Abstract
Trypanosoma cruzi, the protozoan responsible for Chagas disease, has a complex life cycle comprehending two distinct hosts and a series of morphological and functional transformations. Hemoglobin degradation inside the insect vector releases high amounts of heme, and this molecule is known to exert a number of physiological functions. Moreover, the absence of its complete biosynthetic pathway in T. cruzi indicates heme as an essential molecule for this trypanosomatid survival. Within the hosts, T. cruzi has to cope with sudden environmental changes especially in the redox status and heme is able to increase the basal production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) which can be also produced as byproducts of the parasite aerobic metabolism. In this regard, ROS sensing is likely to be an important mechanism for the adaptation and interaction of these organisms with their hosts. In this paper we discuss the main features of heme and ROS susceptibility in T. cruzi biology.
Highlights
Marcia Cristina Paes,1, 2 Daniela Cosentino-Gomes,3, 4 Cıntia Fernandes de Souza,1, 2 Natalia Pereira de Almeida Nogueira,1 and Jose Roberto Meyer-Fernandes3, 4
T. cruzi has to cope with sudden environmental changes especially in the redox status and heme is able to increase the basal production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) which can be produced as byproducts of the parasite aerobic metabolism
Membrane-bound phosphatases from T. cruzi are more resistant to the addition of sublethal doses of hydrogen peroxide than Trypanosoma rangeli phosphatase [78]
Summary
Trypanosoma cruzi comprises a complex group of parasite populations circulating among humans, vectors, reservoirs, and wild and domestic animals [1] This parasite is the causative agent of Chagas disease or American trypanosomiasis [2] and is transmitted through triatomine vectors, which are blood-sucking insects, when they feed on the vertebrate host. The organisms penetrate the mucosa where there are many macrophages; after intense multiplication in the host cell in the form of amastigotes, they transform into trypomastigotes again, returning to the vertebrate circulation and completing the cycle [3]. These series of morphological and biochemical transformations in the life cycle may occur in response to external stimuli [4]. This paper will focus on the principal features of heme in T. cruzi biology and how different forms of these parasites are susceptible to ROS
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