O papel da calcineurina humana na modulação da infecção por Trypanossoma cruzi

Abstract

Chagas disease, caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, remains a major public health concern. Human calcineurin, a calcium-dependent regulatory protein, plays critical roles in cellular and immune processes, but its involvement in T. cruzi infection is still poorly understood. In this study, the effect of calcineurin A inhibition by cyclosporin A (CsA) was evaluated in RAW 264.7 macrophages infected with the Y strain of T. cruzi. Cell and parasite viability assays, invasion and intracellular multiplication tests, as well as nitric oxide and cytokine quantification (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12) were performed. Results showed that CsA reduced parasite invasion and replication and modulated the inflammatory response by decreasing IL-1β, IL-12, IL-6 while relatively increasing IL-10. These findings suggest that calcineurin plays a relevant role in host–parasite interaction and may represent a promising therapeutic target against Chagas disease.