Abstract Background:

Different immune mechanisms of myocardial damage involved in the pathophysiology of Chagas disease coexist with high titers of autoantibodies induced by T. cruzi . There are few studies in the literature about the adaptive role of anti-β1 and anti-M2 antibodies in chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy (CCC).

Objectives:

To evaluate the association between anti-β1 and anti-M2 antibodies with heart rate variability (HRV) parameters on 24h Holter monitoring and the rate-pressure product (RPP) on cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET).

Methods:

Anti-β1 and anti-M2 antibody titers were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 64 patients affected by CCC. Analysis of HRV was performed through the time-domain indices NNs, mean NN, SDNN, SDANN, SDNN index, NNNs, RMSSD, and pNN50. Spearman's correlation coefficient was used to assess the association between antibody titers and numerical variables. The Mann-Whitney test was used for comparison between two groups. Multiple linear regression was used to identify independent variables capable of explaining anti-β1 and anti-M2 antibody titers at the 5% significance level.

Results:

On 24h Holter, during the period of greatest parasympathetic activation (2:00-6:00 a.m.), an inverse association was found between anti-β1 titers and SDNN (rs=-0.13, p =0.041, n=43), as well as a direct association between anti-M2 titers and SDANN ( r s=0.317, p =0.039, n=43). Regarding CPET variables, anti-β1 titers were directly associated with RPP (rs=0.371, p =0.005, n=56). The subgroup of patients with a normal chronotropic response showed higher anti-β1 titers than the subgroup with an impaired response (p=0.023). RPP was an independent explanatory variable for anti-β1 titers, although with a low coefficient of determination (R2=0.147).

Conclusion:

The findings of this study suggest that, in patients with CCC, anti-β1 and anti-M2 antibodies may affect HRV parameters. RPP was directly associated with higher anti-β1 titers.