Gupta Chhitar M, Thiyagarajan Saravanamuthu
Institute of Bioinformatics & Applied Biotechnology, Biotech Park, Electronic City, Phase I, Bengaluru 560100, India.
Pathogens. 2025 Sep 19;14(9):948. doi: 10.3390/pathogens14090948.
The actin cytoskeleton plays a crucial role in fundamental eukaryotic processes such as morphogenesis, motility, endocytosis, intracellular trafficking, and cell division. However, our understanding of actin and its associated proteins in trypanosomatid parasites like remains limited. Over the past two decades, considerable progress has been made in elucidating the structure and functions of actin and its core regulators. Notably, these findings are primarily derived from studies of the insect-stage promastigote form, while the roles of the actin machinery during the disease-causing amastigote stage within mammalian hosts remain largely unexplored. This review consolidates the current knowledge of actin and its interactors in promastigotes, highlighting their potential roles in parasite development and stage-specific differentiation. Additionally, it explores the potential of targeting the cytoskeletal system as a strategy for novel therapeutic interventions against . The review concludes by identifying critical knowledge gaps and proposing future research directions to better understand actin-driven pathogenesis in this important human parasite.
肌动蛋白细胞骨架在诸如形态发生、运动、胞吞作用、细胞内运输和细胞分裂等基本真核生物过程中起着至关重要的作用。然而，我们对锥虫寄生虫（如 ）中的肌动蛋白及其相关蛋白的了解仍然有限。在过去二十年中，在阐明肌动蛋白及其核心调节因子的结构和功能方面取得了相当大的进展。值得注意的是，这些发现主要来自对昆虫阶段前鞭毛体形式的研究，而肌动蛋白机制在哺乳动物宿主内致病无鞭毛体阶段的作用在很大程度上仍未得到探索。这篇综述整合了当前关于前鞭毛体中肌动蛋白及其相互作用蛋白的知识，强调了它们在寄生虫发育和阶段特异性分化中的潜在作用。此外，它探讨了将细胞骨架系统作为针对 新型治疗干预策略的潜力。综述最后指出了关键的知识空白，并提出了未来的研究方向，以更好地理解这种重要人类寄生虫中肌动蛋白驱动的发病机制。
