Effect of acetylsalicylic acid on total myenteric neurons in mice experimentally infected with Trypanosoma cruzi

Abstract: We investigated the effects of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) on the total myenteric neuronal population in the descending colon in Trypanosoma cruzi-infected mice. Thirty-five male Swiss mice, 60 days old, were divided into a control group (C group), control group treated with ASA (CA group), infected group (I group), and infected group treated with ASA (IA group). A total of 1300 trypomastigotes of the Y strain of T. cruzi were intraperitoneally inoculated in the IA and I groups. The CA and IA groups were treated with ASA intraperitoneally. At 75 days post-infection (dpi), all of the animals were sacrificed. Neurons in the colon were stained with Giemsa, quantified, and measured. No difference in the course of infection was observed between the IA and I groups, reflected by the parasitemia curve. Acetylsalicylic acid treatment in the CA and IA groups did not alter the total number of myenteric neurons compared with the C and I groups. The CA and IA groups exhibited an increase in the nuclear area, cytoplasmic area, and neuronal body area compared with the C and I groups. Future studies should elucidate the mechanism of action of ASA against Chagas’ disease in the chronic phase.

摘要：本研究探讨了乙酰水杨酸（acetylsalicylic acid, ASA）对克氏锥虫（Trypanosoma cruzi）感染小鼠降结肠肌间神经元总群的影响。选取35只60日龄雄性瑞士品系小鼠，随机分为对照组（C组）、乙酰水杨酸处理对照组（CA组）、感染组（I组）及乙酰水杨酸处理感染组（IA组）。IA组与I组小鼠均腹腔接种1300株克氏锥虫Y株锥鞭毛体（trypomastigotes）；CA组与IA组小鼠予以腹腔注射乙酰水杨酸进行干预。于感染后75天（dpi，days post-infection）处死所有实验动物，采用吉姆萨（Giemsa）染色法对结肠神经元进行染色、计数与形态学测量。结果显示，IA组与I组小鼠的感染进程无显著差异，虫血症曲线变化趋势一致。与C组和I组相比，CA组与IA组的肌间神经元总数未发生明显改变，但两组的细胞核面积、细胞质面积及神经元胞体面积均显著升高。未来研究需进一步阐明乙酰水杨酸在慢性期对抗查加斯病（Chagas’ disease）的作用机制。