Trypanosoma cruzi: parasitaemia produced in mice does not seem to be related to in vitro parasite-cell interaction

The interaction of Trypanosoma cruzi strains producing subpatent or high pa rasitaemia in mice with mouse macrophages, Vero and L929 cells was evaluate d using tissue culture trypomastigotes. Macrophages were the cells most rea dily infected while Vero cells presented the highest parasite intracellular multiplication rates. Subpatent strains were equal or more infective than the high parasitaemia. Due to the small number of strains, no correlation c ould be established between the zymodemes and parasitaemia or parasite-cell interaction in vitro. However parasitaemia in mice does not seem to be rel ated to in vitro parasite-cell interaction. (C) 2000 Australian Society for Parasitology Inc. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.