In vitro effects of suramin on Trypanosoma cruzi.

Suramin has been previously reported to inhibit distinct cellular enzymes and to affect the synthesis and distribution of cytoskeleton proteins, cell differentiation and proliferation. The present study indicates that prolonged incubation of Trypanosoma cruzi-infected cells in the presence of 500 microM suramin during intracellular development of the parasite causes morphological changes in amastigote and trypomastigote forms related to the cell division and differentiation process. Our results also show that trypomastigotes obtained from suramin-treated host cells were significantly less infective than control parasites and that amastigotes derived from those trypomastigote forms were less proliferative.