Kinetics of Biomarkers for Therapeutic Assessment in Swiss Mice Infected with a Virulent Trypanosoma cruzi Strain

Alves-Rosa, María Fernanda; Dorta, Doriana; Prescilla-Ledezma, Alexa; Carrasco, Jafeth; Bonner, Leighanne; Tamayo, Jon J.; Ng, Michelle G.; Vega, Adelenis; Morales, Melany; Beltran, Davis; De Jesús, Rosa; Spadafora, Carmenza

doi:10.3390/pathogens15010107

Open AccessArticle

Kinetics of Biomarkers for Therapeutic Assessment in Swiss Mice Infected with a Virulent Trypanosoma cruzi Strain

by

María Fernanda Alves-Rosa

^1,2,†

,

Doriana Dorta

^1,†

,

Alexa Prescilla-Ledezma

^2,3

,

Jafeth Carrasco

^1,4

,

Leighanne Bonner

^1,5,

Jon J. Tamayo

^1,5,

Michelle G. Ng

¹

,

Adelenis Vega

^1,6

,

Melany Morales

^1,6

,

Davis Beltran

⁷

,

Rosa De Jesús

^2,8

and

Carmenza Spadafora

^1,2,*

¹

Division of Human Health and Diseases, Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Servicios de Alta Tecnología (INDICASAT AIP), Panama 0843, Panama

²

Sistema Nacional de Investigación (SNI), Secretaría Nacional de Ciencia Tecnología e Innovación (SENACYT), Panama 0843, Panama

³

Facultad de Medicina, Departamento de Microbiología Humana, Universidad de Panamá, Panama 0801, Panama

⁴

Medical Microspectroscopy Research Group, Department of Experimental Medical Science, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, 22184 Lund, Sweden

⁵

Escuela de Biotecnología, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Latina de Panamá, Panama 0823, Panama

⁶

Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Exactas y Tecnología, Departamento de Genética y Biología Molecular, Universidad de Panamá, Panama 0801, Panama

⁷

Flow Cytometry Core, GMIHS, Gorgas Memorial Institute of Health Sciences, Panama 0816, Panama

⁸

Bioterio, Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Servicios de Alta Tecnología (INDICASAT AIP), Panama 0843, Panama

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

These authors contributed equally to this work.

Pathogens 2026, 15(1), 107; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens15010107

Submission received: 23 November 2025 / Revised: 1 January 2026 / Accepted: 6 January 2026 / Published: 19 January 2026

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights into Protozoa Parasites: Essential Processes and Drug Targets)

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Abstract

Chagas disease (CD), caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, is a neglected tropical illness affecting 6–8 million people in Latin America. Reaching scholarly consensus on the host response to T. cruzi infection remains a significant challenge, primarily due to substantial heterogeneity in outcomes driven by both the choice of animal model and the infecting parasite’s discrete typing unit (DTU). This variability complicates the evaluation and comparison of new therapeutic compounds against existing drugs, namely benznidazole and nifurtimox. This study provides a comprehensive, kinetic, multifaceted characterization of the acute infection using the highly virulent T. cruzi Y strain (TcII) in outbred Swiss mice. Here, crucial infection parameters are presented, including the optimal infective dose, the parasitemia dynamics, tissue damage markers, hematological profiles, cytokine production (Th1/Th2/Th17/Th22), and molecular parasite identification in target organs (heart, colon, esophagus, spleen, and liver) across the span of the infection. The novelty of this study lies in the kinetic integration of these parameters within a defined model; rather than presenting isolated data points, we demonstrate how the biochemical, physiological, and clinical signs and immunological responses, with the resulting organ involvement, evolve and interact over time. To complete the report, a necropsy evaluation was performed at the end of the acute, fatal infection, and it is presented here. This study fulfills a long-standing recommendation from diverse drug discovery groups for the creation of a definitive reference model to standardize preclinical testing for anti-Chagasic agents.

Keywords: T. cruzi; chagas disease; Swiss mice; animal model

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MDPI and ACS Style

Alves-Rosa, M.F.; Dorta, D.; Prescilla-Ledezma, A.; Carrasco, J.; Bonner, L.; Tamayo, J.J.; Ng, M.G.; Vega, A.; Morales, M.; Beltran, D.; et al. Kinetics of Biomarkers for Therapeutic Assessment in Swiss Mice Infected with a Virulent Trypanosoma cruzi Strain. Pathogens 2026, 15, 107. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens15010107

AMA Style

Alves-Rosa MF, Dorta D, Prescilla-Ledezma A, Carrasco J, Bonner L, Tamayo JJ, Ng MG, Vega A, Morales M, Beltran D, et al. Kinetics of Biomarkers for Therapeutic Assessment in Swiss Mice Infected with a Virulent Trypanosoma cruzi Strain. Pathogens. 2026; 15(1):107. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens15010107

Chicago/Turabian Style

Alves-Rosa, María Fernanda, Doriana Dorta, Alexa Prescilla-Ledezma, Jafeth Carrasco, Leighanne Bonner, Jon J. Tamayo, Michelle G. Ng, Adelenis Vega, Melany Morales, Davis Beltran, and et al. 2026. "Kinetics of Biomarkers for Therapeutic Assessment in Swiss Mice Infected with a Virulent Trypanosoma cruzi Strain" Pathogens 15, no. 1: 107. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens15010107

APA Style

Alves-Rosa, M. F., Dorta, D., Prescilla-Ledezma, A., Carrasco, J., Bonner, L., Tamayo, J. J., Ng, M. G., Vega, A., Morales, M., Beltran, D., De Jesús, R., & Spadafora, C. (2026). Kinetics of Biomarkers for Therapeutic Assessment in Swiss Mice Infected with a Virulent Trypanosoma cruzi Strain. Pathogens, 15(1), 107. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens15010107

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Kinetics of Biomarkers for Therapeutic Assessment in Swiss Mice Infected with a Virulent Trypanosoma cruzi Strain

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