Abstract
Trichomonas vaginalis is a flagellate protozoan that parasitises the urogenital human tract and causes trichomoniasis. During the infection, the acquisition of nutrients, such as iron and purine and pyrimidine nucleosides, is essential for the survival of the parasite. The enzymes for purinergic signalling, including adenosine deaminase (ADA), which degrades adenosine to inosine, have been characterised in T. vaginalis. In the evaluation of the ADA profile in different T. vaginalis isolates treated with different iron sources or with limited iron availability, a decrease in activity and an increase in ADA gene expression after iron limitation by 2,2-bipyridyl and ferrozine chelators were observed. This supported the hypothesis that iron can modulate the activity of the enzymes involved in purinergic signalling. Under bovine serum limitation conditions, no significant differences were observed. The results obtained in this study allow for the assessment of important aspects of ADA and contribute to a better understanding of the purinergic system in T. vaginalis and the role of iron in establishing infection and parasite survival.
Highlights
Trichomonas vaginalis is a flagellate that parasitises the human urogenital tract and causes trichomoniasis, the most common, nonviral sexually transmitted disease (STD) in the world
The effect of the serum limitation condition (1% heatinactivated bovine serum (HIBS)) on adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity in T. vaginalis trophozoites was evaluated
The experimental condition that used trophozoites that had been previously inoculated with 1% HIBS demonstrated that ADA activity was not affected by this condition
Summary
Trichomonas vaginalis is a flagellate that parasitises the human urogenital tract and causes trichomoniasis, the most common, nonviral sexually transmitted disease (STD) in the world. Considering the questions regarding the role of ADA in this parasite’s survival, this study investigated the effect of essential nutrients, bovine serum and iron on enzyme activity and gene expression. Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) - To evaluate the iron limitation effect on the gene expression of T. vaginalis ADA, a qRT-PCR assay was performed.
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