Silencing cytokeratin 18 gene inhibits intracellular replication of Trypanosoma cruzi in HeLa cells but not binding and invasion of trypanosomes.

Background: As an obligatory intracellular parasite, Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas' disease, must invade and multiply within mammalian cells. Cytokeratin 18 (CK18) is among the host molecules that have been suggested as a mediator of important events during T. cruzi-host cell interaction.