FIG 6.

Posaconazole has limited efficacy as a treatment for acute T. cruzi infections. Mice (n = 10) were infected with bioluminescent T. cruzi (Fig. 1; see also Materials and Methods) and treatment initiated at the peak of the acute stage, day 14. (A to D) Ventral (V) and dorsal (D) images of representative individual mice. (A) Infected, nontreated. (B) Treated with benznidazole at 100 mg/kg on days 14 to 33 postinfection and then immunosuppressed by 200 mg/kg cyclophosphamide treatment on days 49, 53, and 57. (C) Treated and cured with posaconazole (20 mg/kg; Noxafil formulation) on days 14 to 33 and immunosuppressed as described above. (D) Treated with posaconazole (Noxafil formulation) on days 14 to 33 and immunosuppressed as described above. A total of 16 of 19 posaconazole-treated mice were assessed as noncured. One mouse did not become infected and was excluded from the study. (E) Ex vivo imaging of organs and tissues obtained from mice on days 74 to 79, as indicated, after drug treatment and immunosuppression. Organs and tissues were arranged as in Fig. 1Ev. Heat-maps are on log₁₀ scales and indicate the intensity of bioluminescence from low (blue) to high (red).