Kacey Caradonna, B.S., Microbiology,
University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH
Ph.D. Student in Immunology
E-mail: kacey.caradonna@tufts.edu

Trypanosoma cruzi, the agent of Chagas’ disease, can infect man to cause cardiomegaly, megaesophagus, and megacolon. It is therefore extraordinary that many patients remain infected for many years or even for life without presenting significant symptoms or pathological alterations. Although the reason for this latter behavior remains unknown, one possibility would be for T. cruzi to produce mimics of neurotrophic factors to promote tissue repair. My goal is to study the mechanism of action of one such mimic, called PDNF, and to determine whether PDNF works in vivo.