Structure and Function of Trypanosoma cruzi Molecules that Interact with its Hosts

• Grant number: 94/03496-4
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• Start date: May 01, 1995
• End date: May 31, 1999
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Parasitology - Protozoology of Parasites
• Principal Investigator: Nobuko Yoshida
• Grantee: Nobuko Yoshida
• Host Institution: Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant(s): 98/11640-9 - Comparison of antibody and protective imune responses agaist t cruzi infection elicited by inmunization with a parasite antigen delivered as naked dna or recombinant protein., AR.BR; 98/11520-3 - The Nuclear Reorganization correlates with the differential transcriptional rates during diferentiation of the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, AR.EXT; 97/07594-9 - "passive transfer of a monoclonal antibody specific for a sialic acid-dependent epitope on the surface of..."., PUB.ART; 96/06599-4 - Elisabetta Ullu | Yale University School of Medicine - Estados Unidos, AV.EXT; 95/09971-9 - The lipid structure of the glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored mucin-like sialic acid accept..., PUB.ART

Abstract

The objective of the project is to study, at the molecular level, the interaction of Trypanosoma cruzi with its mammalian host and the insect vector. Our aim is to understand the molecular basis of some fundamental aspects of T. cruzi life cycle. Molecules of different developmental stages of the parasite, to be studied in this project, participate in procecesses such as adhesion and cell invasion, and may be implicated in various aspects of Parasite-Host interaction. We will investigate the involvement of these molecules in cell invasion and induction of immune responses, their roles in the parasite Tropism in the mammalian host and their association with pathological alteration in Chagas disease, as well as the interaction with the insect vector. The elucidation of structure and function of these molecules and their subunits may be of relevance for eventual control of T. cruzi infection. (AU)