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Updated: Jul 13, 2026

Sexual Transmission of American Trypanosomes from Males and Females to Naive Mates
Published on: January 27, 2019
Immune system recognition of Trypanosoma cruzi
1Center for Tropical & Emerging Global Diseases and Department of Cellular Biology, Coverdell Center for Biomedical Research, 500 D.W. Brooks Drive, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA. tarleton@cb.uga.edu
Abstract:
Innate and adaptive cellular immune recognition is crucial for control of the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. T. cruzi triggers both MyD88-dependent and TRIF-dependent innate activation pathways in macrophages and dendritic cells. TLR-2 and TLR-9 recognize GPI anchors and parasite DNA, respectively; however other, as yet undefined receptors and ligands, also appear to be involved in innate recognition. CD8(+) T cells distinguish T. cruzi-infected host cells primarily via robust recognition of MHC-associated peptide epitopes from the large and highly diverse trans-sialidase family of surface proteins. To date there has been minimal investigation of linkages between innate immune recognition in vivo and the generation of adaptive cellular immune responses.
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