Tumor Necrosis Factor Is a Therapeutic Target for Immunological Unbalance and Cardiac Abnormalities in Chronic Experimental Chagas’ Heart Disease

Figure 6

Anti-TNF therapy reshapes Trypanosoma cruzi-specific CTL activity and IFNγ-producing cells in spleen and the composition of Pfn⁺ and IFNγ ⁺ cells invading the cardiac tissue in chronically Trypanosoma cruzi-infected mice. C57BL/6 mice infected with 100 bt of the Colombian T. cruzi strain were treated from 120 to 150 dpi and analyzed at 150 dpi. (a) Frequency of in vivo specific lysis of H-2K^b-restricted VNHRFTLV ASP2 peptide-labeled target cells in spleen. (b) Numbers of H-2K^b-restricted VNHRFTLV ASP2 peptide IFNγ ⁺ cells (spots) among splenocytes. Immunohistochemical staining of (c) Pfn⁺ and (d) IFNγ ⁺ cells infiltrating the cardiac tissue, at 150 dpi. ^∗∗𝑃<0.01 and ^∗∗∗𝑃<0.001, T. cruzi-infected mice (saline injected or anti-TNF treated) compared to NI controls. ^##𝑃<0.01 and ^###𝑃<0.001, anti-TNF-treated compared to saline-injected T. cruzi-infected mice. Bar represents the mean ± SD of the studied group (3 to 6 mice). These data represent three independent experiments.

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