Comparative transcriptome profiling of virulent and non-virulent Trypanosoma cruzi underlines the role of surface proteins during infection

PLoS Pathogens

Caroline Junqueira¹  Ricardo T. Gazzinelli¹  Luciana W. Zuccherato²  Bruna M. Valente²  Barbara A. Burleigh²  Antonio Edson R. Oliveira²  Daniella C. Bartholomeu³  Gabriela F. Rodrigues-Luiz³  A. Trey Belew⁴  Santuza M. R. Teixeira⁴  Najib M. El-Sayed⁵  Sergio Schenkman⁶  Rafael B. Polidoro⁶ 

[1] Centro de Pesquisas Rene Rachou, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil;Departamento de Bioquímica e Imunologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil;Departamento de Parasitologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil;Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics and Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, United States of America;Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America;Departmento de Microbiologia, Imunologia e Parasitologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

关键词: Amastigotes;    Trypomastigotes;    Gene expression;    Parasitic diseases;    Trypanosoma cruzi;    Cell differentiation;    Epimastigotes;    Comparative genomics;   

DOI  :  10.1371/journal.ppat.1006767

学科分类：生物科学（综合）

来源: Public Library of Science

【 摘 要 】

Trypanosoma cruzi, the protozoan that causes Chagas disease, has a complex life cycle involving several morphologically and biochemically distinct stages that establish intricate interactions with various insect and mammalian hosts. It has also a heterogeneous population structure comprising strains with distinct properties such as virulence, sensitivity to drugs, antigenic profile and tissue tropism. We present a comparative transcriptome analysis of two cloned T. cruzi strains that display contrasting virulence phenotypes in animal models of infection: CL Brener is a virulent clone and CL-14 is a clone that is neither infective nor pathogenic in in vivo models of infection. Gene expression analysis of trypomastigotes and intracellular amastigotes harvested at 60 and 96 hours post-infection (hpi) of human fibroblasts revealed large differences that reflect the parasite’s adaptation to distinct environments during the infection of mammalian cells, including changes in energy sources, oxidative stress responses, cell cycle control and cell surface components. While extensive transcriptome remodeling was observed when trypomastigotes of both strains were compared to 60 hpi amastigotes, differences in gene expression were much less pronounced when 96 hpi amastigotes and trypomastigotes of CL Brener were compared. In contrast, the differentiation of the avirulent CL-14 from 96 hpi amastigotes to extracellular trypomastigotes was associated with considerable changes in gene expression, particularly in gene families encoding surface proteins such as trans-sialidases, mucins and the mucin associated surface proteins (MASPs). Thus, our comparative transcriptome analysis indicates that the avirulent phenotype of CL-14 may be due, at least in part, to a reduced or delayed expression of genes encoding surface proteins that are associated with the transition of amastigotes to trypomastigotes, an essential step in the establishment of the infection in the mammalian host. Confirming the role of members of the trans-sialidase family of surface proteins for parasite differentiation, transfected CL-14 constitutively expressing a trans-sialidase gene displayed faster kinetics of trypomastigote release in the supernatant of infected cells compared to wild type CL-14.

【 授权许可】

CC BY