Characterization of the presence and distribution of Foxp3+ cells in chagasic patients with and without megacolon

Chagas Disease Cardiomyopathy: Immunopathology and Genetics

“…Patients who develop Chagas cardiomyopathy display a particularly strong Th1-type immune response as compared to ASY patients. CCC patients show an increased number of CD4+ and CD8+ IFN- γ -producing T cells in the peripheral blood, with reduced numbers of IL-10-producing CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells [15, 35, 36] and CD4+CD25+ FoxP3+ regulatory T cells [37] as compared with patients in the ASY form of Chagas disease. Taken together, this suggests that regulatory T cells may play a role in the control of the intensity of inflammation in chronic Chagas disease.…”

Characterization of enteroglial cells and denervation process in chagasic patients with and without megaesophagus

“…After fixation in paraformaldehyde and embedding in paraffin, the esophagus rings were cut into serial 7-μm sections. Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E)-stained sections were then analyzed for the presence and intensity of inflammatory processes by counting of mononuclear cells with lymphocyte morphology [15,16]. Enumeration of mononuclear cells was carried out in the muscle layers and submucosal and myenteric plexuses by counting 20 randomly selected fields per studied layer (total area of 1066 μm 2 ) on a single slide per patient.…”

Expression of caspase-3 in enteric cells is related to development of chagasic megacolon

“…We believe that apoptosis of infected cells (neurons, enteroglial cells, muscle cells, and inflammatory cells) may avoid magnification of the inflammatory process, preventing destruction of neurons and development of megacolon. In previous studies, our group demonstrated that Foxp3 + cells are present in high concentrations in chagasic patients without megacolon [4] and are probably involved in the activation of apoptosis in damaged cells, which represents a defense against Chagas disease evolution.…”

“…Informed consent was obtained from the patient or family members prior to tissue procurement, and this work was approved by the UFMG Research Ethics Committee (ETIC no 127/03). Tissue samples were prepared according to the methods described in da Silveira et al 2008 [4]. To localize the apoptotic cells, the antihuman caspase-3 (IMGENEX, Cod.…”

“…IMG-144A, San Diego, CA) was used. The immunohistochemistry protocol and the data analysis methods were performed according to the methods described in da Silveira et al 2008 [4]. The hematoxylin-eosin staining technique was applied in each case to evaluate the inflammatory process.…”