BABOON MODEL FOR THE GENETICS OF CHAGAS DISEASE

这个子项目是利用由NIH/NCRR资助的中心拨款提供的资源的许多研究子项目之一。子项目和调查员(PI)可能从另一个NIH来源获得了主要资金，因此可能会出现在其他CRISE条目中。列出的机构是针对中心的，而不一定是针对调查员的机构。恰加斯病是一种地方性人畜共患病，流行于中南美洲和美国南部。恰加斯病的病原体是原生动物寄生虫克氏锥虫，它通过昆虫媒介传播给脊椎动物宿主。恰加斯病是一个严重的公共卫生问题，它是中南美洲心脏病和心血管疾病死亡的主要原因，只有疟疾和血吸虫病造成了更大的热带疾病负担。据估计，拉丁美洲有161800万人感染这种疾病，1.2亿人面临感染的风险。大约27%的感染者会出现心脏症状，9%的病例会进展到胃肠道或周围神经系统受累。没有预防感染的疫苗，也没有安全有效的治疗药物。据估计，至少有10万名感染者居住在美国，这引发了人们对血液和组织库安全的公共卫生担忧。在德克萨斯州圣安东尼奥的西南生物医学研究基金会(Southwest Foundation For Biomedical Research)，一个庞大的、纯种的狒狒群体，其中许多是自然感染克氏锥虫的，提供了一个机会，将狒狒发展为研究人类恰加斯病遗传学的灵长类动物模型。

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Chagas disease is a zoonotic disease endemic to Central and South America and the southern US. The causative agent of Chagas disease is the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which is transmitted to vertebrate hosts via an insect vector. Chagas disease is a serious public health issue¿it is the leading cause of heart disease and cardiovascular death in Central and South America, and only malaria and schistosomiasis pose greater tropical disease burdens. The disease is estimated to infect 16¿18 million people in Latin America, and 120 million people are at risk of becoming infected. About 27% of those infected will develop cardiac symptoms, and 9% of cases progress to gastrointestinal or peripheral nervous system involvement. There are no vaccines to prevent infection, and no safe and effective drugs for therapy. It is estimated that at least 100,000 infected persons reside in the United States, raising public health concerns regarding the safety of blood and tissue banks. At Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (San Antonio, TX) a large, pedigreed colony of baboons, many of which have become infected naturally with T. cruzi, has provided an opportunity to develop the baboon as a primate model for studying the genetics of Chagas disease in humans.