Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Marilia L. Cirqueira, Leandro O. Bortot, Mayte Bolean, Mariana A. A. Aleixo, Pedro H. Luccas, Antonio J. Costa-Filho, Ana Paula Ramos, Pietro Ciancaglini, M. Cristina Nonato
Summary: Due to its severe burden and geographic distribution, Chagas disease has a significant social and economic impact on low-income countries. This study aims to understand the role of TcNTR in the basic parasite biology, investigate its potential as a drug target, and contribute to the fight against neglected tropical diseases. The results showed that TcNTR interacts with membranes, with a preference for those containing cardiolipin, and a 23-residue long insertion is involved in enzyme specificity and protein-membrane interaction.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ravi R. Sonani, Katarzyna Kurpiewska, Krzysztof Lewinski, Grzegorz Dubin
Summary: The glycosomal malate dehydrogenase from Trypanosoma cruzi displays a distinct sequence and structural feature, providing an anchor point for the development of specific inhibitors and potential trypanocidal drugs in the future.
BIOCHEMICAL AND BIOPHYSICAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Gevanio Bezerra de Oliveira Filho, Marcos Verissimo de Oliveira Cardoso, Aline Caroline da Silva Santos, Thiago Andre Ramos dos Santos, Ana Catarina Cristovao-Silva, Laura Gonzalez Rubio, Luiz da Silva Maia Neto, Paulo Gaio Leite, Fabiana Simao Machado, Luiz Carlos Alves, Fabio Andre Brayner, Valeria Rego Alves Pereira, Ana Cristina Lima Leite
Summary: Chagas disease is causing more deaths in the Americas than any other parasitic disease and is increasingly becoming a global health problem. A novel series of 4-thiazolidinones derivatives have shown increased anti-T. cruzi activity, indicating potential for treating the disease.
CHEMICO-BIOLOGICAL INTERACTIONS
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Roberto Docampo, Anibal Eugenio Vercesi
Summary: This review discusses the mechanisms of mitochondrial oxidant generation and removal, and the involvement of Ca2+ in trypanosome cell death, highlighting the need for further studies on ROS generation, defense mechanisms, and mitochondrial permeability transition pore in trypanosomatids.
ANTIOXIDANTS & REDOX SIGNALING
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Naiara Dutra Barroso Gomes, Emanuel Paula Magalhaes, Lyanna Rodrigues Ribeiro, John Washington Cavalcante, Marcelo Morais Gomes Maia, Felipe Ramon Cunha da Silva, Arif Ali, Marcia Machado Marinho, Emmanuel Silva Marinho, Helcio Silva dos Santos, Alice Maria Costa Martins, Ramon Roseo Paula Pessoa Bezerra de Menezes
Summary: This study evaluated the activity of synthetic p-aminochalcones against T. cruzi and found that they have a trypanocidal effect by causing membrane damage and oxidative stress. Their mechanism of action may be related to inhibition of cruzain and TR.
BIOORGANIC CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Jose L. Saenz-Garcia, Beatriz S. Borges, Normanda Souza-Melo, Luiz V. Machado, Juliana S. Miranda, Lisandro Alfonso Pacheco-Lugo, Nilmar S. Moretti, Richard Wheleer, Lia C. Soares Medeiros, Wanderson D. DaRocha
Summary: The flagellum of Trypanosomatids contributes to multiple functions, and this study explores the role of Trypanin in T. cruzi. The deletion of Trypanin affects the growth and motility of T. cruzi epimastigotes, as well as their infection capacity.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
J. Santos, S. H. Fernandez Villamil, J. M. Delfino, W. M. Valsecchi
Summary: Computational studies are used to predict drug-target interactions as a means of identifying new druggable targets for neglected diseases. The enzyme HPRT is essential for the survival of the parasite T. cruzi, the causal agent of Chagas disease. Comparative structural analysis revealed functional differences between TcHPRT and HsHPRT, indicating potential therapeutic approaches based on their different quaternary arrangements and structural features.
ARCHIVES OF BIOCHEMISTRY AND BIOPHYSICS
(2023)
Review
Microbiology
Veronica Jimenez, Kildare Miranda, Ingrid Augusto
Summary: Osmoregulation is a crucial cellular process for the survival of all organisms, and it holds even more significance for protists whose life cycles occur in various environments. This article summarizes the current understanding of the osmoregulatory mechanisms in the contractile vacuole and explores its newly discovered functions in cell trafficking and signaling.
JOURNAL OF EUKARYOTIC MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Geanne A. Conserva, Thais A. Costa-Silva, Luis M. Quiros-Guerrero, Laurence Marcourt, Jean-Luc Wolfender, Emerson F. Queiroz, Andre G. Tempone, Joao Henrique G. Lago
Summary: Phytochemical analysis of an EtOH extract from Nectandra oppositifolia leaves revealed three flavonoids with varying levels of efficacy against the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, with one flavonoid achieving parasite death by disrupting intracellular calcium levels.
CHEMICO-BIOLOGICAL INTERACTIONS
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Gregory Pedroso dos Santos, Fernanda Midori Abukawa, Normanda Souza-Melo, Laura Maria Alcantara, Paula Bittencourt-Cunha, Carolina Borsoi Moraes, Bijay Kumar Jha, Bradford S. McGwire, Nilmar Silvio Moretti, Sergio Schenkman
Summary: Infection by Trypanosoma cruzi essentially relies on the release of a 19 kDa cyclophilin protein, TcCyp19, which triggers an increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels in host cells, leading to enhanced parasite proliferation in mammalian hosts.
CELLULAR MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Biology
Oscar Hernan Rodriguez-Bejarano, Catalina Avendano, Manuel Alfonso Patarroyo
Summary: Chagas disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi parasite, is mainly transmitted by insect bites. The parasite's lifecycle includes an intracellular phase and infective forms, involving various signaling cascades and intracellular associations for recognition and internalization in host cells.
Review
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Farzad Asadi, Savita Dhanvantari
Summary: This study focuses on the hyperglucagonemia in diabetic patients and the potential mechanisms of alpha cell dysfunction in pancreatic alpha cells, exploring how inhibition of glucagon secretion can be targeted for the treatment of diabetes mellitus.
FRONTIERS IN ENDOCRINOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Microbiology
Abel Cruz Camacho, Daniel Alfandari, Ewa Kozela, Neta Regev-Rudzki
Summary: Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are essential for cell-cell communication. The roles of EVs in parasites, especially in terms of pathogenesis, are of great interest for medical insight and therapeutic intervention. However, the mechanisms of EV biogenesis in human parasitic protozoa, particularly in terms of the Endosomal Sorting Complex Required for Transport (ESCRT) machinery, remain elusive. This review focuses on the current knowledge of EV biogenesis pathways in the four main clades of human parasitic protozoa (apicomplexans, trypanosomatids, flagellates, and amoebae), highlighting the diversity in EV biogenesis and the involvement of the ESCRT system in these unique organisms.
Article
Immunology
Francisco Callejas-Hernandez, Alfonso Herreros-Cabello, Javier del Moral-Salmoral, Manuel Fresno, Nuria Girones
Summary: This study analyzed the complete repertoire of maxicircle and minicircle sequences of different T. cruzi strains, revealing structural differences in minicircles and maxicircles among strains. Understanding the mitochondrial genome of Trypanosomatids is crucial for coordinating the expression of nuclear and mitochondrial genes involved in oxidative phosphorylation, and the heterogeneity observed in minicircles and maxicircles suggests a more complex organization than previously described.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Barbara Verena Dias Galvao, Carlos Fernando Araujo-Lima, Monica Cristine Pereira dos Santos, Mariana Pulmar Seljan, Eduardo Kennedy Carrao-Dantas, Claudia Alessandra Fortes Aiub, Luiz Claudio Cameron, Mariana Simoes Larraz Ferreira, Edira Castello Branco de Andrade Goncalves, Israel Felzenszwalb
Summary: The study identified 14 phenolic compounds in Plinia cauliflora leaf extract, showing certain anti-Trypanosoma cruzi activity but also cytotoxic effects on liver cell lines.
JOURNAL OF ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Melissa M. Matthews, John B. McArthur, Yanhong Li, Hai Yu, Xi Chen, Andrew J. Fisher
Article
Food Science & Technology
Valerie Weinborn, Yanhong Li, Ishita M. Shah, Hai Yu, David C. Dallas, J. Bruce German, David A. Mills, Xi Chen, Daniela Barile
INTERNATIONAL DAIRY JOURNAL
(2020)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jiali Zhang, Hai Yu, Bradley Harris, Yunbo Zheng, Umit Celik, Lan Na, Roland Faller, Xi Chen, Dominik R. Haudenschild, Gang-yu Liu
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY C
(2020)
Article
Virology
Karen N. Barnard, Brynn K. Alford-Lawrence, David W. Buchholz, Brian R. Wasik, Justin R. LaClair, Hai Yu, Rebekah Honce, Stefan Ruhl, Petar Pajic, Erin K. Daugherity, Xi Chen, Stacey L. Schultz-Cherry, Hector C. Aguilar, Ajit Varki, Colin R. Parrish
JOURNAL OF VIROLOGY
(2020)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Inga Siden-Kiamos, Christian Goosmann, Carlos A. Buscaglia, Volker Brinkmann, Kai Matuschewski, Georgina N. Montagna
MOLECULAR AND BIOCHEMICAL PARASITOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Alvaro Molina-Cruz, Gaspar E. Canepa, Thiago Luiz Alves e Silva, Adeline E. Williams, Simardeep Nagyal, Lampouguin Yenkoidiok-Douti, Bianca M. Nagata, Eric Calvo, John Andersen, Martin J. Boulanger, Carolina Barillas-Mury
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2020)
Article
Virology
Runxia Liu, Chithra Sreenivasan, Hai Yu, Zizhang Sheng, Simon J. Newkirk, Wenfeng An, David F. Smith, Xi Chen, Dan Wang, Feng Li
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Riyao Li, Hai Yu, Saddam M. Muthana, Daron Freedberg, Xi Chen
Article
Microbiology
Tri Nguyen, Sohyoung Lee, Yi-An Yang, Changhwan Ahn, Ji Hyun Sim, Tiffany G. Kei, Karen N. Barnard, Hai Yu, Shawn K. Millano, Xi Chen, Colin R. Parrish, Jeongmin Song
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Oscar Campetella, Carlos A. Buscaglia, Juan Mucci, Maria Susana Leguizamon
BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-MOLECULAR BASIS OF DISEASE
(2020)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Lan Na, Hai Yu, John B. McArthur, Tamashree Ghosh, Thomas Asbell, Xi Chen
Article
Oncology
Ron Amon, Ronit Rosenfeld, Shahar Perlmutter, Oliver C. Grant, Sharon Yehuda, Aliza Borenstein-Katz, Ron Alcalay, Tal Marshanski, Hai Yu, Ron Diskin, Robert J. Woods, Xi Chen, Vered Padler-Karavani
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Libo Zhang, Hai Yu, Yuanyuan Bai, Bijoyananda Mishra, Xiaoxiao Yang, Jing Wang, Evan B. Yu, Riyao Li, Xi Chen
Summary: Carbohydrate-protein conjugates have diverse applications, from vaccines to high-throughput assays. A process combining chemoenzymatic synthesis, squarate linker conjugation, and neoglycoprotein immobilization on fluorescent magnetic beads was developed for a suspension multiplex array platform. This platform allowed for analysis of glycan and GBP interactions, providing useful insights into human galectins' multivalent glycan-binding properties.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Wanqing Li, Marcos D. Battistel, Hannah Reeves, Lisa Oh, Hai Yu, Xi Chen, Lee-Ping Wang, Daron Freedberg
Article
Chemistry, Organic
John B. McArthur, Abhishek Santra, Wanqing Li, Anoopjit S. Kooner, Ziqi Liu, Hai Yu, Xi Chen
ORGANIC & BIOMOLECULAR CHEMISTRY
(2020)