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.

LCCL protein complex formation in Plasmodium is critically dependent on LAP1
Publication date: Available online 13 April 2017 Source:Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology Author(s): Annie Z. Tremp, Vikram Sharma, Victoria Carter, Edwin Lasonder, Johannes T. Dessens Successful sporogony of Plasmodium berghei in vector mosquitoes requires expression of a family of six modular proteins named LCCL lectin domain adhesive-like proteins (LAPs). The LAPs share a subcellular localization in the crystalloid, a unique parasite organelle that forms during ookinete development. Here, LAP interactions in P. berghei were studied using a series of parasite lines stably expressing reporter-tagged LAPs combi...
Source: Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology - April 14, 2017 Category: Parasitology Source Type: research

Schistosoma mansoni displays an adenine phosphoribosyltransferase preferentially expressed in mature female gonads and vitelaria
Publication date: Available online 6 April 2017 Source:Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology Author(s): Ana Eliza Zeraik, Vitor Hugo Balasco Serrão, Larissa Romanello, Juliana Roberta Torini, Alexandre Cassago, Ricardo DeMarco, Humberto D’Muniz Pereira Schistosoma mansoni depends upon the purine salvage pathway to obtain purine nucleotides; therefore, enzymes from this pathway are essential for parasite survival. Here, we focused on the adenine phosphoribosyltransferase (APRT) enzyme, which catalyzes the condensation reaction between adenine and PRPP (5-phosphoribosylpyrophosphate) to produce AMP and PPi. Kine...
Source: Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology - April 11, 2017 Category: Parasitology Source Type: research

Characterization of ciliobrevin A mediated dynein ATPase inhibition on flagellar motility of Leishmania donovani
In this study, we characterized the effects of ciliobrevin A (CbA), a dynein ATPase inhibitor, on flagella driven motility of the protozoan parasite Leishmania donovani. Using fast–capture video microscopy, we observed that CbA decreased flagellar beat frequency of swimming parasites in a concentration-dependent manner. Beat frequency of live and reactivated L. donovani decreased by approximately 89% and 41% respectively in the presence of 250μM CbA. This inhibition was lost when CbA was removed, suggesting its effects were reversible. CbA also altered wavelength and amplitude of the flagellum of live parasites. Wavefor...
Source: Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology - April 5, 2017 Category: Parasitology Source Type: research

Genome-wide identification of microRNA targets in the neglected disease pathogens of the genus Echinococcus
Publication date: Available online 3 April 2017 Source:Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology Author(s): Natalia Macchiaroli, Lucas Maldonado, Magdalena Zarowiecki, Marcela Cucher, Maria Ines Gismondi, Laura Kamenetzky, Mara Cecilia Rosenzvit MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a class of small non-coding RNAs, are key regulators of gene expression at post-transcriptional level and play essential roles in biological processes such as development. MiRNAs silence target mRNAs by binding to complementary sequences in the 3’untranslated regions (3′UTRs). The parasitic helminths of the genus Echinococcus are the causative agents o...
Source: Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology - April 4, 2017 Category: Parasitology Source Type: research

Evidence of putative non-coding RNAs from Leishmania untranslated regions
Publication date: Available online 3 April 2017 Source:Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology Author(s): Felipe Freitas de Castro, Patricia de Cássia Ruy, Karina Nogueira Zeviani, Ramon de Freitas Santos, Juliano Simões Toledo, Angela Kaysel Cruz Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are regulatory elements present in a wide range of organisms, including trypanosomatids. ncRNAs transcribed from the untranslated regions (UTRs) of coding genes have been described in the transcriptomes of several eukaryotes, including Trypanosoma brucei. To uncover novel putative ncRNAs in two Leishmania species, we examined a L. major cDNA libr...
Source: Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology - April 4, 2017 Category: Parasitology Source Type: research