Chagas disease (CD) is a tropical zoonosis caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi. Severe autonomic dysfunction like reduced cardiac catecholamine-containing or acetylcholinesterase-positive innervation have been reported in CD. Renin-angiotensin system (RAS) seems to participate in the regulation of adrenal catecholamine secretion by adrenal medullary chromaffin cells, which might be dependent of nitric oxide (NO) pathways. To investigate the levels of RAS components in the adrenal gland during the acute infection with Y strain T. cruzi and in response to acute administration of an inhibitor of the enzyme NO synthase, L-NAME. Male Holtzman rats were inoculated intraperitoneally with Y strain T. cruzi and received L-NAME or tap water from one day before the infection until 13 or 17 days post-inoculation (dpi). The concentration of RAS molecules in the adrenal tissue was evaluated by ELISA immunoassay. Angiotensin converting enzyme 1 (ACE1) levels were significantly lower at 17 dpi when compared to 13 dpi. No significant differences were found compared with baseline, and no changes were detected in adrenal tissue levels of angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), angiotensin II, or angiotensin-(1-7). Moreover, the treatment with L-NAME did not influence the levels of RAS components in adrenal tissue during the course of T. cruzi infection. We provided the first evidence that levels of RAS molecules change in the adrenal gland during acute phase of T. cruzi infection. Future studies are necessary to fully address the role of NO in RAS-associated adrenal gland function in CD.
Keywords: Adrenal Gland; Angiotensin-converting enzyme 1; Chagas disease; L-NAME; Nitric oxide; Renin angiotensin system.