Effect of poly-L-lysine and neuraminidase on the infectivity of Trypanosoma cruzi in cultured HeLa cells.

The percentage of parasitisation and index of adherence of Trypanosoma cruzi has been studied when host HeLa cells or metacyclic forms were pretreated with neuraminidase or with poly-L-lysine. The percentage of parasitisation was significatively reduced (P less than or equal to 0.001) when cells were pretreated with poly-L-lysine while pretreatment with neuraminidase caused no apparent effects. On the other hand, the adherence of the metacyclic forms pretreated with poly-L-lysine or neuraminidase was significantly higher than that of the control group.