Cryptic infections in mice with the trypanosoma cruzi CL-14 clone

The CL-14 clone was obtained from Trypanosoma cruzi CL strain by CHIARI and under certain culture conditions can present high metacyclogenesis rates, but its metacyclics have been considered noninfective for mice, as evaluated by parasitemia, hemoculture and xenodiagnosis, and also unable to determine tissue parasitism or histopathological lesions, despite heavy inocula used in attempts to infect the animals. Otherwise, mice inoculated with those metacyclics showed high resistance when challenged with a virulent T. cruzi strain. Then, this clone was considered a good antigen to study acquired immunity against T. cruzi, as well as a potential candidate for development of a vaccine against this parasite.