Department of Genetics and Molecular Biology, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (CINVESTAV), Mexico City, Mexico.
Department of Genetics and Molecular Biology, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (CINVESTAV), Mexico City, Mexico.
Biochimie. 2019 Jan;156:123-128. doi: 10.1016/j.biochi.2018.10.008. Epub 2018 Oct 19.
Giardia duodenalis is a flagellated unicellular eukaryotic microorganism that usually parasitizes the small intestine of humans and many other vertebrates causing diarrheal disease throughout the world. Notably, Giardia despite minimization of most cellular systems shows different strategies to adapt to environmental conditions, evade the immune system and resist exposure to antimicrobial agents. Over the past years, epigenetic regulation of gene expression has been shown to have a relevant role in the parasite's biology. Interestingly, analysis of the Giardia genome revealed the presence of enzymes responsible for post-translational modification in histones, therefore suggesting that epigenetic mechanisms may regulate gene expression in this parasite. Thus, the purpose of this review is to summarize how epigenetic mechanisms play relevant roles in the pathogenicity of Giardia, with a particular emphasis on the molecular mechanisms associated with parasite differentiation, antigenic variation and antimicrobial resistance.
十二指肠贾第鞭毛虫是一种鞭毛单细胞真核微生物，通常寄生在人类和许多其他脊椎动物的小肠中，在全球范围内引起腹泻病。值得注意的是，尽管贾第虫最小化了大多数细胞系统，但它表现出不同的策略来适应环境条件，逃避免疫系统并抵抗暴露于抗菌药物。在过去的几年中，已经表明基因表达的表观遗传调控在寄生虫生物学中具有相关作用。有趣的是，对贾第虫基因组的分析表明存在负责组蛋白翻译后修饰的酶，因此表明表观遗传机制可能调节这种寄生虫中的基因表达。因此，本综述的目的是总结表观遗传机制如何在贾第虫的致病性中发挥重要作用，特别强调与寄生虫分化、抗原变异和抗菌药物耐药性相关的分子机制。
