Phospholipids and phospholipase A1 as antigens during the course of experimental Trypanosoma cruzi infection

Abstract

BACKGROUND Trypanosoma cruzi, causative agent of Chagas disease (CD), remains a public health problem in Latin Americaand is emerging in non-endemic areas. Phospholipids (PL) are essential components of biomembranes and their enzymaticmodification by phospholipases yields bioactive lipids that modulate immune responses. Anti-PL antibodies have been associatedwith autoimmune diseases and inflammation, potentially influencing CD pathology by recognising PL and PL-binding proteins.T. cruzi Phospholipase A1 (TcPLA1) hydrolyses membrane PL and participates in parasite-host cell interactions.OBJECTIVES This study evaluated IgM and IgG antibody responses against phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, andtheir derived lysophospholipids (LPL), as well as recombinant TcPLA1, during experimental T. cruzi infection with two strains:RA (high virulence) and K98 (low virulence). It also aimed to predict the recognition capacity of TcPLA1 by CD patients usingin silico analysis.METHODS Antibody responses were analysed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using different PL andrecombinant TcPLA1 as antigens. Lytic activity assays were performed to evaluate the functional impact of anti-PL antibodies.The CHAGASTOPE resource was used to predict TcPLA1 antigenicity.FINDINGS This study identified IgM and IgG antibodies against PL, LPL and TcPLA1 during experimental T. cruzi infection.Different amino acid sequences of TcPLA1 showed stronger antigenic recognition by CD patient’s sera.MAIN CONCLUSIONS The presence of these antibodies suggests their involvement in the pathogenesis of CD and their potentialas markers for disease monitoring and prognosis.