The diagnosis of Chagas disease in humans is generally limited to the detection of specific antibodies. Detection of T. cruzi antigens in urine has been reported previously, but is not used in the diagnosis. In this study, soluble T. cruzi antigens and DNA were detected in urine samples and were associated with kidney injury and systemic detection of the parasite. We used 72 guinea pigs infected with T. cruzi Y strain and 18 non-infected guinea pigs. Blood, kidney, heart and urine samples were collected during the acute phase and chronic phase. Urine samples were concentrated by ultrafiltration. Antigens were detected by Western Blot using a polyclonal antibody against trypomastigote excretory-secretory antigen (TESA). T. cruzi DNA was detected by PCR using primers 121/122 and TcZ1/TcZ2. Levels of T. cruzi DNA in blood, heart and kidney were determined by quantitative PCR. T. cruzi antigens (75 kDa, 80 kDa, 120 kDa, 150 kDa) were detected in the acute phase (67.5%) and the chronic phase (45%). Parasite DNA in urine was detected only in the acute phase (45%). Kidney injury was characterized by high levels of proteinuria, kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1) and urea, and some histopathological changes such as inflammation, necrosis, fibrosis and scarce parasites. The detection of antigens and DNA in urine was associated with the presence of parasite DNA in blood and heart and with high levels of parasite DNA in blood, but not with the presence of parasite in kidney or kidney injury. These results suggest that the detection of T. cruzi in urine could be improved to be a valuable method for the diagnosis of Chagas disease, particularly in congenital Chagas disease and in immunocompromised patients.

Western blot Fasciola hepatica-Materiales y métodos. Minimum Essential Eagle pool de sueros de Western blot Resultados Conclusiones.

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Niveles de parasitemia y alteraciones histopatológicas en Mus musculus BALB/c infectado con Trypanosoma cruzi obtenido de Panstrongylus chinai del Valle Chamán, La Libertad-Perú ENRIQUE DÍAZ-LIMAY*, HERMES ESCALANTE* y CÉSAR A. JARA* PARASITEMIA LEVELS AND HISTOPATHOLOGYCAL CHANGES IN Mus musculus BALB/C INFECTED WITH Typanosoma cruzi OBTAINED FROM Panstrongylus chinai OF CHAMAN VALLEY, LA LIBERTAD-PERU Parasitemia levels as well as histopathologycal changes in the heart and the brain of mice, Mus musculus, BALB/c experimentally infected by Trypanosoma cruzi isolated of Panstrongyfus chinai from Chaman Valley (La Libertad-Peru) was determined. For this purposes, ten mice specimens was inoculated with 5x10 4 trypomastigota parasites (0.1 mL of original inoculums) and another one, the witness, was inoculated with saline solution sterile. The parasitemia was evident at fifth day after experimental infection, rising until levels between 2,5x10 6 and 7,0x10 e trypomastigotas/mL before death, that which happened in 100% of experimental mice between 13 to 18 days. On the other hand, the histopathologycal analysis by H/E technique showed edematous areas, vesicular congestion, hipercromasia and amastigota nests in both, heart and encephalon cuts. Moreover, only in encephalon chronic inflammation was detected and only in hearth, lynphocyte-inflamatory infiltred. T. cruzi of P. chinai bug from Chaman Valley showed neurotropic and cardio tropic tendency in M. musculus BALB/c.

CARVAJAL: Larval trypanorhyncfa cestodes from Peruvian teleost fishes, with descriptions of two new species. Examination of 60 teleost fishes (9 spp.) for cestodes from the Southeastern Pacific Ocean off Paita (5° 7´S, 81° 11´W) and Salaverry (8° 15´S, 78°5 9´W) Peru, resulted in the recovery of eight species of trypanorhynchs, two of which are new. The new species are Pterobothrium acanthotruncatum and Pseudogrillotia peruviana. New host and distribution records are: Dasyrhynchus pacifiais Robinson in Sciaena deliciosa (Tschudi); Poecilancistrium caryophyllum (Diesing) from Sciaena gilberti Abbott; Floriceps saccatus Cuvier from Centropomus nigrescens Günther; Tentacularia coryphaena Bosc from Coryphaena hippurus Linnaeus, Katsuwonus pelamis (Linnaeus) and Centropomus nigrescens: Callitetrarhynchus gracilis (Rudolphi) in Sciaena deliciosa, Polyclemus peruanus (Steindachner) and Hemilutjanus macrophtalmos (Tschudi); Lacistorhynchus tenuis (Van Beneden) from Odontesthes regia (Humboldt).