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An inhibitor of the TGFß signaling pathway as a treatment of Chagas disesase



We are working for several years as part of a Franco-Brazilian collaboration with Fiocruz (Dr. TC Araújo-Jorge, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) on the involvement of TGFß in Chagas disease.​​​

Published on 10 October 2007
Chagas disease is a parasitic disease caused by the flagellate protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, which affects 16 to 18 million South Americans and is characterized by chronic and cardiac disorders due to significant fibrosis.


Both laboratories have shown the important role of TGFß in parasite T. cruzi infection as well as in the development of Chagas disease. In the present study, the researchers show that a specific inhibitor of the serine/threonine kinase activity of the receptor of the TGFß inhibits cardiomyocytes infection with T. cruzi and blocks the intracellular parasite cycle.

This work provides a new therapeutic approach to Chagas disease by the use of small pathway inhibitors of TGFß signaling.

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