FIG. 6.

The presence of PAF decreases the release of parasites from infected macrophages. C3H/HeJ-derived peritoneal macrophages were infected with T. cruzi trypomastigotes (Y strain) at a parasite-to-host-cell ratio of 1:1 in a humidified chamber containing 5% CO₂ at 37°C. Two hours later, extracellular parasites were removed and the infected cells were incubated with medium alone (Med), PAF (10⁻⁷ M), or IFN-γ (100 U/ml). On day 5 postinfection, the parasites released into the medium were counted. Bars represent the mean and SD of triplicate samples and are representative of three independent experiments. ∗, P < 0.05 compared to the values obtained with infected cells cultured in medium alone.