Kinetoplastids: related protozoan pathogens, different diseases
J. Clin. Invest. Ken Stuart, et al. 118:1301 doi:10.1172/JCI33945 [
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Figure 2Life cycle of
T. cruzi.
Persistent infection with
T. cruzi causes Chagas disease. The parasite is transmitted to humans by infected blood-sucking Triatominae insects, which deposit trypomastigotes in their feces during feeding. The trypomastigotes enter the wound and invade nearby cells, within which they differentiate into intracellular amastigotes that multiply by binary fission. The amastigotes differentiate into trypomastigotes, which are released into the bloodstream and infect cells of multiple organs and tissues, including the heart, gut, CNS, smooth muscle, and adipose tissue and once again become amastigotes. The Triatominae insects become infected when they take a parasite-containing blood meal from an infected human or animal. The trypomastigotes undergo morphological and physiological transformations in the midgut of the vector and differentiate into infective trypomastigotes in the hindgut. Image modified with permission from Alexander J. da Silva and Melanie Moser, Centers for Disease Control Public Health Image Library.
