Spatial transcriptomics to uncover spatio-temporal expression dynamics during Leishmania host-parasite interactions

• Grant number: 22/14226-0
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: March 01, 2023
• End date: February 28, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Parasitology - Protozoology of Parasites
• Mobility Program: SPRINT - Projetos de pesquisa - Mobilidade
• Principal Investigator: Nilmar Silvio Moretti
• Grantee: Nilmar Silvio Moretti
• Principal researcher abroad: Johan Ankarklev
• Institution abroad: Stockholm University, Sweden
• Host Institution: Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 22/03075-0 - Unraveling the regulatory mechanisms of host-parasite interaction of Leishmania: focus on post-transcriptional and post-translational changes, AP.PNGP.PI

Abstract

Leishmania infantum is a parasite that causes visceral leishmaniasis, which if not treated can be lethal. During the sandfly bloodmeal the parasite can ben inoculated, reach the bloodstream and infect liver and spleen resident macrophages, which during the progression of infection can lead to the development of hepato and splenomegaly. Understanding the L. infantum host interaction in these organs is important to know more about the disease and to further develop new treatments. The Spatial Transcriptomics (ST) approach that allows scientists to get transcriptomic data in the positional context of cells in a tissue and could be applied in the context of L. infantum inner organ infection to investigate how the disease progress and which are the major genes/cells involved in this process. Thus, in this project we intend to collaborate with Dr. Ankarklev's group, which was pioneer in applying ST to study the liver in the context of Plasmodium spp. infection, to establish/implement a ST protocol in L. infantum-liver infected samples from mice. In parallel, students from our group will be trained not only on how to perform ST experiments, but will also obtain fully training in the computational tools used to analyzed the data generated by ST experiments. In the end, this project will give the opportunity to establish in Brazil the expertise to perform ST experiments that could be used in the future in the context of different pathogens, training students and to strengthens the collaboration between the Brazilian and Swedish group. (AU)