Research article Increase of reactive oxygen species by desferrioxamine during experimental Chagas’ disease Amanda Fortes Francisco1, Paula Melo de Abreu Vieira1, Jerusa Marilda Arantes3,4, Maisa Silva2, Maria Lúcia Pedrosa2, Silvana Maria Elói-Santos5, Olindo Assis Martins-Filho3, Andréa Teixeira-Carvalho3, Márcio Sobreira Silva Araújo3, Washington Luiz Tafuri1, Cláudia Martins Carneiro1,6 1Laboratório de Imunopatologia and 2Laboratório de Bioquímica e Biologia Molecular, Núcleo de Pesquisas em Ciências Biológicas, Instituto de Ciências Exatas e Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Brazil 3Laboratório de Biomarcadores de Diagnóstico e Monitoração, Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou, Fundação Osvaldo Cruz, Belo Horizonte, Brazil 4Pós-Graduação em Patologia, and 5Departamento de Propedêutica Complementar, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil 6Departamento de Análises Clinicas, Escola de Farmácia, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Brazil Oxidative stress is common in inflammatory processes associated with many diseases including Chagas’ disease. The aim of the present study was to evaluate, in a murine model, biomarkers of oxidative stress together with components of the antioxidant system in order to provide an overview of the mechanism of action of the iron chelator desferrioxamine (DFO). The study population comprised 48 male Swiss mice, half of which were treated daily by intraperitoneal injection of DFO over a 35-day period, while half were administered sterile water in a similar manner. On the 14th day of the experiment, 12 DFO-treated mice and an equal number of untreated mice were experimentally infected with Trypanosoma cruzi. Serum concentrations of nitric oxide and superoxide dismutase and hepatic levels of total glutathione, thiobarbituric acid reactive species and protein carbonyl, were determined on days 0, 7, 14 and 21 post-infection. The results obtained revealed that DFO enhances antioxidant activity in the host but also increases oxidative stress, indicating that the mode of action of the drug involves a positive contribution to the host together with an effect that is not beneficial to the parasite. Keywords: desferrioxamine, oxidative stress, Chagas’ disease, Trypanosoma cruzi Abbreviations: DFO, desferrioxamine; dpi, days post-infection; GPx, glutathione peroxidase; GSH, reduced glutathione; GSSG, glutathione disulfide; GT, total glutathione; INT, infected with T. cruzi but not treated with DFO; IP, intraperitoneal; IT, infected with T. cruzi and treated with DFO; NIT, not infected with T. cruzi but treated with DFO; NINT, not infected with T. cruzi and not treated with DFO; NO, nitric oxide; NOS, nitric oxide synthase; PC, carbonyl protein; ROS, reactive oxygen species; SOD, superoxide dismutase; TBARS, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances; TNB, 5-thio-2-nitrobenzoic acid. Correspondence to: Dr C.M. Carneiro, Laboratório de Imunopatologia (sala 40, ICEB II), Nucleo de Pesquisas em Ciências Biológicas (NUPEB), Instituto de Ciências Exatas e Biológicas (ICEB), Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto (UFOP), Campus Universitário Morro do Cruzeiro, 35400-000 Ouro Preto, MG, Brazil. Tel: +55 31 35591694; Fax: +55 31 35591680; E-mail: carneirocm@gmail.com or carneiro@ef.ufop.br Received 13 February 2010, revised manuscript accepted 18 May 2010 © W. S. Maney and Son Ltd 2010 DOI 10.1179/174329210X12650506623528 MORE OpenChoice articles are open access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 3.0 Redox Report 2010 Vol 15 No 4 185