Early cytochemical changes in the hearts of rats infected with Trypanosoma cruzi

Abstract
Histochemical alterations in the myocardium of rats infected with T. cruzi and killed at regular intervals between 4 and 29 days were studied. The objects of study were: glycogen, phosphorylases, cholinesterases, non-specific esterases, monoamine-oxidase and ATP-ase as marker of muscle fibre activity; alkaline phosphatase as a marker of endothelial activity, NADH and NADPH diaphorases, ubiquinone, cytochrome oxidase, and succinoxidase as a marker of mitochondria in the neurons and the muscle fibres; and esterases, aminopeptidase, and acid phosphatase as lysosomal enzymes. Observations were also made on the staining of RNA and DNA by Acridine Orange.