In vitro interaction of polyethylene glycol‐block‐poly (D,L‐lactide) nanocapsule devices with host cardiomyoblasts and trypanosoma cruzi‐infective forms.

Abstract

Chagas disease, caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, is an important public health problem in Latin America. Nanoencapsulation of anti-T. cruzi drugs has signifcantly improved their efcacy and reduced cardiotoxicity. Thus, we

investigated the in vitro interaction of polyethylene glycol-block-poly(D,L-lactide) nanocapsules (PEG-PLA) with trypomas- tigotes and with intracellular amastigotes of the Y strain in cardiomyoblasts, which are the infective forms of T. cruzi, using

fuorescence and confocal microscopy. Fluorescently labeled nanocapsules (NCs) were internalized by non-infected H9c2 cells toward the perinuclear region. The NCs did not induce signifcant cytotoxicity in the H9c2 cells, even at the highest

concentrations and interacted equally with infected and non-infected cells. In infected cardiomyocytes, NCs were distrib- uted in the cytoplasm and located near intracellular amastigote forms. PEG-PLA NCs and trypomastigote form interactions

also occurred. Altogether, this study contributes to the development of engineered polymeric nanocarriers as a platform to encapsulate drugs and to improve their uptake by diferent intra- and extracellular forms of T. cruzi, paving the way to fnd new therapeutic strategies to fght the causative agent of Chagas disease.