Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 20, 2026
In Vitro Drug Screening Against All Life Cycle Stages of Trypanosoma cruzi Using Parasites Expressing β-galactosidase
Published on: November 5, 2021
Current status and perspectives of cell therapy in Chagas disease
Milena Botelho Pereira Soares1, Ricardo Ribeiro dos Santos
1Centro de Pesquisas Gonçalo Moniz, Fiocruz, Salvador, BA, Brasil.
Insights
Chagas disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, significantly impacts Latin America, leading to chronic cardiac and digestive issues. Cell therapy and tissue engineering offer potential new treatments for chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Infectious Diseases
- Regenerative Medicine
Background:
- Chagas disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, is a major health concern in Latin America.
- Chronic Chagas disease often leads to cardiac and digestive system dysfunction, with cardiomyopathy being the most common severe manifestation.
- Current treatments for chronic Chagasic cardiomyopathy are limited, with heart transplantation being the only definitive option.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review existing studies on cell therapy and tissue engineering for treating chronic Chagas disease.
- To evaluate the potential of these regenerative approaches in animal models and human patients.
- To discuss future perspectives for restoring heart function damaged by Trypanosoma cruzi infection.
Main Methods:
- Review of scientific literature on cell therapy and tissue engineering in Chagas disease.
- Analysis of studies conducted in animal models of chronic Chagas disease.
- Examination of clinical trial data and patient outcomes related to cell therapy interventions.
Main Results:
- Cell therapy and tissue engineering have shown promise in preclinical animal models for improving cardiac function.
- Early clinical studies suggest potential benefits of cell-based approaches in patients with chronic Chagasic cardiomyopathy.
- Further research is needed to optimize therapeutic strategies and confirm long-term efficacy.
Conclusions:
- Cell therapy and tissue engineering represent promising avenues for treating chronic Chagasic cardiomyopathy.
- These regenerative approaches may offer alternatives to heart transplantation for patients with Chagas disease.
- Continued investigation is crucial to translate promising preclinical findings into effective clinical treatments.
Abstract:
One century after its discovery, Chagas disease, caused by the protozoan, Trypanosoma cruzi, remains a major health problem in Latin America. Mortality and morbidity are mainly due to chronic processes that lead to dysfunction of the cardiac and digestive systems. About one third of the chronic chagasic individuals have or will develop the symptomatic forms of the disease, with cardiomyopathy being the most common chronic form. This is a progressively debilitating disease for which there are no currently available effective treatments other than heart transplantation. Like in other cardiac diseases, tissue engineering and cell therapy have been investigated in the past few years as a means of recovering the heart function lost as a consequence of chronic damage caused by the immune-mediated pathogenic mechanisms elicited in individuals with chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy. Here we review the studies of cell therapy in animal models and patients with chronic Chagas disease and the perspectives of the recovery of the heart function lost due to infection with T. cruzi.
Related Concept Videos
01:22American Trypanosomiasis
00:59Gene Therapy
01:40Cell-mediated Immune Responses