One fate of bloodstream trypomastigote forms of Trypanosoma cruzi after immune clearance: an ultrastructural study.

The fate of bloodstream forms of Trypanosoma cruzi in tissues of mice was studied after immune elimination from circulation. Observations using transmission electron microscopy showed platelet thrombi occluding small vessels in the lung, liver, and spleen, and phagocytosed parasites in different stages of destruction within macrophages, neutrophils, and eosinophils. It is suggested that no particular cell population is a potential effector, but that different cells act in concert to destroy the parasites. The mechanism of this destruction might be related to intra- and extracellular mechanisms with trypanolytic activity.