The Leishmania promastigote surface antigen 2 complex is differentially expressed during the parasite life cycle

1995 ◽  
Vol 74 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emanuela Handman ◽  
Amelia H. Osborn ◽  
Fiona Symons ◽  
Rosemary van Driel ◽  
Roberto Cappai
2007 ◽  
Vol 117 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leticia Pérez-Díaz ◽  
María Ana Duhagon ◽  
Pablo Smircich ◽  
José Sotelo-Silveira ◽  
Carlos Robello ◽  
...  

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Borka Jojic ◽  
Simona Amodeo ◽  
Torsten Ochsenreiter

1.SummaryIn Trypanosoma brucei we identified two TCTP genes differentially expressed during the parasite life cycle and discovered the mechanism by which this expression is controlled. Furthermore, we demonstrate that TCTP is important for cell growth as well as proper cell and organelle morphology in the insect form of the parasite.2.AbstractTCTP is a highly conserved protein ubiquitously expressed in eukaryotes. Studies have reported TCTP to be involved in growth and development, cell cycle progression, protection against cellular stresses and apoptosis, indicating the multifunctional role of the protein. Here, for the first time we characterize the expression and function of TCTP in the unicellular parasite Trypanosoma brucei. We identified two paralogue TCTP genes, which we named TbTCTP1 and TbTCTP2. They have identical 5’UTRs and only ten single nucleotide polymorphisms in the open reading frames (ORFs). However, the 3’UTRs differ dramatically in sequence and length. We found that the two TCTP mRNAs are differentially expressed during T. brucei life cycle. While procyclic form trypanosomes (PCF) express TCTP1, the bloodstream form trypanosomes (BSF), express TCTP2. We link the differential expression to the distinct 3’UTRs of the paralogues. In PCF cells, the protein appears to localize in the cytosol. We show that TCTP1 is essential for normal cell growth and has pleiotropic effects on the cells including aberrant cell morphology, enlarged and reduced number of acidocalcisomes and appearance of accumulations in the mitochondria.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Ballesteros-Rodea ◽  
M. Santillán ◽  
S. Martínez-Calvillo ◽  
R. Manning-Cela

The hemoflagellateTrypanosoma cruziis the causative agent of American trypanosomiasis. Despite the importance of motility in the parasite life cycle, little is known aboutT. cruzimotility, and there is no quantitative description of its flagellar beating. Using video microscopy and quantitative vectorial analysis of epimastigote trajectories, we find a forward parasite motility defined by tip-to-base symmetrical flagellar beats. This motion is occasionally interrupted by base-to-tip highly asymmetric beats, which represent the ciliary beat of trypanosomatid flagella. The switch between flagellar and ciliary beating facilitates the parasite's reorientation, which produces a large variability of movement and trajectories that results in different distance ranges traveled by the cells. An analysis of the distance, speed, and rotational angle indicates that epimastigote movement is not completely random, and the phenomenon is highly dependent on the parasite behavior and is characterized by directed and tumbling parasite motion as well as their combination, resulting in the alternation of rectilinear and intricate motility paths.


2006 ◽  
Vol 89 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
GÉRALDINE LOOT ◽  
YOUNG-SEUK PARK ◽  
SOVAN LEK ◽  
SÉBASTIEN BROSSE

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Williams ◽  
Xiulian Yu ◽  
Tao Ni ◽  
Robert Gilbert ◽  
Phillip Stansfeld

Perforin-like proteins (PLPs) play key roles in the mechanisms associated with parasitic disease caused by apicomplexans such as Plasmodium (malaria) and Toxoplasma. The T. gondii PLP1 (TgPLP1) mediates tachyzoite egress from cells, while the five Plasmodium PLPs carry out various roles in the life cycle of the parasite and with respect to the molecular basis of disease. Here we focus on Plasmodium vivax PLP1 and PLP2 (PvPLP1 and PvPLP2) compared to TgPLP1; PvPLP1 is important for invasion of mammalian hosts by the parasite and establishment of a chronic infection, PvPLP2 is important during the symptomatic blood stage of the parasite life cycle. Determination of the crystal structure of the membrane-binding APCβ domain of PvPLP1 reveals notable differences with that of TgPLP1, which are reflected in its inability to bind lipid bilayers in the way that TgPLP1 and PvPLP2 can be shown to. Molecular dynamics simulations combined with site-directed mutagenesis and functional assays allow a dissection of the binding interactions of TgPLP1 and PvPLP2 on lipid bilayers, and reveal a similar tropism for lipids found enriched in the inner leaflet of the mammalian plasma membrane. In addition to this shared mode of membrane binding PvPLP2 displays a secondary synergistic interaction side-on from its principal bilayer interface. This study underlines the substantial differences between the biophysical properties of the APCβ domains of Apicomplexan PLPs, which reflect their significant sequence diversity. Such differences will be important factors in determining the cell targeting and membrane-binding activity of the different proteins, in their different developmental roles within parasite life cycles.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-11
Author(s):  
Juliana Gao ◽  
Vera Tešić ◽  
Vesna Petronić Rosić

Abstract Botfly myiasis is an infestation of the skin or a body cavity by developing larvae of Dermatobia hominis, one of the most common flies that cause human infestation among the local population, in regions ranging from Mexico into South America and in travelers. The life cycle starts when a female fly glues the eggs to the vector, a blood-sucking arthropod, which carries the unhatched larvae to the susceptible host. A case of furuncular botfly myiasis in an 85 year-old female with recent travel to Belize is presented here to highlight the parasite life cycle and review the different treatment options.


2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen M. Taylor ◽  
Louisa McRobert ◽  
Munira Grainger ◽  
Audrey Sicard ◽  
Anton R. Dluzewski ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT A role for the Plasmodium falciparum cyclic GMP (cGMP)-dependent protein kinase (PfPKG) in gametogenesis in the malaria parasite was elucidated previously. In the present study we examined the role of PfPKG in the asexual blood-stage of the parasite life cycle, the stage that causes malaria pathology. A specific PKG inhibitor (compound 1, a trisubstituted pyrrole) prevented the progression of P. falciparum schizonts through to ring stages in erythrocyte invasion assays. Addition of compound 1 to ring-stage parasites allowed normal development up to 30 h postinvasion, and segmented schizonts were able to form. However, synchronized schizonts treated with compound 1 for ≥6 h became large and dysmorphic and were unable to rupture or liberate merozoites. To conclusively demonstrate that the effect of compound 1 on schizogony was due to its selective action on PfPKG, we utilized genetically manipulated P. falciparum parasites expressing a compound 1-insensitive PfPKG. The mutant parasites were able to complete schizogony in the presence of compound 1 but not in the presence of the broad-spectrum protein kinase inhibitor staurosporine. This shows that PfPKG is the primary target of compound 1 during schizogony and provides direct evidence of a role for PfPKG in this process. Discovery of essential roles for the P. falciparum PKG in both asexual and sexual development demonstrates that cGMP signaling is a key regulator of both of these crucial life cycle phases and defines this molecule as an exciting potential drug target for both therapeutic and transmission blocking action against malaria.


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