Production and biochemical characterization of the metacaspase (CaMCA) of Candida albicans

• Grant number: 17/23543-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: April 01, 2018
• End date: March 31, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biochemistry - Enzymology
• Agreement: Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)
• Principal Investigator: Mauricio Ferreira Marcondes Machado
• Grantee: Taíz dos Reis Santos
• Host Institution: Pró-Reitoria Acadêmica. Universidade de Mogi das Cruzes (UMC). Campus da Sede Mogi das Cruzes. Mogi das Cruzes , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Life cycle is basically determined by division, differentiation, and death process. In recent years, studies have shown the involvement of a family of proteases involved in programmed cell death in mammals, in simple eukaryotic organisms such as fungi and protozoa (metacaspases), in metazoa, as well as in the amyboid Dictyostelium sp (paracaspases), but few are the studies on the biochemical functionality of these proteases. In the present project we intend to perform the biochemical study to determine the kinetic parameters (KM, kcat and kcat / KM) of Candida albicans metacaspase (CaMCA), with this to study the specificity, to evaluate the effect of salts, pH and temperature on the activity proteolytic activity of these proteases. It was recently described the importance of calcium in the functioning of these proteases, we also intend to carry out kinetic assays with CaMCA by varying the concentration of this ion and to investigate its importance in the structure-activity relationship of this protease, evaluating the effect of calcium on physicochemical parameters of the CaMCA. (AU)