Figure 1.

Serum proline in chagasic subjects. Serum samples were obtained from healthy and T. cruzi-infected patients from the Hospital Provincial del Centenario de Rosario (Rosario, Argentina). (A) All chagasic subjects (n = 83) were grouped and compared to uninfected healthy controls. (B) Chagasic subjects were divided into CA (n = 27), M/M (n = 26), and Sev (n = 30) groups and compared to controls. The control uninfected group was composed by T. cruzi-seronegative subjects (n = 29). The samples were submitted to a colorimetric test which uses the ninhydrin as proline marker (see Materials and Methods). The reading was carried out at 515 nm in a spectrophotometer. CCC, chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy; CA, chronic asymptomatic; M/M, mild and moderate; Sev, severe. Box plots show median values, 25–75th percentiles, and maximum and minimum values of the data from each group. The statistics were obtained by T-test (A), one-way ANOVA, and Tukey’s multiple comparison test (B), with differences being regarded as statistically different when p < 0.05. * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01