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Open Access Lymphoid Organ Alterations Enhanced by SubLethal Doses of Coronaviruses in Experimentally Induced Trypanosoma cruzi Infection in Mice

The effect of sub-lethal doses of coronaviruses on the course of disease in CBA mice experimentally infected with a mildly pathogenic strain of Trypanosoma cruzi was investigated. Mice were inoculated with either T. cruzi, 0.1 median lethal dose (LD50) of coronavirus (mouse hepatitis virus [MHV-3] or virus X), or both pathogens. Levels of parasitemia, mortality, and the extent of pathologic alterations in lymphoid organs were determined. Mice inoculated with T. cruzi had mild alterations in their lymphoid organs and survived infection. In contrast, mice inoculated with both pathogens died, and had significantly higher levels of parasitemia and profound alterations in lymphoid organs. These results indicate that the pathologic profile of T. cruzi infection can be profoundly altered by subclinical infection with coronaviruses.

Document Type: Research Article

Affiliations: 1: Departamento de Microbiologia e Imunologia, Instituto de Biologia, UNICAMP, C.P. 6109, CEP: 13081-970, Campinas, São Paulo, Brasil 2: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Biology/Unicamp, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil 3: Department of Pathology, Medical School/Unicamp, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil

Publication date: 01 February 1999

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  • Comparative Medicine (CM), an international journal of comparative and experimental medicine, is the leading English-language publication in the field and is ranked by the Science Citation Index in the upper third of all scientific journals. The mission of CM is to disseminate high-quality, peer-reviewed information that expands biomedical knowledge and promotes human and animal health through the study of laboratory animal disease, animal models of disease, and basic biologic mechanisms related to disease in people and animals.

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