Trypanosoma cruzi Infection in Non-Human Primates

Abstract

Abstract For decades, non-human primates (NHPs) have been employed as experimental models to study many aspects of human diseases. They are the closest genetically to humans of any of the models applied in biomedical research; therefore, many authors have published scientific work regarding these animals and infectious diseases, including tuberculosis, AIDS, and tropical diseases. Among these, Chagas disease has caught the attention of many researchers all over the world. Recent studies have demonstrated great similarities with the human pathology, including cardiomyopathy and exacerbated pro- inflammatory response. Besides being genetically close to humans, NHP have a great probability to be naturally infected by Trypanosoma cruzi, which turns them into more interesting models to study Chagas disease mechanisms. Keywords: