Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi) (T. cruzi)

Trypanosoma cruzi is a hemoflagellate protozoan parasite and the causative agent of Chagas disease, a significant public health burden in the Americas [WHO, 2023]. The parasite is primarily transmitted by triatomine insects, but can also spread via blood transfusion, organ transplant, or congenitally [CDC, 2022]. Its complex life cycle includes an intracellular amastigote stage that replicates within host cells, particularly myocytes and neurons, leading to tissue damage [Perez-Molina & Molina, 2018]. Chronic infection often results in Chagasic cardiomyopathy or digestive tract abnormalities such as megaesophagus and megacolon [Bonney et al., 2019]. Current frontline therapies, benznidazole and nifurtimox, target the parasite's metabolic pathways but are limited by significant toxicity and a lack of efficacy in the late chronic stage of the disease [Bern, 2015].

Other names

Schizotrypanum cruziChagas parasite

Benznidazole is activated by parasite nitroreductases to form reactive intermediates that damage DNA and proteins [Hall & Wilkinson, 2012]. Nifurtimox undergoes nitroreduction to generate reactive oxygen species, leading to oxidative stress and parasite death [Maya et al., 2003].