Mitochondrial involvement in chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy

The pathogenesis of chronic chagasic cardiopathy is still under discussion; there is considerable evidence that inflammatory infiltrates and their mediators have a direct effect on cardiac cells. Here we studied the structure and function of cardiac mitochondria in chronic chagasic myocardiopathy. Cardiac mitochondrial structure and enzyme activity of citrate synthase and complexes I to IV of the respiratory chain were studied in albino Swiss mice infected with Trypanosoma cruzi (Tulahuen strain or SGO Z12 isolate) on 365 days post-infection (dpi). The presence of parasites in cardiac and skeletal muscle was also investigated. The activity of complexes I to IV was altered in different ways, according to the strain employed (P<0.0001), in relation to the cristae disorganisation and the parasite persistence found in the Tulahuen group, and the chronic inflammatory process described in both groups; citrate synthase activity also increased in both infected groups. Changes in mitochondrial structure were detected in 89% of Tulahuen- and 58% of SGO Z12-infected mice. In this paper we demonstrate that parasite persistence and inflammation are likely to be involved in the structural and functional alterations in cardiac mitochondria from chronically T. cruzi-infected mice, demonstrating that the parasite strain determines different mitochondrial changes in chagasic cardiopathy.