DEPRESSED AUTOANTIBODY SYNTHESIS IN TRYPANOSOMA CRUZI-INFECTED RATS BORN TO MOTHERS UNDERGOING THIS INFECTION DURING PREGNANCY

Earlier work indicated that Trypanosoma cruzi infection in pregnant ra ts decreased the amount of myocardial damage that developed in their c hronically infected offspring. Given the suspected role of autoimmune mechanisms in the generation of chronic myocarditis, we evaluated whet her this maternal intervention was likely to affect the synthesis of a utoantibodies in infected young. Autoantibodies were investigated agai nst molecules exhibiting cross-reactivity with T. cruzi antigens or no t, that is cerebroside sulphate (sulphatide) and actin, respectively. Female '1' rats (75 days old) that had been mated with syngeneic sires were separated into two groups, one challenged with living trypomasti gotes at 7, 14 and 21 days following mating, and the other one given p hysiologic saline at the same intervals. At the time of weaning, offsp ring were injected with 10(6)/T. cruzi to constitute two infected grou ps: young born to infected mothers (InMoTc) and young delivered by uni nfected mothers (CoMoTc). Serum antibodies were investigated by ELISA at 30 and 60 days post-infection, which represents acute and chronic i nfection, respectively. T. cruzi infection was associated with the pro duction of anti-sulphatide antibodies, but the phenomenon was signific antly less evident in InMoTc young and virtually unnoticeable during t heir chronic infection. Unlike the anti-sulphatide results, levels of anti-actin antibodies showed no differences between CoMoTc and InMoTc rats when compared during acute or chronic infection. The decreased pr oduction of anti-sulphatide autoantibodies of InMoTc offspring may be due to a modification of the immune repertoire of offspring because of the contact with parasite antigens during ontogeny. Published by Else vier Science Ireland Ltd.