The mechanisms of communication between Extracellular Vesicles released by Trypanosoma cruzi and human cardiomyocytes

• Grant number: 24/15997-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: December 01, 2024
• End date: July 31, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Parasitology - Protozoology of Parasites
• Principal Investigator: Ana Claudia Trocoli Torrecilhas
• Grantee: Mariana Ottaiano Gonçalves
• Host Institution: Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Chagas disease (CD) is a neglected tropical disease caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, that has been identified in Latin and Central America. Although ongoing efforts to treat the disease, individuals can develop chronic forms that seriously compromise their hearts and digestive systems. Chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy (CCC) is one of the most serious consequences, affecting approximately a third of all infected patients. The protozoan's interaction with the host's cardiac cells is still insufficiently understood. Our research has showed that T. cruzi trypomastigote forms shedding extracellular vesicles (EVs) modulate the parasite infection. EVs promote parasite invasion of host cells, induce immune response, and increase parasitism in cardiac tissues. This PhD study aims to investigate the processes of interaction between T. cruzi EVs and human cardiomyocytes. The study will investigate the expression of proteins and glycoconjugates, secondary metabolites, cytokines, and the activation of signaling cascades that regulate the cellular immune response. The goal is to gain a greater awareness of the processes of parasite interaction in the cardiac environment. The student will do a BEPE at Prof. Mª del Carmen Fernandez Becerra's laboratory at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGLOBAL) in Barcelona, Spain, as part of the proposal development process. The BEPE will provide training and experience in the development of technologies that may lead to advances in understanding the function of cardiomyocytes during T. cruzi infection and the role of EVs in the pathogenesis of CD, which could contribute to the development of new therapeutic approaches in the future.