scholarly journals Purification and assembly in vitro of tubulin from Trypanosoma brucei brucei

1990 ◽  
Vol 265 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
T H MacRae ◽  
K Gull
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Trypanosoma Brucei ◽  
Purification Procedure ◽  
Polyacrylamide Gels ◽  
Trypanosoma Brucei Brucei ◽  
Alpha Tubulin ◽  
One Dimensional ◽  
Immunological Analysis ◽  
Selection Of

Trypanosome tubulin was purified to near homogeneity by chromatography on DEAE-Sephadex, Amicon filtration and assembly-disassembly in vitro. Polymerization of the tubulin in vitro yielded long, structurally normal, microtubules and some sheet structures on addition of GTP and incubation at 37 degrees C, in either the presence or the absence of Mg2+. Tubulin assembly was disrupted by glycerol and a selection of microtubule-reactive drugs. Immunological analysis of the purified tubulin revealed tyrosinated and acetylated alpha-tubulin, in addition to defining the migration characteristics of the alpha- and beta-tubulin on one-dimensional SDS/polyacrylamide gels. This is the first isolation of trypanosome tubulin with the ability to form structurally normal microtubules independent of the addition of taxol or nucleating microtubule fragments. The development of the purification procedure thus provides an important step for subsequent study of microtubule-associated protein-tubulin and plasma-membrane-microtubule cytoskeleton interactions of trypanosomes, and increases the potential for development of tubulin-based anti-trypanosome drugs.

scholarly journals Cross-Resistance to Nitro Drugs and Implications for Treatment of Human African Trypanosomiasis

2010 ◽  
Vol 54 (7) ◽  
pp. 2893-2900 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antoaneta Y. Sokolova ◽  
Susan Wyllie ◽  
Stephen Patterson ◽  
Sandra L. Oza ◽  
Kevin D. Read ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Trypanosoma Brucei ◽  
Human African Trypanosomiasis ◽  
Parent Drug ◽  
Cross Resistance ◽  
Pharmacokinetic Studies ◽  
African Trypanosomiasis ◽  
Trypanosoma Brucei Brucei ◽  
Resistant Lines

ABSTRACT The success of nifurtimox-eflornithine combination therapy (NECT) for the treatment of human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) has renewed interest in the potential of nitro drugs as chemotherapeutics. In order to study the implications of the more widespread use of nitro drugs against these parasites, we examined the in vivo and in vitro resistance potentials of nifurtimox and fexinidazole and its metabolites. Following selection in vitro by exposure to increasing concentrations of nifurtimox, Trypanosoma brucei brucei nifurtimox-resistant clones designated NfxR1 and NfxR2 were generated. Both cell lines were found to be 8-fold less sensitive to nifurtimox than parental cells and demonstrated cross-resistance to a number of other nitro drugs, most notably the clinical trial candidate fexinidazole (∼27-fold more resistant than parental cells). Studies of mice confirmed that the generation of nifurtimox resistance in these parasites did not compromise virulence, and NfxR1 remained resistant to both nifurtimox and fexinidazole in vivo. In the case of fexinidazole, drug metabolism and pharmacokinetic studies indicate that the parent drug is rapidly metabolized to the sulfoxide and sulfone form of this compound. These metabolites retained trypanocidal activity but were less effective in nifurtimox-resistant lines. Significantly, trypanosomes selected for resistance to fexinidazole were 10-fold more resistant to nifurtimox than parental cells. This reciprocal cross-resistance has important implications for the therapeutic use of nifurtimox in a clinical setting and highlights a potential danger in the use of fexinidazole as a monotherapy.

An antibiotic, ascofuranone, specifically inhibits respiration and in vitro growth of long slender bloodstream forms of Trypanosoma brucei brucei

1996 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nobuko Minagawa ◽  
Yoshisada Yabu ◽  
Kiyoshi Kita ◽  
Kazuo Nagai ◽  
Nobuo Ohta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Trypanosoma Brucei ◽  
In Vitro Growth ◽  
Trypanosoma Brucei Brucei

scholarly journals In Vitro Generation of Human High-Density-Lipoprotein-Resistant Trypanosoma brucei brucei

2006 ◽  
Vol 5 (8) ◽  
pp. 1276-1286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara D. Faulkner ◽  
Monika W. Oli ◽  
Rudo Kieft ◽  
Laura Cotlin ◽  
Justin Widener ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Density Lipoprotein ◽  
Trypanosoma Brucei ◽  
Density Lipoprotein ◽  
High Density ◽  
Surface Glycoprotein ◽  
Trypanosoma Brucei Brucei ◽  
African Trypanosomes ◽  
Expression Site ◽  
Human High Density Lipoprotein

ABSTRACT The host range of African trypanosomes is influenced by innate protective molecules in the blood of primates. A subfraction of human high-density lipoprotein (HDL) containing apolipoprotein A-I, apolipoprotein L-I, and haptoglobin-related protein is toxic to Trypanosoma brucei brucei but not the human sleeping sickness parasite Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense. It is thought that T. b. rhodesiense evolved from a T. b. brucei-like ancestor and expresses a defense protein that ablates the antitrypanosomal activity of human HDL. To directly investigate this possibility, we developed an in vitro selection to generate human HDL-resistant T. b. brucei. Here we show that conversion of T. b. brucei from human HDL sensitive to resistant correlates with changes in the expression of the variant surface glycoprotein (VSG) and abolished uptake of the cytotoxic human HDLs. Complete transcriptome analysis of the HDL-susceptible and -resistant trypanosomes confirmed that VSG switching had occurred but failed to reveal the expression of other genes specifically associated with human HDL resistance, including the serum resistance-associated gene (SRA) of T. b. rhodesiense. In addition, we found that while the original active expression site was still utilized, expression of three expression site-associated genes (ESAG) was altered in the HDL-resistant trypanosomes. These findings demonstrate that resistance to human HDLs can be acquired by T. b. brucei.

scholarly journals Isothiochromenothiazoles—A Class of Fused Thiazolidinone Derivatives with Established Anticancer Activity That Inhibits Growth of Trypanosoma brucei brucei

2018 ◽  
Vol 86 (4) ◽  
pp. 47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Kryshchyshyn ◽  
Danylo Kaminskyy ◽  
Igor Nektegayev ◽  
Philippe Grellier ◽  
Roman Lesyk
Keyword(s):  
Acute Toxicity ◽  
Anticancer Activity ◽  
Trypanosoma Brucei ◽  
In Vitro Assay ◽  
Parasite Growth ◽  
Trypanosoma Brucei Brucei ◽  
Vitro Assay ◽  
Antiparasitic Agents ◽  
Micromolar Range

Recently, thiazolidinone derivatives have been widely studied as antiparasitic agents. Previous investigations showed that fused 4-thiazolidinone derivatives (especially thiopyranothiazoles) retain pharmacological activity of their synthetic precursors—simple 5-ene-4-thiazolidinones. A series of isothiochromeno[4a,4-d][1,3] thiazoles was investigated in an in vitro assay towards bloodstream forms of Trypanosoma brucei brucei. All compounds inhibited parasite growth at concentrations in the micromolar range. The established low acute toxicity of this class of compounds along with a good trypanocidal profile indicates that isothiochromenothiazole derivatives may be promising for designing new antitrypanosomal drugs.

scholarly journals Kinetic study of the plasma-membrane potential in procyclic and bloodstream forms of Trypanosoma brucei brucei using the fluorescent probe bisoxonol

1996 ◽  
Vol 314 (2) ◽  
pp. 595-601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabienne DEFRISE-QUERTAIN ◽  
Chantal FRASER-L'HOSTIS ◽  
Danièle CORAL ◽  
Jacques DESHUSSES
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Membrane Potential ◽  
Trypanosoma Brucei ◽  
Cultured Cells ◽  
Bloodstream Form ◽  
Metabolic Inhibitors ◽  
Trypanosoma Brucei Brucei ◽  
Plasma Membrane Potential ◽  
Regulation Mechanisms ◽  
K Concentration

The characteristics of the plasma-membrane potential of procyclic and bloodstream forms of Trypanosoma brucei brucei (cultured cells) were investigated using the fluorescent anionic probe bisoxonol. Observation of a stable and representative plasma-membrane potential in the resting state required careful washing, centrifugation and maintenance of the cells at room temperature before measurement. Bloodstream forms were more prone to depolarization during washing at 4 °C than procyclic cells. The higher fluorescence observed in the presence of long slender cells than in the presence of procyclic cells shows that the plasma-membrane potential is more negative in the insect form. Healthy dilute cells can sustain their plasma-membrane potential for hours in the presence of external glucose. The presence of a high K+ concentration in the medium did not promote by itself the depolarization of either type of cell. Study of bisoxonol fluorescence as a function of time allowed us to follow the kinetics of the action of metabolic inhibitors in the presence of various ions. o-Vanadate (1 mM) was found to depolarize bloodstream-form cells rapidly but only in a phosphate-free NaCl buffer. Omeprazole and strophanthidin also specifically depolarized bloodstream-form trypanosomes. However, NN´-dicyclohexylcarbodi-imide depolarized both types of cell, but more rapidly for bloodstream-form cells. Bloodstream-form trypanosomes appear to use mainly a vanadate-sensitive Na+ pump to maintain their Na+-diffusion gradient. However, most of the ATPase inhibitors tested had little or no effect on the plasma-membrane potential of procyclics suggesting that this form of trypanosome may rely on several regulation mechanisms.

Chitin derivatives as novel substrates for Trypanosoma brucei brucei attachment in vitro

Acta Tropica ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.R. Wallbanks ◽  
D.H. Molyneux ◽  
M.F. Dirie
Keyword(s):  
Trypanosoma Brucei ◽  
Trypanosoma Brucei Brucei ◽  
Chitin Derivatives
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