T. cruzi (blue dots) thrives in cells lacking (bottom) TXA2 receptors.

On page 929, Ashton et al. report that an intracellular parasite regulates its own growth and exploits the inflammatory environment within its host to continue its survival and mediate long-term damage.

Trypanosoma cruzi, the bug that causes Chagas' disease, initiates a short-lived acute infection in humans. A third of those infected, however, develop chronic cardiac disease that sets in after a long asymptomatic period. The mechanism by which the parasite facilitates this long-term pathology is still unclear.

Ashton et al. now show that the parasite infects vascular endothelial cells and secretes a bioactive lipid called thromboxane (TXA2). When produced by human cells, TXA2 has pro-inflammatory effects and can cause cardiac injury by triggering platelet aggregation, clotting, and vasoconstriction.

The parasitic TXA2 also promotes cardiac injury, the team...

The Rockefeller University Press
2007
The Rockefeller University Press
2007
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