Case Report: High Mannose-Binding Lectin Serum Determined by MBL2 Genotype and Risk for Clinical Progression to Chagasic Cardiomyopathy: A Case Report of Three Patients

Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2019 Jan;100(1):93-96. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.17-0701.

Abstract

Chagas disease (CD), caused by infection with the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, leads to severe cardiomyopathy in 20-30% of patients, whereas the remainder may stay asymptomatic and never develop cardiomyopathy or other clinical manifestations. The underlying cause for this variable outcome is not fully characterized, although previous studies have found high levels of circulating mannose-binding lectin (MBL) to be associated with cardiac failure echocardiographic changes. We report three indeterminate (asymptomatic) chronic Chagas patients who were followed up for 10 years. Two of these patients developed chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy (CCC) during this follow-up period and, when genotyped, were found to be carriers of the high MBL producer HYPA/HYPA genotype, suggesting that genetically determined high MBL serum might be associated with the risk of CCC development. These results suggest the use of MBL quantification and MBL2 genotyping as tools for clinical assessment in patients with chronic CD.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Asymptomatic Infections
  • Brazil
  • Chagas Cardiomyopathy / diagnosis*
  • Chagas Cardiomyopathy / etiology
  • Chronic Disease
  • Disease Progression*
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
  • Female
  • Genetic Predisposition to Disease
  • Genotype
  • Humans
  • Mannose-Binding Lectin / blood*
  • Mannose-Binding Lectin / genetics*
  • Middle Aged
  • Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
  • Trypanosoma cruzi

Substances

  • MBL2 protein, human
  • Mannose-Binding Lectin