Study of the metabolic flux to analyze the relationships between biochemical pathways of amino acids and biological processes of Trypanosoma cruzi

• Grant number: 22/09116-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: November 01, 2023
• End date: October 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Parasitology - Protozoology of Parasites
• Principal Investigator: Ariel Mariano Silber
• Grantee: Sabrina Del Carmen Marsiccobetre Castaneda
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 21/12938-0 - Amino acid metabolism in Trypanosoma cruzi: a toolbox to survive in hostile environments, AP.TEM
• Associated scholarship(s): 24/19177-2 - Follow-up of the metabolism of histidine and BCAA in Trypanosoma cruzi and Trypanosoma brucei: a metabolomic and lipidomic analysis, BE.EP.PD

Abstract

Our work group focuses on the study of the biochemical pathways of amino acids in trypanosomatids, among them Trypanosoma cruzi, the parasite that causes Chagas disease. This project aims to generate biological data to unravel interconnections between metabolic pathways that are not obviously connected. For this, the metabolic fluxes of different strains of Trypanosoma cruzi, which have deletion of key enzymes of amino acid metabolic pathways, will be determined. Currently, in the laboratory, metabolic models of T. cruzi based on the genomic scale are being developed, expanded in relation to those previously published. The biological data obtained will be transferred to metabolic models under development. These models will constitute a tool of interest to the research community interested in the development of new drugs against T. cruzi. (AU)