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Updated: Aug 29, 2025

Sexual Transmission of American Trypanosomes from Males and Females to Naive Mates
Published on: January 27, 2019
Pathogen diversity, immunity, and the fate of infections: lessons learned from Trypanosoma cruzi human-host
Luísa M D Magalhães1, Kenneth J Gollob2, Bianca Zingales3
1Departamento de Morfologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil; Departamento de Parasitologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
Abstract:
The complexity of host-pathogen interactions often leads to distinct clinical outcomes upon infection with different pathogen strains. In this Review, we explore the interactions between the highly diverse Trypanosoma cruzi population and the human host. At least 30% of the 7 million individuals with Chagas disease will develop a severe cardiopathy that is among the deadliest heart diseases known. The diversity of the T cruzi population also creates major hurdles for therapy and vaccine development. We also discuss the ecoepidemiological and geographical distribution of T cruzi strains, their susceptibility to treatment, their antigenic diversity, and their effect on the immune response and on disease outcome. Furthermore, we highlight the importance of understanding the T cruzi host-pathogen relationship for guiding new approaches towards development of therapies and vaccines for Chagas disease, and how the information gained by studying this relationship can inspire solutions for other host-pathogen interactions.
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