Differential in vitro and in vivo behavior of three strains of Trypanosoma cruzi in the gut and hemolymph of Rhodnius prolixus

A comparison was made of the agglutination and lysis of three strains of Trypanosoma cruzi in gut extracts and hemolymph of Rhodnius prolixus and the results obtained were correlated with the success or failure of the parasite strain to infect the digestive tube or to survive in the hemocel after inoculation. Both T. cruzi strains Dm28c and Cl successfully infected the gut as evidenced by over 50% of adult insects having infective feces and urine 35 days after feeding with parasites. Concomitantly, both of these strains were agglutinated but not lysed by the crop extracts. In contract, T. cruzi Y strain parasites rapidly disappeared from the gut and showed no agglutination, but some lysis, in the crop extract. Following inoculation into the hemocel, only the Cl strain survived at high levels and was also the only strain agglutinated significantly in the hemolymph. Both Dm28c and Y strains rapidly disappeared from the hemocel with the former parasite being removed more slowly than the latter, probably due to clearance by the cellular defenses. The rapid clearance of the Y strain was correlated with the presence of a high titer lysin in the hemolymph. Subsequent experiments using FITC-labeled lectins and FACS to probe the carbohydrates on the parasite surfaces showed significant differences between the three strains. Thus, only Dm28c was stained strongly by Arachis hypogea (PNA) lectin, indicating the presence of galactose/ N-acetylgalactosamine residues, and Dm28c and Y strains by Phytolacca lectin for N-acetyl glucosamine moieties. Finally, the fact that, in contrast to Dm28c and Y, the Cl strain strongly interacted with Triticum vulgaris (WGA) but not with Phytolacca lectin may be due to the presence of N-acetyl neuraminic acid residues on these organisms. Their surface carbohydrate differences may be correlated both to the behavior and agglutination variations between the three strains recorded in this work. (C) 1994 Academic Press, Inc.