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Chagas disease, caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, affects millions of people, primarily in Latin America, and is increasingly being recognized as a global health concern. While current diagnostic methods can detect infection, monitoring disease progression and treatment effectiveness remains a major challenge. Traditional tools include serological tests, which measure antibodies against the parasite, and molecular tests, which detect parasite DNA in the blood. However, antibodies can remain positive for years even after successful treatment, and molecular tests may miss dormant parasites or low levels of parasitemia that can reactivate later.
To overcome these limitations, researchers at the Universitat de Barcelona are investigating host-derived biomarkers, molecules produced by the patient’s own body, as new tools to monitor Chagas disease more effectively. One particularly promising approach involves extracellular vesicles (EVs). These are tiny, double-membrane particles released by cells that carry proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids, reflecting the state of the cells they come from. Because EVs circulate in blood and other bodily fluids, they provide a real-time snapshot of the patient’s physiological condition, offering potential clues about disease progression and response to therapy.
Another key aspect of Chagas disease is hypercoagulability, or the tendency of blood to clot more easily. Chronic inflammation, immune system dysregulation, and damage to blood vessels can increase the risk of thrombotic events in infected individuals. By measuring markers such as F1 + 2 and endogenous thrombin potential, scientists can better understand how the parasite affects the body’s clotting system and how treatment may influence this risk.
The research team combines these approaches by analyzing both EVs and hypercoagulability markers in patients. EVs can carry molecular signals that indicate ongoing inflammation, immune responses, or tissue damage, while hypercoagulability markers reveal changes in the blood-clotting system. Together, these host-derived biomarkers provide a more complete picture of the patient’s condition than traditional diagnostics alone.
This new approach holds promise for personalized disease monitoring, allowing clinicians to:
- Identify patients at higher risk of complications such as thrombosis
- Track the effectiveness of antiparasitic treatments in real time
- Detect subtle changes in disease activity that might be missed by standard tests
By focusing on the patient’s own molecules, rather than just the parasite, scientists are shifting the paradigm from merely diagnosing Chagas disease to understanding and managing it at a molecular level. In the future, integrating EV analysis and hypercoagulability monitoring could help improve treatment strategies and patient outcomes, potentially making Chagas disease management more proactive and precise.
