Trypanosoma rangeli: Effects of physalin B on the immune reactions of the infected larvae of Rhodnius prolixus

Physalins are seco-steroids obtained from plants of the family Solanaceae. Herein, we tested Physalis angulata L purified physalin B as an immunomodulatory compound in 5th-instar larvae of Rhodnius prolixus, which were systemically infected with the H14 Trypanosoma rangeli strain protozoan. In uninfected insects, the effective concentration of physalin B, which inhibited 50% of the blood ingested (ED50) volume, was 15.2 ± 1.6 μg/ml of the meal. Ecdysis processes and mortality in uninfected larvae, treated orally with physalin B in concentrations ranging from 1 to 10 μg/ml, was similar to that observed in insects not treated with physalin B. However, R. prolixus larvae previously fed on blood containing 1.0, 0.1, and 0.01 μg of physalin B/ml exhibited mortality rates of 78.1, 54.3, and 12.7%, respectively, 6 days after inoculation of T. rangeli (1 × 103 parasites/insect), whereas only 7.2% mortality was observed in the control group, injected with sterile culture medium. The insects treated with physalin B (0.1 μg/ml) and inoculated with T. rangeli did not modify the phenoloxidase (PO) activity and total hemocyte count in the hemolymph. However, physalin B treatment caused a reduction in hemocyte microaggregation and nitric oxide production and enhanced the parasitemia in the hemolymph. These results demonstrate that physalin B from P. angulata is a potent immunomodulatory substance for the bloodsucking insect, R. prolixus.