scholarly journals Flagellar Motility ofTrypanosoma cruziEpimastigotes

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Ballesteros-Rodea ◽  
M. Santillán ◽  
S. Martínez-Calvillo ◽  
R. Manning-Cela
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Trypanosoma Cruzi ◽  
Quantitative Description ◽  
Flagellar Motility ◽  
Parasite Life Cycle ◽  
Large Variability ◽  
Rotational Angle ◽  
Ciliary Beating ◽  
Parasite Motility ◽  
Parasite Behavior

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.

scholarly journals Glutamine Analogues Impair Cell Proliferation, the Intracellular Cycle and Metacyclogenesis in Trypanosoma cruzi

Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (7) ◽  
pp. 1628
Author(s):  
Rodolpho Ornitz Oliveira Souza ◽  
Marcell Crispim ◽  
Ariel Mariano Silber ◽  
Flávia Silva Damasceno
Keyword(s):  
Cell Proliferation ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Trypanosoma Cruzi ◽  
Host Cells ◽  
Glutamine Metabolism ◽  
Complex Life Cycle ◽  
Mammalian Host ◽  
Developmental Cycle ◽  
Parasite Life Cycle

Trypanosoma cruzi is the aetiologic agent of Chagas disease, which affects people in the Americas and worldwide. The parasite has a complex life cycle that alternates among mammalian hosts and insect vectors. During its life cycle, T. cruzi passes through different environments and faces nutrient shortages. It has been established that amino acids, such as proline, histidine, alanine, and glutamate, are crucial to T. cruzi survival. Recently, we described that T. cruzi can biosynthesize glutamine from glutamate and/or obtain it from the extracellular environment, and the role of glutamine in energetic metabolism and metacyclogenesis was demonstrated. In this study, we analysed the effect of glutamine analogues on the parasite life cycle. Here, we show that glutamine analogues impair cell proliferation, the developmental cycle during the infection of mammalian host cells and metacyclogenesis. Taken together, these results show that glutamine is an important metabolite for T. cruzi survival and suggest that glutamine analogues can be used as scaffolds for the development of new trypanocidal drugs. These data also reinforce the supposition that glutamine metabolism is an unexplored possible therapeutic target.

scholarly journals Trypanosoma cruzi: Molecular characterization of an RNA binding protein differentially expressed in the parasite life cycle

2007 ◽  
Vol 117 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leticia Pérez-Díaz ◽  
María Ana Duhagon ◽  
Pablo Smircich ◽  
José Sotelo-Silveira ◽  
Carlos Robello ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Trypanosoma Cruzi ◽  
Molecular Characterization ◽  
Rna Binding ◽  
Binding Protein ◽  
Rna Binding Protein ◽  
Differentially Expressed ◽  
Parasite Life Cycle

scholarly journals Transcriptome analysis of alternative splicing in the pathogen life cycle in human foreskin fibroblasts infected with Trypanosoma cruzi

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyeim Jung ◽  
Seonggyun Han ◽  
Younghee Lee
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Alternative Splicing ◽  
Trypanosoma Cruzi ◽  
Exon Skipping ◽  
Protozoan Parasite ◽  
Rna Seq ◽  
Parasite Life Cycle ◽  
Human Foreskin Fibroblasts ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Intracellular Protozoan Parasite

Abstract Trypanosoma cruzi is an intracellular protozoan parasite that causes Chagas disease as a zoonotic pathogen. The parasite has been shown to remodel expression in the host transcriptome under different conditions. Although alternative splicing (AS) is involved in virtually every biological function in eukaryotes, including cellular differentiation and responses to immune reactions, host AS events that occur as a result of T. cruzi infection have yet to be explored. In this study, we bioinformatically investigated the transcriptome AS dynamics of T. cruzi (Y strain) infected human foreskin fibroblasts using RNA-Seq data captured over four timepoints (4, 24, 48, and 72 h post infection (hpi)). We identified 1768, 399, 250, and 299 differentially expressed exons (AS exons) at 4, 24, 48, and 72 hpi, respectively, showing that host AS mechanism may have a significant role in the intracellular life cycle of the parasite. We present an exon skipping event in HDAC7, which is a candidate gene that is important in the parasite’s cell cycle. To sum up, this bioinformatics analysis of transcriptome may provide new potential insight into AS regulation in human foreskin fibroblast (HFF) cells infected by T. cruzi and into its implication to the parasite life cycle. Moreover, identified AS genes may provide new potential molecular candidates for improving treatment.

scholarly journals High-speed, three-dimensional imaging reveals chemotactic behaviour specific to human-infective Leishmania parasites

eLife ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel C Findlay ◽  
Mohamed Osman ◽  
Kirstin A Spence ◽  
Paul M Kaye ◽  
Pegine B Walrad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Morphological Changes ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Human Infection ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Flagellar Motility ◽  
Parasite Life Cycle ◽  
Life Cycle Stages ◽  
The Impact

Cellular motility is an ancient eukaryotic trait, ubiquitous across phyla with roles in predator avoidance, resource access, and competition. Flagellar motility is seen in various parasitic protozoans, and morphological changes in flagella during the parasite life cycle have been observed. We studied the impact of these changes on motility across life cycle stages, and how such changes might serve to facilitate human infection. We used holographic microscopy to image swimming cells of different Leishmania mexicana life cycle stages in three dimensions. We find that the human-infective (metacyclic promastigote) forms display ‘run and tumble’ behaviour in the absence of stimulus, reminiscent of bacterial motion, and that they specifically modify swimming direction and speed to target host immune cells in response to a macrophage-derived stimulus. Non-infective (procyclic promastigote) cells swim more slowly, along meandering helical paths. These findings demonstrate adaptation of swimming phenotype and chemotaxis towards human cells.

scholarly journals Alternative Splicing of LYT1 Transcripts in Trypanosoma cruzi

2002 ◽  
Vol 70 (8) ◽  
pp. 4726-4728 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebeca Manning-Cela ◽  
Antonio González ◽  
John Swindle
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Alternative Splicing ◽  
Sequence Analysis ◽  
Trypanosoma Cruzi ◽  
Signal Sequence ◽  
Full Length ◽  
Parasite Life Cycle ◽  
The Third ◽  
Alternative Processing

ABSTRACT As a result of alternative trans splicing, three distinct LYT1 mRNAs are produced in Trypanosoma cruzi, two encoding the full-length LYT1 protein and the third encoding a truncated LYT1 protein lacking a possible signal sequence. Analysis of the three mRNAs in different developmental forms of the parasite revealed that the alternative processing events were regulated differently during the parasite life cycle.

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
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Surface Antigen ◽  
Differentially Expressed ◽  
Parasite Life Cycle

scholarly journals Encounter rate between local populations shapes host selection in complex parasite life cycle

2006 ◽  
Vol 89 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
GÉRALDINE LOOT ◽  
YOUNG-SEUK PARK ◽  
SOVAN LEK ◽  
SÉBASTIEN BROSSE
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Host Selection ◽  
Encounter Rate ◽  
Parasite Life Cycle ◽  
Local Populations

scholarly journals Structural, functional and computational studies of membrane recognition by Plasmodium Perforin-Like Proteins 1 and 2.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Williams ◽  
Xiulian Yu ◽  
Tao Ni ◽  
Robert Gilbert ◽  
Phillip Stansfeld
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Lipid Bilayers ◽  
Membrane Binding ◽  
Binding Activity ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
Site Directed Mutagenesis ◽  
Parasite Life Cycle ◽  
Dynamics Simulations ◽  
Membrane Recognition

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.

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