TY - JOUR T1 - The Liver Plays a Major Role in Clearance and Destruction of Blood Trypomastigotes in Trypanosoma cruzi Chronically Infected Mice A1 - Sardinha, Luiz Roberto A1 - Mosca, Tainá A1 - Elias, Rosa Maria A1 - do Nascimento, Rogério Silva A1 - Gonçalves, Lígia A. A1 - Bucci, Daniella Zanetti A1 - Marinho, Cláudio Romero Farias A1 - Penha-Gonçalves, Carlos A1 - Lima, Maria Regina D'Império A1 - Álvarez, José Maria Y1 - 2010/01/05 N2 - Author Summary Chagas disease, a Latin American illness caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, has only rare spontaneous cure, and in most patients a small number of parasites persists for life in the blood and tissues, leading to chronic disorders such as cardiomyopathy. In a murine model of chronic T. cruzi infection we observed that the liver plays an important role in the clearance of blood-circulating parasites. Moreover, parasite accumulation in this organ is followed by their elimination, an effect that is not immediate but seems to depend on the recruitment of leukocytes and on the local production of IFN-γ, a cytokine known to increase the T. cruzi-killing capacity of phagocytes. Our findings contribute to the knowledge of T. cruzi-host interaction, showing the participation of a non-lymphoid organ in parasite control. In addition, they contribute to understanding the multifaceted role the liver plays in the immune response. JF - PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases JA - PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases VL - 4 IS - 1 UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000578 SP - e578 EP - PB - Public Library of Science M3 - doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0000578 ER -