Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology This is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader or to display this data on your own website or blog.

Screening of the MMV and GSK open access chemical boxes using a viability assay developed against the kinetoplastid Crithidia fasciculata
Publication date: Available online 18 May 2018 Source:Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology Author(s): Wakisa Kipandula, Simon A. Young, Stuart A. MacNeill, Terry K. Smith Diseases caused by the pathogenic kinetoplastids continue to incapacitate and kill hundreds of thousands of people annually throughout the tropics and sub-tropics. Unfortunately, in the countries where these neglected diseases occur, financial obstacles to drug discovery and technical limitations associated with biochemical studies impede the development of new, safe, easy to administer and effective drugs. Here we report the development and optim...
Source: Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology - May 25, 2018 Category: Parasitology Source Type: research

Identification and characterization of a calmodulin binding domain in the plasma membrane Ca2+-ATPase from Trypanosoma equiperdum
Publication date: June 2018 Source:Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology, Volume 222 Author(s): José Rubén Ramírez-Iglesias, María Carolina Pérez-Gordones, Jesús Rafael del Castillo, Alfredo Mijares, Gustavo Benaim, Marta Mendoza The plasma membrane Ca2+-ATPase (PMCA) from trypanosomatids lacks a classical calmodulin (CaM) binding domain, although CaM stimulated activities have been detected by biochemical assays. Recently we proposed that the Trypanosoma equiperdum CaM-sensitive PMCA (TePMCA) contains a potential 1–18 CaM-binding motif at the C-terminal region of the pump. In the present study, we evaluat...
Source: Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology - May 25, 2018 Category: Parasitology Source Type: research

Differential tissue distribution of Trypanosoma cruzi during acute experimental infection: Further evidence using natural isolates
Publication date: June 2018 Source:Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology, Volume 222 Author(s): Mariana Strauss, Daniela A. Velázquez López, Diego M. Moya, P. Carolina Bazán, Alejandra L. Báez, H. Walter Rivarola, Patricia A. Paglini-Oliva, M. Silvina Lo Presti In the present work, we evaluated the effect of mixed Trypanosoma cruzi infections, studying the biological distribution of the different parasites in blood, heart and skeletal muscle during the acute phase. Albino Swiss mice were infected with different parasite strain/isolates or with a combination of them. The parasites in the different tissues wer...
Source: Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology - May 25, 2018 Category: Parasitology Source Type: research

Identification and functional analysis of a stress-responsive MAPK15 in Entamoeba invadens
In this study, we have identified a stress-responsive MAPK which gets upregulated under different stress conditions, including encystation. Sequence analysis and phylogenetic classification show that the MAPK belongs to the atypical MAPK15 family (henceforth, named EiMAPK15), which does not require an upstream MAPKK for its phosphorylation and activation. The in vitro kinase activity of recombinant EiMAPK15 exhibits its auto-phosphorylation ability. Immunolocalization studies reveal that the protein is mainly cytosolic under normal growing conditions but gets translocated into the nucleus under stress conditions. Knockdown...
Source: Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology - May 25, 2018 Category: Parasitology Source Type: research

Circulating cell-free DNA in patients with alveolar echinococcosis
This study sought to investigate the presence of ccfDNA in patients with AE, and its potential usefulness for the evaluation of treatment efficiency. To achieve these aims, a quantitative PCR and a droplet digital PCR were developed to detect E. multilocularis ccfDNA. An AE animal model identified, for the first time, the presence of large quantities of ccfDNA. Samples from patients with AE (n = 31) were then analyzed twice, at diagnosis, and after three months of chemotherapy: about 25% were positive, almost always with very low concentrations of ccfDNA. These results confirmed that E. multilocularis produces ccfDNA, ...
Source: Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology - May 25, 2018 Category: Parasitology Source Type: research

A Cas9 transgenic Plasmodium yoelii parasite for efficient gene editing
Publication date: June 2018 Source:Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology, Volume 222 Author(s): Pengge Qian, Xu Wang, Zhenke Yang, Zhenkui Li, Han Gao, Xin-zhuan Su, Huiting Cui, Jing Yuan The RNA-guided endonuclease Cas9 has applied as an efficient gene-editing method in malaria parasite Plasmodium. However, the size (4.2 kb) of the commonly used Cas9 from Streptococcus pyogenes (SpCas9) limits its utility for genome editing in the parasites only introduced with cas9 plasmid. To establish the endogenous and constitutive expression of Cas9 protein in the rodent malaria parasite P. yoelii, we replaced the codin...
Source: Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology - May 25, 2018 Category: Parasitology Source Type: research

Stage-specific expression of the proline-alanine transporter in the human pathogen Leishmania
Publication date: Available online 12 April 2018 Source:Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology Author(s): T. Liburkin-Dan, D. Schlisselberg, R. Fischer-Weinberger, P. Pescher, E. Inbar, M. Ephros, D. Rentsch, G.F. Späth, D. Zilberstein Leishmania are obligatory intracellular parasites that cycle between the sand fly midgut (extracellular promastigotes) and mammalian macrophage phagolysosomes (intracellular amastigotes). They have developed mechanisms of adaptation to the distinct environments of host and vector that favor utilization of both proline and alanine. LdAAP24 is the L. donovani proline-alanine transp...
Source: Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology - April 12, 2018 Category: Parasitology Source Type: research

G-protein-coupled receptor genes of Dirofilaria immitis
Publication date: Available online 4 April 2018 Source:Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology Author(s): Thangadurai Mani, Catherine Bourguinat, Roger K. Prichard The diversity and uniqueness of nematode heterotrimeric G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) provides impetus for identifying ligands that can be used as therapeutics for treating diseases caused by parasitic nematode infections. In human medicine, GPCRs have represented the largest group of ‘drugable’ targets exploited in the market today. In the filarial nematode Dirofilaria immitis, which causes heartworm disease, the macrocyclic lactones (ML) have bee...
Source: Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology - April 4, 2018 Category: Parasitology Source Type: research

A plant-like mitochondrial carrier family protein facilitates mitochondrial transport of di- and tricarboxylates in Trypanosoma brucei
Publication date: Available online 23 March 2018 Source:Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology Author(s): Claudia Colasante, Fuli Zheng, Cordula Kemp, Frank Voncken The procyclic form of the human parasite Trypanosoma brucei harbors one single, large mitochondrion containing all tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle enzymes and respiratory chain complexes present also in higher eukaryotes. Metabolite exchange among subcellular compartments such as the cytoplasm, the mitochondrion, and the peroxisomes is crucial for redox homeostasis and for metabolic pathways whose enzymes are dispersed among different organelles. In higher...
Source: Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology - March 24, 2018 Category: Parasitology Source Type: research

The pseudo-dimeric tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase of T. brucei aminoacylates cytosolic and mitochondrial tRNATyr and requires both monomeric units for activity
Publication date: Available online 23 March 2018 Source:Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology Author(s): Sandro Käser, Isabelle Glauser, Jochen Rettig, André Schneider Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases are essential for protein synthesis. The single-copy tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase (Tb-TyrRS) of T. brucei has an unusual structure and forms a pseudo-dimer. It is therefore twice the size than tyrosyl-tRNA synthetases of most other organisms. Here we show by inducible RNAi that Tb-TyrRS is essential for normal growth of procyclic T. brucei. Furthermore we demonstrate that Tb-TyrRS aminoacylates cytosolic as well as mitochondria...
Source: Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology - March 24, 2018 Category: Parasitology Source Type: research

Molecular cloning, expression, and characterization of UDP N-acetyl- α-D-galactosamine: polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase 4 from Cryptosporidium parvum
Publication date: Available online 23 March 2018 Source:Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology Author(s): Maria A. DeCicco RePass, Najma Bhat, Jamie Heimburg Molinaro, Stephen Bunnell, Richard D. Cummings, Honorine D. Ward Cryptosporidium spp. are the causative agents of diarrheal disease worldwide, but effective treatments are lacking. Cryptosporidium employs mucin-like glycoproteins with O-glycans to attach to and infect host intestinal epithelial cells. The Tn antigen (GalNAcα1-Ser/Thr) is an O-glycan essential for these processes, as Tn-specific lectins and a Tn-specific monoclonal antibody block attachment to...
Source: Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology - March 24, 2018 Category: Parasitology Source Type: research

Heterologous expression of three antigenic proteins from Angiostrongylus cantonensis: ES-7, Lec-5, and 14-3-3 in mammalian cells
Publication date: Available online 16 March 2018 Source:Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology Author(s): Bianca B. Cognato, Sukwan Handali, Alessandra L. Morassutti, Alexandre Januário da Silva, Carlos Graeff-Teixeira Angiostrongylus cantonensis is a parasitic nematode and the main causative agent of human cerebral eosinophilic meningoencephalitis (EoM). A definitive diagnosis of EoM usually requires serologic or molecular analysis of the patient’s clinical sample. Currently, a 31 kDa antigen is used in immunological tests for this purpose, however as a crude antigen preparation it may present cross-reactivity...
Source: Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology - March 17, 2018 Category: Parasitology Source Type: research

Schistosoma mansoni venom allergen-like protein 18 (SmVAL18) is a plasminogen-binding protein secreted during the early stages of mammalian-host infection
In conclusion, our findings show that SmVAL18 is a novel PLG-binding protein secreted during the early stages of the mammalian host infection. Graphical abstract (Source: Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology)
Source: Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology - February 24, 2018 Category: Parasitology Source Type: research

The tegumental allergen-like proteins of Schistosoma mansoni: a biochemical study of SmTAL4-TAL13
Publication date: Available online 14 February 2018 Source:Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology Author(s): Jack Carson, Charlotte M. Thomas, Aaron McGinty, Gustavo Takata, David J. Timson Schistosoma mansoni, like other trematodes, expresses a number of unusual calcium binding proteins which consist of an EF-hand domain joined to a dynein light chain-like (DLC-like) domain by a flexible linker. These proteins have been implicated in host immune responses and drug binding. Three members of this protein family from S. mansoni (SmTAL1, SmTAL2 and SmTAL3) have been well characterised biochemically. Here we characteris...
Source: Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology - February 14, 2018 Category: Parasitology Source Type: research

Spontaneous excision and facilitated recovery as a control for phenotypes arising from RNA interference and other dominant transgenes
We present here such an approach, relying on facilitated recovery after spontaneous excision – or ‘popouts’ – of dominant transgenes stably inserted into the ribosomal RNA array, utilizing GFP as a marker and single cell sorting to recover regenerated WT controls. We validate its utility using RNA interference knockdowns of the paraflagellar rod gene PFR2 of L. (Viannia) braziliensis. The method yields stably modified lines suitable for long term studies of Leishmania virulence, relies solely on host rather than introduced genetic machinery, and is thus readily applied in many species and circumstances including fu...
Source: Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology - February 12, 2018 Category: Parasitology Source Type: research