Caspase-3 activation and increased procollagen type I in irradiated hearts.

The caspase-3-cleaved presence was evaluated in this study in the heart of irradiated rats, during the decline of ventricular function. Female Wistar rats were irradiated with a single dose of radiation (15 Gy) delivered directly to the heart and the molecular, histological and physiological evaluations were performed at thirteen months post-irradiation. The expressions of procollagen type I, TGF-ß1 and caspase-3-cleaved were analyzed using Western blotting.

Elemental composition of acidocalcisomes of Trypanosoma cruzi bloodstream trypomastigote forms.

The elemental composition of acidocalcisomes present in Trypanosoma cruzi bloodstream trypomastigotes was analyzed by X-ray microanalysis. Acidocalcisomes appear as electron-dense vesicles dispersed throughout the cytoplasm. X-ray microanalysis of whole cells adhered to Formvar-coated grids showed that they contained C, O, Na, Mg, P, S, Ca and Zn, although in some acidocalcisomes iron was also detected.

Evidence for a perforin-mediated mechanism controlling cardiac inflammation in Trypanosoma cruzi infection.

CD8+ T lymphocytes are considered an important cell population involved in the control of parasitaemia and mortality after Trypanosoma cruzi infection. However, despite recent developments in this field, the mechanism whereby this control is exerted is still not completely understood. Here we have used perforin knockout (-/-) mice infected with Y strain T.