Abstract：
Disorders of gastrointestinal motility are the major physiologic problem in chagasic megacolon. The contraction mechanism is complex and controlled by different cell types such as enteric neurons, smooth muscle, telocytes, and an important pacemaker of the intestine, the interstitial cells of Cajal (ICCs). The role of ICCs in the progression of acute and chronic Chagas disease remains unclear. In the present work, we investigate the aspects of ICCs in a long-term model of Chagas disease that mimics the pathological aspects of human megacolon. Different subsets of ICCs isolated from Auerbach\'s myenteric plexuses and muscle layers of control and Trypanosoma cruzi infected animals were determined by analysis of CD117, CD44, and CD34 expression by flow cytometer. Compared with the respective controls, the results showed a reduced frequency of mature ICCs in the acute phase and three months after infection. These results demonstrate for the first time the phenotypic distribution of ICCs associated with functional dysfunction in a murine model of chagasic megacolon. This murine model proved valuable for studying the profile of ICCs as an integrative system in the gut and as a platform for understanding the mechanism of chagasic megacolon development.
摘要：
胃肠动力障碍是chagasic巨结肠的主要生理问题。收缩机制复杂，受不同细胞类型如肠神经元控制，平滑肌,端粒细胞,和一个重要的肠道起搏器，Cajal间质细胞（ICC）。ICC在急性和慢性查加斯病进展中的作用尚不清楚。在目前的工作中,我们在模拟人类巨结肠的病理方面的查加斯病的长期模型中研究了ICC的方面。通过流式细胞仪分析CD117，CD44和CD34的表达，确定了从奥尔巴赫的肌间神经丛和对照和克氏锥虫感染动物的肌肉层中分离出的ICC的不同亚群。与各自的对照相比，结果显示，在急性期和感染后三个月，成熟ICCs的频率降低。这些结果首次证明了在chagasic巨结肠的鼠模型中与功能功能障碍相关的ICC的表型分布。该鼠模型被证明对于研究ICC作为肠道中的整合系统以及理解chagasic巨结肠发育机制的平台的概况很有价值。
