Effects Of The L-Arginine Supplementation In The Fetal Development Alterations In A Congenital Chagas Disease Mouse Model

Abstract

A nutritional protein deficit would induce modifications in fetal development, parasitemia and congenital Chagas transmission, while arginine suministration would improve this situation. Female mice (C3H strain) were fed with hypoproteic (H), and normoproteic (N) diets during a month, some of them were provided also with 0.1% of arginine (Arg). They were infected with Trypanosoma cruzi trypomastigotes and were sacrificed at 14th day of gestation. It was evaluated maternal parasitemia, uterine horns infection, embryos and absorptions quantity; embryos and placentae size, and horns uterine weight. In serum arginine, urea and nitrites was measured. Infection reduces the fetal size independently of diet (HTC=1,092±0,74 mm; NTC=4,81±1,02mm) with respect to the controls (N=7,56±0,42 mm; H=2,72±0,86) (HTC p<0,05; NTC p=0,015). The H diet emphasizes infection effects, affecting fetal development and maternal parasitemia. (HTC=725.000±567.890p; NTC=87.500±88.987p) (p<0.05). Arginine supplementation of low-protein diet had a more marked effect. To decrease significantly from the maternal parasitemia (HTCarg = 300.000 ± 282.842p) (p <0.05) and infection of the uterus (HTCarg=70% PCR+; NTCarg=100% PCR+), plus an increase in the size of the fetuses (HTCarg = 5,75 ± 0,5 mm) (p <0,05) with a tendency to decrease resorption, which were associated with significative increased levels (p<0,05) of nitrite (HTC= 12,66 3,2uM; HTCarg= 26,068,03uM) in maternal serum. Usually, the pregnant women affected with Chagas disease are exposed to unfavorable socio-economic conditions, with deficient diets that would affect fetal development, and would be associated with congenital Chagas transmission. The Arginine supplementation, that was employed in others pregnancy pathologies, would improve fetal development in chagasic pregnancies in the acute phase of infection, possible due to an increment of Nitric Oxide production.