PRL and infection: Interestingly, in addition to increasing systemicGCs levels, infection affects PRL contents, another stress hormone that seems to counteract certainGC effects in the immune system [17], [18].During T. cruzi infection, although the increased circulating levels of GCs can beprotective by impeding an exacerbated production of pro-inflammatory cytokines (which might driveinfection to a lethal course), they also induce deleterious effects upon thymus, particularly bytriggering apoptosis of developing thymocytes [19].