Plasma-Derived Extracellular Vesicles as Potential Biomarkers in Heart Transplant Patient with Chronic Chagas Disease - Volume 26, Number 8—August 2020 - Emerging Infectious Diseases journal - CDC

Plasma-Derived Extracellular Vesicles as Potential Biomarkers in Heart Transplant Patient with Chronic Chagas Disease - Volume 26, Number 8—August 2020 - Emerging Infectious Diseases journal - CDC

Volume 26, Number 8—August 2020

Dispatch

Plasma-Derived Extracellular Vesicles as Potential Biomarkers in Heart Transplant Patient with Chronic Chagas Disease

Nuria Cortes-Serra, Maria Tays Mendes, Clara Mazagatos1, Joan Segui-Barber, Cameron C. Ellis, Cristina Ballart, Ana Garcia-Alvarez, Montserrat Gállego, Joaquim Gascon, Igor C. Almeida, María Jesús Pinazo , and Carmen Fernandez-Becerra 

Author affiliations: Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain (N. Cortes-Serra, C. Mazagatos, J. Segui-Barber, C. Ballart, M. Gállego, J. Gascon, M.J. Pinazo, C. Fernandez-Becerra); Border Biomedical Research Center, The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas USA (M.T. Mendes, C.C. Ellis, I.C. Almeida); Secció de Parasitologia, Departament de Biologia, Sanitat i Medi Ambient, Facultat de Farmàcia i Ciències de l’Alimentació, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain (C. Ballart, M. Gállego); Arrhythmias Unit, Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain (A. Garcia-Alvarez); Institut d’Investigació en Ciències de la Salut Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona, Spain (C. Fernandez-Becerra)

Cite This Article

Abstract

Chagas disease is emerging in countries to which it is not endemic. Biomarkers for earlier therapeutic response assessment in patients with chronic Chagas disease are needed. We profiled plasma-derived extracellular vesicles from a heart transplant patient with chronic Chagas disease and showed the potential of this approach for discovering such biomarkers.

Chagas disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi parasite, is one of the most prevalent parasitic infections in Latin America and is responsible for millions of clinical cases. However, mainly because of migratory movements, the epidemiology of Chagas disease has changed in recent decades; cases have increased substantially in North America, Europe, and Asia, where it is not endemic (1). Thus, raising awareness of this debilitating or deadly neglected tropical disease and promoting the creation of global strategies for its accurate diagnosis, treatment, and control are of paramount importance.

Detection of T. cruzi–specific antibodies in serologic assays is the current standard technique for diagnosing chronic Chagas disease. However, this so-called conventional serology is not a valid indicator of chemotherapeutic outcomes because most patients remain seropositive for 10–20 years after treatment (2). Therefore, validated biomarkers are lacking for early assessment of therapeutic responses for testing current and new drugs or treatment regimens.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are cell-derived membranous nanoparticles present in most biologic fluids. Biofluid-derived EVs are minimally invasive molecular tools for diagnosing and screening diseases (3). They can be released by various mammalian cells and pathogens, and their use as predictive biomarkers for disease progression and treatment outcomes has been reported for different pathologic conditions, including parasitic diseases (3,4).