Dost C K, Saraiva J, Monesi N, Zentgraf U, Engels W, Albuquerque S
Departamento de Análises Clinicas, Toxicológicas e Bromatológicas da Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas, Ribeirão Preto-USP, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.
Parasitol Res. 2004 Sep;94(2):134-40. doi: 10.1007/s00436-004-1188-3.
The intracellular parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease, is known to comprise heterogeneous populations. One possibility to explain the obviously distinct phenotypes of different T. cruzi strains is differential expression of particular genes. This could result in environmental adaptations of the parasite within host organs, leading to distinct clinical symptoms. With the aim of identifying differentially expressed genes, we examined different T. cruzi strains by suppression subtractive hybridization analysis. The isolated clones were sequenced and Blasted for sequence-homology with known T. cruzi genes. A stage-specific glycoprotein (82gp), an 85-kDa protein with homology to heat-shock proteins, a beta-tubulin gene, a hexosetransporter, a dehydrogenase/ prostaglandin F2alpha-synthase and a cathepsin B-like protease were identified. The expression of these genes was analyzed by RT-PCR. Diverse expression patterns were detected for different T. cruzi strains, but no specific correlation between the gene expression and the classification of groups could be found. We discuss the presumed importance of these T. cruzi gene expression patterns for future strategies of molecular therapy of Chagas disease. For pathological studies, other parameters such as distinct gene/antigen expression could also be of interest, because they probably likewise correlate with distinct phenotypes.
细胞内寄生虫克氏锥虫是恰加斯病的病原体，已知它由异质群体组成。解释不同克氏锥虫菌株明显不同表型的一种可能性是特定基因的差异表达。这可能导致寄生虫在宿主器官内发生环境适应性变化，从而产生不同的临床症状。为了鉴定差异表达基因，我们通过抑制性消减杂交分析检测了不同的克氏锥虫菌株。对分离出的克隆进行测序，并与已知的克氏锥虫基因进行序列同源性比对。鉴定出了一种阶段特异性糖蛋白（82gp）、一种与热休克蛋白具有同源性的85 kDa蛋白、一个β-微管蛋白基因、一个己糖转运蛋白、一种脱氢酶/前列腺素F2α合成酶和一种组织蛋白酶B样蛋白酶。通过逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）分析了这些基因的表达。检测到不同克氏锥虫菌株有不同的表达模式，但未发现基因表达与菌株分类之间存在特定相关性。我们讨论了这些克氏锥虫基因表达模式对恰加斯病未来分子治疗策略的假定重要性。对于病理学研究，其他参数（如不同的基因/抗原表达）可能也很重要，因为它们可能同样与不同的表型相关。
