Function of ABC transport proteins in the resistance of Trypanosoma cruzi to benznidazole

• Grant number: 23/14300-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Program to Stimulate Scientific Vocations
• Start date: February 17, 2024
• End date: March 22, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biochemistry - Biochemistry of Microorganisms
• Principal Investigator: Lucia Mendonça Previato
• Grantee: Ana Carolina Rodrigues
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho (IBCCF). Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). Ministério da Educação (Brasil)

Abstract

Chagas disease is a neglected disease with several transmission routes for T. cruzi and affects millions of people around the world. Many efforts are made to keep the disease under control. However, the drug resistance phenotype has been an obstacle to current chemotherapy for Chagas disease due to the presence of mechanisms that confer resistance to the parasite to the single chemotherapy drug (benznidazole) currently used. Among these mechanisms, overexpression of ABC transporters (ATP-binding cassette) has frequently appeared in the context of drug resistance, parasitic diseases and cancer.Although the first transporters were described in the 1990s in trypanosomatids, little is known about their role in homeostasis and acquisition of resistance in T. cruzi. Our project seeks to expand knowledge about ABC transporters in Chagas disease, evaluating their involvement in resistance to existing chemotherapy.With this, we seek to contribute to the design of new drugs and the improvement of current treatment, since increased expression of ABC transporters reduces the effectiveness of treatment. (AU)