Effect of <i>T. cruzi</i> parasite loads on cytokine and nitric oxide production in kidney tissues.

<p>C57BL/6 mice were challenged with low, medium and high loads of blood trypomastigotes. At 6, 9, 12 and 18 days post-infection they were euthanized and their kidneys were removed to measure the concentrations of cytokines and nitric oxide. The cytokines TNF-α (A–D), IFN-γ (E–H) and IL-10 (I–L) were measured according to the manufacturer’s instructions, using commercially available ELISA kits. For measurement of nitric oxide, the Griess reaction was used. The absorbance was read at 570 nm. *p≤0.05 indicates a significant difference when animals from the medium and highly infected groups were compared to the uninfected control mice.