Extracellular vesicles isolated from Trypanosoma cruzi affect early parasite migration in the gut of Rhodnius prolixus but not in Triatoma infestans

The protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi has the ability to spontaneously secrete extracellular vesicles (EVs). In this paper, T. cruzi EVs derived from epimastigote forms were evaluated during interaction with triatomine bugs Rhodnius prolixus and Triatoma infestans. T. cruzi EVs were purified and artificially offered to the insects prior to infection with epimastigote forms. No effect of EVs was detected in the parasite counts in the guts of both vectors after 49-50 days. On the other hand, pre-feeding with EVs delayed parasite migration to rectum only in the gut in R. prolixus after 21-22 days. Those data suggest a possible role of T. cruzi EVs during the earlier events of infection in the invertebrate host.