Simvastatin Improves Cardiac Function through Notch 1 Activation in BALB/c Mice with Chronic Chagas Cardiomyopathy

Abstract

Chagas disease, caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi , endemic in Latin America but distributed worldwide because of migration. Without appropriate treatment, the disease progresses from an acute asymptomatic phase to a chronic, progressive inflammatory cardiomyopathy causing heart failure and death. Despite specific trypanocidal therapy, heart damage progression cannot be stopped or reversed. Statins, as part of their pleiotropic actions, can modulate chagasic myocarditis by inducing the production of 15-epi-lipoxin A 4 (15-epi-LXA 4 ), a proresolution lipid mediator in inflammation.