CD14 genotype and functional dichotomy of CD14+ and CD14- cells are associated with activated immune response and development of Chagas dilated cardiomyopathy

We aimed to investigate the association of CD14 -260C/T (rs2569190) polymorphism and Chagas cardiomyopathy and the functional characteristics of CD14+ and CD14- monocytes upon infection with Trypanosoma cruzi. We observed an association between the T- genotype (absence of allele -260T) related to low CD14 expression and the dilated cardiomyopathy type of Chagas disease. Furthermore, we observed that CD14- monocytes showed a more activated profile upon in vitro infection with T. cruzi than CD14+ monocytes. Our findings suggest that T- genotype is associated with susceptibility to develop Chagas dilated cardiomyopathy, likely linked to the T. cruzi-induced inflammatory profile of CD14- monocytes.