A guide for the generation of repositories of clinical samples for research on Chagas disease
Chagas disease, caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, affects over 6 million people, mainly in Latin America. Two different clinical phases, acute and chronic, are recognised. Currently, 2 anti-parasitic drugs are available to treat the disease (nifurtimox and benznidazole), but diagnostic methods require of a relatively complex infrastructure and trained personnel, limiting its widespread use in endemic areas, and the access of patients to treatment. New diagnostic methods, such as rapid tests (RDTs) to diagnose chronic Chagas disease, or loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), to detect acute infections, represent valuable alternatives, but the parasite's remarkable genetic diversity might make its implementation difficult. Furthermore, determining the efficacy of Chagas disease treatment is complicated, given the slow reversion of serological anti-T. cruzi antibody reactivity, which may even take decades to occur. New biomarkers to evaluate early therapeutic efficacy, as well as diagnostic tests able to detect the wide variety of circulating genotypes, are therefore, urgently required. To carry out studies that address these needs, high-quality and traceable samples from T. cruzi-infected individuals with different geographical backgrounds, along with associated clinical and epidemiological data, are necessary. This work describes the framework for the creation of such repositories, following standardised and uniform protocols, and considering the ethical, technical, and logistic aspects of the process. The manual can be adapted according to the resources of each laboratory, to guarantee that samples are obtained in a reproducible way, favouring the exchange of data among different work groups, and their generalizable evaluation and analysis. The main objective of this is to accelerate the development of new diagnostic methods and the identification of biomarkers for Chagas disease.
Authors
- Óscar Noya-González
- Gimena Rojas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9070-6477)
- Joaquím Gascón (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5045-1585)
- Ivan Scandale (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4242-9289)
- Tânia Cremonini de Araújo-Jorge (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8233-5845)
- Alejandro Marcel Hasslocher‐Moreno (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5430-7222)
- Julio Alonso-Padilla (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4466-7969)
- Janine M. Ramsey (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5950-0830)
- Faustino Torrico (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5609-1824)
- Irene Losada (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5122-2039)
- Juan Carlos Gabaldón-Figueira (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2525-0263)
- Adriana González Martínez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7221-2377)
- Manuel Carlos López (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0002-3678)
- Alejandro G. Schijman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9805-3415)
- Roberto Magalhães Saraiva (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2263-4261)
- Nieves Martínez-Peinado (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7107-5374)
- Rosa A. Maldonado (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3180-7192)
- Fernán Agüero (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1331-5741)
- Belkisyolé Alarcón de Noya (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3139-7480)
- Jimmy Pinto
- María‐Jesús Pinazo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4237-1075)
- Roberto Rodrigues Ferreira (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5010-7007)
- M. Carmen Thomas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3586-9657)
- Andrea A. Gómez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9724-2847)
- Andrés M. Ruiz
- Soledad Berón
Institutions
- Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (CH)
- Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (ES)
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (AR)
- The University of Texas at El Paso (US)
- National University of General San Martín (AR)
- Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ES)
- Universidad Mayor de San Simón (BO)
- National Institute of Infectious Diseases (JP)
- Centro Científico Tecnológico - San Juan (AR)
- Hospital Universitario 12 De Octubre (ES)
- Ministerio de Salud (AR)
- Administración Nacional de Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud (AR)
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red (ES)
- Fundación Pro Salud y Medio Ambiente (AR)
- Ministerio del Poder Popular para la Educación Universitaria, Ciencia y Tecnología (VE)
- Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública (MX)
- Centro de Investigación en Materiales Avanzados (MX)
- Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ES)
- Instituto de Parasitología y Biomedicina "López - Neyra" (ES)
- Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (BR)
- Experimental Medicine and Biology Institute (AR)
- Universitat de Barcelona (ES)
- Universidad Central de Venezuela (VE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- PLoS neglected tropical diseases
- Published
- 2024-08-15
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0012166
- Citations
- 4
- Primary Topic
- Trypanosoma species research and implications
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.55
Funders
- “la Caixa” Foundation
- Centres de Recerca de Catalunya
- Generalitat de Catalunya
- Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación
- Fundación Mundo Sano
- Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative
- Fundación Bancaria Caixa d'Estalvis i Pensions de Barcelona
- Departament de Salut, Generalitat de Catalunya
- Agencia Estatal de Investigación