Characterization of the chitinase from South American endemic Leishmania species: use in diagnosis in humans, dogs and sandflies.

• Grant number: 16/14514-4
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Duration: February 01, 2017 - July 31, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Medical Clinics
• Principal Investigator: Marcia Aparecida Speranca
• Grantee: Marcia Aparecida Speranca
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas (CCNH). Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC). Ministério da Educação (Brasil). Santo André , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Aline Diniz Cabral ; Andréa Pereira da Costa ; Arlei Marcili ; Luciamare Perinetti Alves Martins

Abstract

Leishmaniasis is a neglected infectious disease expanding in South America, including Brazil, caused by Leishmania parasites, from Kinetoplastida class and family Trypanosomatidae. There are more than 30 species of Leishmania and from these, 20 cause disease in humans worldwide. The transmission of the parasite occurs in dysphasic cycles by insect vectors of Psycodidae Family (sandflies), genera Phlebotomus (Old World) and Lutzomyia (New World - the Americas), to humans, domestic dogs and wild animals. The clinical presentation of this disease depend on the parasite species and host immune response being variable, with a spectrum ranging from asymptomatic individuals and animals; tegument lesions (TL), which may be cutaneous and mucocutaneous with disfiguring and disabling consequences; and the visceral form (VL) which is the most severe since if it is not treated properly, can lead to death. In South America, VL is caused by L. infantum chagasi, whereas TL is mainly caused by the species L. braziliensis, L. amazonensis, L. guyanensis, L. naiffi, L. shawi, and L. lainsoni. Each Leishmania species are transmitted by specific insect vectors. The ineffectiveness of current leishmaniasis control methods and treatment of is related to the difficulty in diagnosing and identifying circulating species of Leishmania. Correct Leishmania sp identification is essential for the correct treatment and also management of animal reservoirs, especially in endemic areas for several species of the parasite, as well as other trypanosomes, which leads to cross-reactions in diagnostic tests. A previous study conducted by our research group demonstrated that the gene encoding the L. i. chagasi chitinase showed high sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of this Leishmania specie in human samples. The nucleotide and aminoacid chitinase sequences are specific for each Leishmania specie; the expression of the protein takes place in vertebrate and invertebrate parasite development stages; and the protein is exported to the extracellular environment. All these characteristics support the hypothesis that the Leishmania chitinase correspond to an excellent tool for molecular diagnostics and for detection of specific antibodies produced against each parasite species. Thus, the objective of this project is to use the chitinase encoding gene as target for molecular diagnosis of South American endemic Leishmania species in humans, dogs and sandflies. Recombinant forms of the protein will be used in serological tests for different Leishmania species in humans and dogs (AU)

Scientific publications

(10)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

DA SILVA, VIVIAM M.; CABRAL, ALINE D.; SPERANCA, MARCIA A.; SQUINA, FABIO M.; MUNIZ, JOAO RENATO C.; MARTIN, LYDIE; NICOLET, YVAIN; GARCIA, WANIUS. High-resolution structure of a modular hyperthermostable endo-beta-1,4-mannanase from Thermotoga petrophila: The ancillary immunoglobulin-like module is a thermostabilizing domain. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-PROTEINS AND PROTEOMICS, v. 1868, n. 8, AUG 2020. (13/26096-4, 16/15836-5, 17/17275-3, 17/16291-5, 14/02065-5, 16/14514-4, 14/50897-0, 15/50590-4)

CAMPELLO, A. C.; ZANELLA, L. G. F. A. B. D. E.; SUZUKI, R. B.; TOKUMO, M. O.; CHAGAS, E. F. B.; BALEOTTI, W.; SPERANCA, M. A.; MARTINS, L. P. A.. Correlation of plasma butyrylcholinesterase concentration with Acethylcholinesterase H353N polymorphism in the inflammatory response of Chagas disease patients. Parasitology International, v. 76, JUN 2020. (11/23378-3, 13/14166-8, 16/14514-4)

VERDE OLIVEIRA ROCHA, ANA VITORIA; SODRE MORENO, BRENDA FERNANDA; CABRAL, ALINE DINIZ; LOUZEIRO, NAYARA MENDES; MIRANDA, LEANDRO MACEDO; BRANDAO DOS SANTOS, VIVIAN MAGALHAES; COSTA, FRANCISCO BORGES; SEABRA NOGUEIRA, RITA DE MARIA; MARCILI, ARLEI; SPERANCA, MARCIA APARECIDA; et al. Diagnosis and epidemiology of Leishmania infantum in domestic cats in an endemic area of the Amazon region, Brazil. Veterinary Parasitology, v. 273, p. 80-85, SEP 2019. (13/26096-4, 11/00147-6, 16/14514-4, 10/50886-7)

BIANCA MELO CEGOLIN; GABRIEL MARANGÃO BUENO; GABRIEL LOPES PEREIRA; DAUBIAN SANTOS; CHARLES MORPHY DIAS DOS SANTOS. Description and molecular characterization of Chrysopilus kafkai sp. nov. (Diptera: Rhagionidae) from Serra da Bodoquena (Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil). Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia (São Paulo), v. 60, 2020-09-28. (16/14514-4, 17/11768-8, 10/52314-0)

RANCAN, EDUARDO ALEXANDRE; BAISI CHAGAS, EDUARDO FEDERIGHI; SPERANCA, MARCIA APARECIDA; DE LACERDA CARVALHO, VALERIA CAMARGO; ALVES MARTINS, LUCIAMARE PERINETTI; SUZUKI, RODRIGO BUZINARO. Spatio-temporal distribution of human American visceral leishmaniasis in the Western region of Sao Paulo State, from 2004 to 2018. Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo, v. 62, 2020. (16/14514-4)

RANGEL, MARINA E. O.; OLIVEIRA, LUANA P. R.; CABRAL, ALINE D.; GOIS, KATHARYNA C.; LIMA, MARCOS V. M.; REIS, BEATRIZ C. A. A.; FONSECA, FERNANDO L. A.; SPERANCA, MARCIA A.; GEHRKE, FLAVIA S.; LAPORTA, GABRIEL Z.. Dengue-2 and Guadeloupe Mosquito Virus RNA Detected in Aedes (Stegomyia) spp. Collected in a Vehicle Impound Yard in Santo Andre, SP, Brazil. INSECTS, v. 12, n. 3, MAR 2021. (16/14514-4, 19/11384-0, 16/14457-0)

CABRAL, ALINE DINIZ; GARCIA, FELIPE BAENA; DA COSTA, RENATA TORRES; PEREIRA VASCONCELOS, LIGIA MARINHO; UEHARA, MABEL; SANTOS, EDMAR SILVA; SPERANCA, MARCIA APARECIDA. A scalable suspension insect cell transfection method for production of baculoviruses with low amplification passages. METHODSX, v. 7, 2020. (09/11347-6, 13/26096-4, 16/14514-4, 12/20221-9)

CABRAL, ALINE DINIZ; GARCIA, FELIPE BAENA; SUZUKI, RODRIGO BUZINARO; GOIS FILHO, TANIL LACERDA; DA COSTA, RENATA TORRES; PEREIRA VASCONCELOS, LIGIA MARINHO; SANTOS, EDMAR SILVA; SPERANCA, MARCIA APARECIDA. Dataset on recombinant expression of an ancient chitinase gene from different species of Leishmania parasites in bacteria and in Spodoptera frugiperda cells using baculovirus. DATA IN BRIEF, v. 32, OCT 2020. (13/26096-4, 16/14514-4, 12/20221-9)

SANTOS, DAUBIAN; RIBEIRO, GUILHERME CUNHA; CABRAL, ALINE DINIZ; SPERANCA, MARCIA APARECIDA. A non-destructive enzymatic method to extract DNA from arthropod specimens: Implications for morphological and molecular studies. PLoS One, v. 13, n. 2, FEB 1 2018. (16/14514-4, 13/26096-4)

GARCIA, FELIPE BAENA; CABRAL, ALINE DINIZ; FUHLENDORF, MAX MARIO; DA CRUZ, GEOMAR FEITOSA; DOS SANTOS, JULIETE VITORINO; FERREIRA, GRAZIELE CRISTINA; CARNEIRO DE REZENDE, BERNARD ROBIN; SANTANA, CARLA MOREIRA; PUZER, LUCIANO; SASAKI, SERGIO DAISHI; et al. Functional and structural characterization of an ecotin-like serine protease inhibitor from Trypanosoma cruzi. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, v. 151, p. 459-466, MAY 15 2020. (13/26096-4, 17/17275-3, 16/14514-4)