PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Kristyn Hoffman
AU  - Zongyuan Liu
AU  - Ekram Hossain
AU  - Maria Elena Bottazzi
AU  - Peter Hotez
AU  - Kathryn Jones
AU  - Laura-Isobel McCall
TI  - Alterations to the cardiac metabolome induced by chronic <em>T. cruzi</em> infection relate to the degree of cardiac pathology
AID  - 10.1101/2020.09.17.300608
DP  - 2020 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 2020.09.17.300608
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/09/17/2020.09.17.300608.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/09/17/2020.09.17.300608.full
AB  - Chronic Chagasic cardiomyopathy (CCC) is a Neglected Tropical Disease caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. The pathognomonic findings in symptomatic CCC patients and animal models includes diffuse cardiac fibrosis and persistent inflammation with persistent parasite presence in the heart. This study investigated chemical alterations in different regions of the heart in relation to cardiac pathology indicators to better understand the long-term pathogenesis of this neglected disease. We used data from echocardiography, fibrosis biomarkers, and histopathological analysis to fully evaluate cardiac pathology. Metabolites isolated from the pericardial and endocardial sides of the right ventricular myocardium were analyzed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. The endocardial sections contained significantly less cardiac inflammation and fibrosis than the pericardial sections. Cardiac levels of acylcarnitines, phosphocholines, and other metabolites were significantly disrupted in accordance with cardiac fibrosis, inflammation, and serum fibrosis biomarker levels. These findings have potential implications in treatment and monitoring for CCC patients.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.