NTPDase-1 de Trypanosoma cruzi: imunolocalização e estudo de seu papel nas etapas iniciais da infecção celular por formas epimastigotas

• Autor(a) principal: Trindade, Mellina Lanna
• Data de Publicação: 2012
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: LOCUS Repositório Institucional da UFV
• Texto Completo: http://locus.ufv.br/handle/123456789/2353
• topic: Trypanossoma cruzi; Imunolocalização; Adesão; NTPDase 1; Trypanosoma cruzi; Immunolocalization; Accession; NTPDase 1; CNPQ::CIENCIAS BIOLOGICAS::BIOLOGIA GERAL

Chagas disease, also known as American trypanosomiasis, is a tropical disease caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi that is found mainly in Latin America and currently affects roughly 10 million people worldwide. This disease is transmitted to humans and over 150 species of domestic and wild mammals through the feces of triatomas infected while feeding on blood. NTPDase1 is an ectonucleotidase characterized in the Y strain of T. cruzi as a protein present on the surface of the parasite, is an important factor in virulence and infectivity and is considered a good candidate for blocking the infection. This enzyme catalyzes the hydrolysis of adinosine tri- and diphosphates and is probably capable of modulating purinergic signaling in mammals. The objective of this work was to evaluate the role of NTPDase1 in cellular adhesion of the parasite on mammal cells through blockage assays with specific antibodies and competition with the recombinant protein, in addition to verification of the localization of the NTPDase1 in the epimastigotes using fluorescent confocal microscopy and electron microscopy. The results indicate a significant reduction in the epimastigote adhesion on Vero cells, reaching an inhibition rate of up to 85% in competition tests with the recombinant NTPDase1 protein and up to 61% inhibition rates in the presence of purified NTPDase1 antibodies, compared with the control group composed solely of Vero cells and T. cruzi epimastigotes. The images obtained using confocal and immunoelectron microscopy reveal the expression of the protein on the surface of the parasite and near the base of the flagellum. The discovery of the presence of molecules involved in the infection process in the parasite-host interactions and knowledge of the function of these biomolecules may lead to a good target for chemotherapy.