150microM of methoprene in in vitro experiments cause cellular death of T. cruzi. In contrast, methoprene was not able to clear bloodstream trypomastigotes in in vivo experiments, but it was observed a decrease of parasitemia levels of infected mice treated with 200microg of methoprene/mouse/day during 5 days. According to these results and the low toxicity of methoprene, we suggest that this compound will serve as an effective agent to sterilize blood for transfusions.