Male and female out bred young rabbits (1-2 months of age) inoculated with trypomastigote forms of the Colombia strain of T. cruzi have been shown to develop cardiac pathologic changes, besides parasitologícal and immunological features, very similar to those observed in both acute and chronic phases of Chagas' disease in man. In the acute phase the cardiac syndrome is characterized grossly by slight cardiomegaly, with dilatation of the right chambers and microscopically by discretefocal myocarditis: in the chronic phase, by moderate ormarked cardiomegaly, with hypertrophy and dilatation of all chambers, and thinning of the ventricularapex (apical aneurysm), particularly of the left ventricle, andstriking focal myocarditis, with areas of myocytolytic necrosis and degeneration ofmyofibers, with concurrent inflammatory response, predominantly composed of lymphocytes, and interstitial fibrosis. The accurate reproduction of the cardiac disease in a relatively short period, the simplicity, availability and long survival of the animal, and the low costs make this animal model suitable for studies on pathology and treatment of chagasic cardiopathy.
Trypanosoma cruzi; Rabbit; Chagasic cardiopathy; Chagas' disease; Experimental model