Salvati Luca, Bolognesi Martino, Ascenzi Paolo
Department of Histology and Medical Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Rome La Sapienza, Italy.
IUBMB Life. 2002 Jan;53(1):45-7. doi: 10.1080/15216540210807.
The hemoflagellate protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi is the causative agent of the Chagas disease, a progressive fatal cardiomyopathy that afflicts more than 20 million people in Central and South America. The T. cruzi life cycle is affected by changes in temperature and pH, the parasite replication being facilitated in mammalian hosts rather than in insect vectors. Here, we postulate that the modulation of key enzymes by pH- and temperature-dependent substrate inhibition may affect the T. cruzi life cycle and limit the geographic range covered by the parasite.
血液鞭毛虫原生动物寄生虫克氏锥虫是恰加斯病的病原体，恰加斯病是一种进行性致命性心肌病，折磨着中南美洲超过2000万人。克氏锥虫的生命周期受温度和pH值变化的影响，寄生虫在哺乳动物宿主中而非昆虫媒介中更容易复制。在此，我们推测，pH值和温度依赖性底物抑制对关键酶的调节可能会影响克氏锥虫的生命周期，并限制该寄生虫覆盖的地理范围。
