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Extensive Translational Regulation through the Proliferative Transition of Trypanosoma cruzi Revealed by Multi-Omics. mSphere 2021; 6:e0036621. [PMID: 34468164 PMCID: PMC8550152 DOI: 10.1128/msphere.00366-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Trypanosoma cruzi is the etiological agent for Chagas disease, a neglected parasitic disease in Latin America. Gene transcription control governs the eukaryotic cell replication but is absent in trypanosomatids; thus, it must be replaced by posttranscriptional regulatory events. We investigated the entrance into the T. cruzi replicative cycle using ribosome profiling and proteomics on G1/S epimastigote cultures synchronized with hydroxyurea. We identified 1,784 translationally regulated genes (change > 2, false-discovery rate [FDR] < 0.05) and 653 differentially expressed proteins (change > 1.5, FDR < 0.05), respectively. A major translational remodeling accompanied by an extensive proteome change is found, while the transcriptome remains largely unperturbed at the replicative entrance of the cell cycle. The differentially expressed genes comprise specific cell cycle processes, confirming previous findings while revealing candidate cell cycle regulators that undergo previously unnoticed translational regulation. Clusters of genes showing a coordinated regulation at translation and protein abundance share related biological functions such as cytoskeleton organization and mitochondrial metabolism; thus, they may represent posttranscriptional regulons. The translatome and proteome of the coregulated clusters change in both coupled and uncoupled directions, suggesting that complex cross talk between the two processes is required to achieve adequate protein levels of different regulons. This is the first simultaneous assessment of the transcriptome, translatome, and proteome of trypanosomatids, which represent a paradigm for the absence of transcriptional control. The findings suggest that gene expression chronology along the T. cruzi cell cycle is controlled mainly by translatome and proteome changes coordinated using different mechanisms for specific gene groups. IMPORTANCE Trypanosoma cruzi is an ancient eukaryotic unicellular parasite causing Chagas disease, a potentially life-threatening illness that affects 6 to 7 million people, mostly in Latin America. The antiparasitic treatments for the disease have incomplete efficacy and adverse reactions; thus, improved drugs are needed. We study the mechanisms governing the replication of the parasite, aiming to find differences with the human host, valuable for the development of parasite-specific antiproliferative drugs. Transcriptional regulation is essential for replication in most eukaryotes, but in trypanosomatids, it must be replaced by subsequent gene regulation steps since they lack transcription initiation control. We identified the genome-wide remodeling of mRNA translation and protein abundance during the entrance to the replicative phase of the cell cycle. We found that translation is strongly regulated, causing variation in protein levels of specific cell cycle processes, representing the first simultaneous study of the translatome and proteome in trypanosomatids.
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Coelho FS, Oliveira MM, Vieira DP, Torres PHM, Moreira ICF, Martins-Duarte ES, Gonçalves IC, Cabanelas A, Pascutti PG, Fragoso SP, Lopes AH. A novel receptor for platelet-activating factor and lysophosphatidylcholine in Trypanosoma cruzi. Mol Microbiol 2021; 116:890-908. [PMID: 34184334 DOI: 10.1111/mmi.14778] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2021] [Revised: 06/24/2021] [Accepted: 06/26/2021] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
The lipid mediators, platelet-activating factor (PAF) and lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC), play relevant pathophysiological roles in Trypanosoma cruzi infection. Several species of LPC, including C18:1 LPC, which mimics the effects of PAF, are synthesized by T. cruzi. The present study identified a receptor in T. cruzi, which was predicted to bind to PAF, and found it to be homologous to members of the progestin and adiponectin family of receptors (PAQRs). We constructed a three-dimensional model of the T. cruzi PAQR (TcPAQR) and performed molecular docking to predict the interactions of the TcPAQR model with C16:0 PAF and C18:1 LPC. We knocked out T. cruzi PAQR (TcPAQR) gene and confirmed the identity of the expressed protein through immunoblotting and immunofluorescence assays using an anti-human PAQR antibody. Wild-type and knockout (KO) parasites were also used to investigate the in vitro cell differentiation and interactions with peritoneal mouse macrophages; TcPAQR KO parasites were unable to react to C16:0 PAF or C18:1 LPC. Our data are highly suggestive that PAF and LPC act through TcPAQR in T. cruzi, triggering its cellular differentiation and ability to infect macrophages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felipe S Coelho
- Instituto de Microbiologia Paulo de Góes, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Mauricio M Oliveira
- Instituto de Bioquímica Médica Leopoldo de Meis, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | | | - Pedro H M Torres
- Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Isabel C F Moreira
- Instituto de Microbiologia Paulo de Góes, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Erica S Martins-Duarte
- Departmento de Parasitologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Inês C Gonçalves
- Instituto de Microbiologia Paulo de Góes, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Adriana Cabanelas
- Instituto de Microbiologia Paulo de Góes, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Pedro G Pascutti
- Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Stenio P Fragoso
- Laboratório de Biologia Molecular e Sistêmica de Tripanossomatídeos, Instituto Carlos Chagas, Curitiba, Brazil
| | - Angela H Lopes
- Instituto de Microbiologia Paulo de Góes, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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dos Santos Vasconcelos CR, Rezende AM. Systematic in silico Evaluation of Leishmania spp. Proteomes for Drug Discovery. Front Chem 2021; 9:607139. [PMID: 33987166 PMCID: PMC8111926 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2021.607139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2020] [Accepted: 03/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Leishmaniasis is a group of neglected infectious diseases, with approximately 1. 3 million new cases each year, for which the available therapies have serious limitations. Therefore, it is extremely important to apply efficient and low-cost methods capable of selecting the best therapeutic targets to speed up the development of new therapies against those diseases. Thus, we propose the use of integrated computational methods capable of evaluating the druggability of the predicted proteomes of Leishmania braziliensis and Leishmania infantum, species responsible for the different clinical manifestations of leishmaniasis in Brazil. The protein members of those proteomes were assessed based on their structural, chemical, and functional contexts applying methods that integrate data on molecular function, biological processes, subcellular localization, drug binding sites, druggability, and gene expression. These data were compared to those extracted from already known drug targets (BindingDB targets), which made it possible to evaluate Leishmania proteomes for their biological relevance and treatability. Through this methodology, we identified more than 100 proteins of each Leishmania species with druggability characteristics, and potential interaction with available drugs. Among those, 31 and 37 proteins of L. braziliensis and L. infantum, respectively, have never been tested as drug targets, and they have shown evidence of gene expression in the evolutionary stage of pharmacological interest. Also, some of those Leishmania targets showed an alignment similarity of <50% when compared to the human proteome, making these proteins pharmacologically attractive, as they present a reduced risk of side effects. The methodology used in this study also allowed the evaluation of opportunities for the repurposing of compounds as anti-leishmaniasis drugs, inferring potential interaction between Leishmania proteins and ~1,000 compounds, of which only 15 have already been tested as a treatment for leishmaniasis. Besides, a list of potential Leishmania targets to be tested using drugs described at BindingDB, such as the potential interaction of the DEAD box RNA helicase, TRYR, and PEPCK proteins with the Staurosporine compound, was made available to the public.
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Affiliation(s)
- Crhisllane Rafaele dos Santos Vasconcelos
- Bioinformatics Plataform, Microbiology Department, Instituto Aggeu Magalhães, Recife, Brazil
- Posgraduate Program in Genetics, Genetics Department, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
| | - Antonio Mauro Rezende
- Bioinformatics Plataform, Microbiology Department, Instituto Aggeu Magalhães, Recife, Brazil
- Posgraduate Program in Genetics, Genetics Department, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
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D'Andréa ÉD, Retel JS, Diehl A, Schmieder P, Oschkinat H, Pires JR. NMR structure and dynamics of Q4DY78, a conserved kinetoplasid-specific protein from Trypanosoma cruzi. J Struct Biol 2021; 213:107715. [PMID: 33705979 DOI: 10.1016/j.jsb.2021.107715] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2020] [Revised: 03/01/2021] [Accepted: 03/03/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
The 106-residue protein Q4DY78 (UniProt accession number) from Trypanosoma cruzi is highly conserved in the related kinetoplastid pathogens Trypanosoma brucei and Leishmania major. Given the essentiality of its orthologue in T. brucei, the high sequence conservation with other trypanosomatid proteins, and the low sequence similarity with mammalian proteins, Q4DY78 is an attractive protein for structural characterization. Here, we solved the structure of Q4DY78 by solution NMR and evaluated its backbone dynamics. Q4DY78 is composed of five α -helices and a small, two-stranded antiparallel β-sheet. The backbone RMSD is 0.22 ± 0.05 Å for the representative ensemble of the 20 lowest-energy structures. Q4DY78 is overall rigid, except for N-terminal residues (V8 to I10), residues at loop 4 (K57 to G65) and residues at the C-terminus (F89 to F112). Q4DY78 has a short motif FPCAP that could potentially mediate interactions with the host cytoskeleton via interaction with EVH1 (Drosophila Enabled (Ena)/Vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (VASP) homology 1) domains. Albeit Q4DY78 lacks calcium-binding motifs, its fold resembles that of eukaryotic calcium-binding proteins such as calcitracin, calmodulin, and polcacin Bet V4. We characterized this novel protein with a calcium binding fold without the capacity to bind calcium.
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Affiliation(s)
- Éverton Dias D'Andréa
- Instituto de Bioquímica Médica Leopoldo de Meis, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Av. Carlos Chagas Filho, 373 - Bloco E, sala 32, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 21941-902, Brazil
| | - Joren Sebastian Retel
- Leibniz-Institut für Molekulare Pharmakologie, FMP, Robert-Rössle-Straβe 10, Berlin 13125, Germany
| | - Anne Diehl
- Leibniz-Institut für Molekulare Pharmakologie, FMP, Robert-Rössle-Straβe 10, Berlin 13125, Germany
| | - Peter Schmieder
- Leibniz-Institut für Molekulare Pharmakologie, FMP, Robert-Rössle-Straβe 10, Berlin 13125, Germany
| | - Hartmut Oschkinat
- Leibniz-Institut für Molekulare Pharmakologie, FMP, Robert-Rössle-Straβe 10, Berlin 13125, Germany; Freie Universität Berlin, Institut für Chemie und Biochemie, Takustrasse 3, Berlin 14195, Germany
| | - José Ricardo Pires
- Instituto de Bioquímica Médica Leopoldo de Meis, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Av. Carlos Chagas Filho, 373 - Bloco E, sala 32, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 21941-902, Brazil.
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Bhattacharya A, Corbeil A, do Monte-Neto RL, Fernandez-Prada C. Of Drugs and Trypanosomatids: New Tools and Knowledge to Reduce Bottlenecks in Drug Discovery. Genes (Basel) 2020; 11:genes11070722. [PMID: 32610603 PMCID: PMC7397081 DOI: 10.3390/genes11070722] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2020] [Revised: 06/23/2020] [Accepted: 06/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Leishmaniasis (Leishmania species), sleeping sickness (Trypanosoma brucei), and Chagas disease (Trypanosoma cruzi) are devastating and globally spread diseases caused by trypanosomatid parasites. At present, drugs for treating trypanosomatid diseases are far from ideal due to host toxicity, elevated cost, limited access, and increasing rates of drug resistance. Technological advances in parasitology, chemistry, and genomics have unlocked new possibilities for novel drug concepts and compound screening technologies that were previously inaccessible. In this perspective, we discuss current models used in drug-discovery cascades targeting trypanosomatids (from in vitro to in vivo approaches), their use and limitations in a biological context, as well as different examples of recently discovered lead compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arijit Bhattacharya
- Department of Microbiology, Adamas University, Kolkata, West Bengal 700 126, India;
| | - Audrey Corbeil
- Department of Pathology and Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Université de Montréal, Saint-Hyacinthe, QC J2S 2M2, Canada;
| | | | - Christopher Fernandez-Prada
- Department of Pathology and Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Université de Montréal, Saint-Hyacinthe, QC J2S 2M2, Canada;
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-450-773-8521 (ext. 32802)
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da Silva AD, Dos Santos JA, Machado PA, Alves LA, Laque LC, de Souza VC, Coimbra ES, Capriles PVSZ. Insights about resveratrol analogs against trypanothione reductase of Leishmania braziliensis: Molecular modeling, computational docking and in vitro antileishmanial studies. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2018; 37:2960-2969. [PMID: 30058445 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2018.1502096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
In this work, we combined molecular modeling, computational docking and in vitro analysis to explore the antileishmanial effect of some resveratrol analogs (ResAn), focusing on their pro-oxidant effect. The molecular target was the trypanothione reductase of Leishmania braziliensis (LbTryR), an essential component of the antioxidant defenses in trypanosomatid parasites. Three-dimensional structures of LbTryR were modeled and molecular docking studies of ResAn1-5 compounds showed the following affinity: ResAn1 > ResAn2 > ResAn4 > ResAn5 > ResAn3. Positive correlation was observed between these compounds' affinity to the LbTryR and the IC50 values against Leishmania sp (ResAn1 < ResAn2 < ResAn4), which allows for TryR being considered an important target for them. As the compound ResAn1 showed the best antileishmanial activity, and docking studies showed its high affinity for NADP binding site (NS) of TryR, plus having been able to induce ROS production in L. braziliensis promastigotes treated, ResAn1 probably occupies NS interfering in the electron transfer processes responsible for the catalytic reaction. The in silico prediction of ADMET properties suggests that ResAn1 may be a promising drug candidate with properties to cross biological membranes and high gastrointestinal absorption, not violating Lipinski's rules. Ultimately, the antileishmanial effect of ResAn can be associated with a pro-oxidant effect which, in turn, can be exploited as an antimicrobial agent. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adilson D da Silva
- a Departamento de Química , I.C.E. Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora , Juiz de Fora , Brazil
| | - Juliana A Dos Santos
- a Departamento de Química , I.C.E. Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora , Juiz de Fora , Brazil
| | - Patrícia A Machado
- b Departamento de Parasitologia, Microbiologia e Imunologia , I.C.B. Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora , Juiz de Fora , Brazil
| | - Lara A Alves
- c Programa de Pós-graduação em Modelagem Computacional, Departamento de Ciência da Computação , I.C.E. Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora , Juiz de Fora , Brazil
| | - Larissa C Laque
- c Programa de Pós-graduação em Modelagem Computacional, Departamento de Ciência da Computação , I.C.E. Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora , Juiz de Fora , Brazil
| | - Vinícius C de Souza
- c Programa de Pós-graduação em Modelagem Computacional, Departamento de Ciência da Computação , I.C.E. Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora , Juiz de Fora , Brazil
| | - Elaine S Coimbra
- b Departamento de Parasitologia, Microbiologia e Imunologia , I.C.B. Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora , Juiz de Fora , Brazil
| | - Priscila V S Z Capriles
- c Programa de Pós-graduação em Modelagem Computacional, Departamento de Ciência da Computação , I.C.E. Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora , Juiz de Fora , Brazil
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da Silva RA, Pereira LDM, Silveira MC, Jardim R, de Miranda AB. Mining of potential drug targets through the identification of essential and analogous enzymes in the genomes of pathogens of Glycine max, Zea mays and Solanum lycopersicum. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0197511. [PMID: 29799863 PMCID: PMC5969768 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0197511] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2017] [Accepted: 05/03/2018] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Pesticides are one of the most widely used pest and disease control measures in plant crops and their indiscriminate use poses a direct risk to the health of populations and environment around the world. As a result, there is a great need for the development of new, less toxic molecules to be employed against plant pathogens. In this work, we employed an in silico approach to study the genes coding for enzymes of the genomes of three commercially important plants, soybean (Glycine max), tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and corn (Zea mays), as well as 15 plant pathogens (4 bacteria and 11 fungi), focusing on revealing a set of essential and non-homologous isofunctional enzymes (NISEs) that could be prioritized as drug targets. By combining sequence and structural data, we obtained an initial set of 568 cases of analogy, of which 97 were validated and further refined, revealing a subset of 29 essential enzymatic activities with a total of 119 different structural forms, most belonging to central metabolic routes, including the carbohydrate metabolism, the metabolism of amino acids, among others. Further, another subset of 26 enzymatic activities possess a tertiary structure specific for the pathogen, not present in plants, men and Apis mellifera, which may be of importance for the development of specific enzymatic inhibitors against plant diseases that are less harmful to humans and the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Rodrigo Jardim
- Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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de V C Sinatti V, R Baptista LP, Alves-Ferreira M, Dardenne L, Hermínio Martins da Silva J, Guimarães AC. In silico identification of inhibitors of ribose 5-phosphate isomerase from Trypanosoma cruzi using ligand and structure based approaches. J Mol Graph Model 2017; 77:168-180. [PMID: 28865321 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmgm.2017.08.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2017] [Revised: 07/11/2017] [Accepted: 08/07/2017] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Chagas disease, caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, affects approximately seven million people, mainly in Latin America, and causes about 7000 deaths annually. The available treatments are unsatisfactory and search for more effective drugs against this pathogen is critical. In this context, the ribose 5-phosphate isomerase (Rpi) enzyme is a potential drug target mainly due to its function in the pentose phosphate pathway and its essentiality (previously shown in other trypanosomatids). In this study, we propose novel potential inhibitors for the Rpi of T. cruzi (TcRpi) based on a computer-aided approach, including structure-based and ligand-based pharmacophore modeling. Along with a substructural and similarity search, the selected pharmacophore hypotheses were used to screen the purchasable subset of the ZINC Database, yielding 20,183 candidate compounds. These compounds were submitted to molecular docking studies in the TcRpi and Human Rpi (HsRpi) active sites in order to identify potential selective inhibitors for the T. cruzi enzyme. After the molecular docking and ADME-T (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion and toxicity)/PAINS (pan-assay interference compounds) screenings, 211 molecules were selected as potential TcRpi inhibitors. Out of these, three compounds - ZINC36975961, ZINC63480117, and ZINC43763931 - were submitted to molecular dynamics simulations and two of them - ZINC36975961 and ZINC43763931- had good performance and made interactions with important active site residues over all the simulation time. These compounds could be considered potential TcRpi inhibitors candidates and also may be used as leads for developing new TcRpi inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa de V C Sinatti
- Fiocruz, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Laboratório de Genômica Funcional e Bioinformática, Av. Brasil 4365, Manguinhos, 21040-900, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
| | - Luiz Phillippe R Baptista
- Fiocruz, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Laboratório de Genômica Funcional e Bioinformática, Av. Brasil 4365, Manguinhos, 21040-900, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - Marcelo Alves-Ferreira
- Fiocruz, Laboratório de Modelagem de Sistemas Biológicos, Centro de Desenvolvimento Tecnológico em Saúde, Av. Brasil 4036, Manguinhos, 21040-361, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Inovação em Doenças de Populações Negligenciadas, INCT-IDPN, CNPq, Brazil
| | - Laurent Dardenne
- Laboratório Nacional de Computação Científica, Grupo de Modelagem Molecular de Sistemas Biológicos, Av. Getúlio Vargas, 333, Quitandinha, 25651-075, Petrópolis, RJ, Brazil
| | | | - Ana Carolina Guimarães
- Fiocruz, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Laboratório de Genômica Funcional e Bioinformática, Av. Brasil 4365, Manguinhos, 21040-900, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
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Catharina L, Lima CR, Franca A, Guimarães ACR, Alves-Ferreira M, Tuffery P, Derreumaux P, Carels N. A Computational Methodology to Overcome the Challenges Associated With the Search for Specific Enzyme Targets to Develop Drugs Against Leishmania major. Bioinform Biol Insights 2017. [PMID: 28638238 PMCID: PMC5470852 DOI: 10.1177/1177932217712471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
We present an approach for detecting enzymes that are specific of Leishmania major compared with Homo sapiens and provide targets that may assist research in drug development. This approach is based on traditional techniques of sequence homology comparison by similarity search and Markov modeling; it integrates the characterization of enzymatic functionality, secondary and tertiary protein structures, protein domain architecture, and metabolic environment. From 67 enzymes represented by 42 enzymatic activities classified by AnEnPi (Analogous Enzymes Pipeline) as specific for L major compared with H sapiens, only 40 (23 Enzyme Commission [EC] numbers) could actually be considered as strictly specific of L major and 27 enzymes (19 EC numbers) were disregarded for having ambiguous homologies or analogies with H sapiens. Among the 40 strictly specific enzymes, we identified sterol 24-C-methyltransferase, pyruvate phosphate dikinase, trypanothione synthetase, and RNA-editing ligase as 4 essential enzymes for L major that may serve as targets for drug development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Larissa Catharina
- Laboratório de Modelagem de Sistemas Biológicos, Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia de Inovação em Doenças de Populações Negligenciadas (INCT-IDPN), Centro de Desenvolvimento Tecnológico em Saúde (CDTS), Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Carlyle Ribeiro Lima
- Laboratoire de Biochimie Théorique, Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique (UPR 9080), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université Paris 7, Paris, France.,Molécules Thérapeutiques in silico (UMR-S 973), Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France
| | - Alexander Franca
- Laboratório de Genômica Funcional e Bioinformática, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (IOC), Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Ana Carolina Ramos Guimarães
- Laboratório de Genômica Funcional e Bioinformática, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (IOC), Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Marcelo Alves-Ferreira
- Laboratório de Modelagem de Sistemas Biológicos, Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia de Inovação em Doenças de Populações Negligenciadas (INCT-IDPN), Centro de Desenvolvimento Tecnológico em Saúde (CDTS), Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Pierre Tuffery
- Molécules Thérapeutiques in silico (UMR-S 973), Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France
| | - Philippe Derreumaux
- Laboratoire de Biochimie Théorique, Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique (UPR 9080), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université Paris 7, Paris, France
| | - Nicolas Carels
- Laboratório de Modelagem de Sistemas Biológicos, Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia de Inovação em Doenças de Populações Negligenciadas (INCT-IDPN), Centro de Desenvolvimento Tecnológico em Saúde (CDTS), Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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10
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In silico structural characterization of protein targets for drug development against Trypanosoma cruzi. J Mol Model 2016; 22:244. [DOI: 10.1007/s00894-016-3115-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2016] [Accepted: 09/02/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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11
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Affiliation(s)
- Liuqing Wen
- Department
of Chemistry, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia 30303, United States
| | - Kenneth Huang
- Department
of Chemistry, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia 30303, United States
| | - Yunpeng Liu
- Department
of Chemistry, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia 30303, United States
- National
Glycoengineering Research Center, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, China
| | - Peng George Wang
- Department
of Chemistry, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia 30303, United States
- National
Glycoengineering Research Center, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, China
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12
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Capriles PV, Baptista LPR, Guedes IA, Guimarães ACR, Custódio FL, Alves-Ferreira M, Dardenne LE. Structural modeling and docking studies of ribose 5-phosphate isomerase from Leishmania major and Homo sapiens: A comparative analysis for Leishmaniasis treatment. J Mol Graph Model 2015; 55:134-47. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jmgm.2014.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2014] [Revised: 10/22/2014] [Accepted: 11/07/2014] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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Tschoeke DA, Nunes GL, Jardim R, Lima J, Dumaresq AS, Gomes MR, de Mattos Pereira L, Loureiro DR, Stoco PH, de Matos Guedes HL, de Miranda AB, Ruiz J, Pitaluga A, Silva FP, Probst CM, Dickens NJ, Mottram JC, Grisard EC, Dávila AM. The Comparative Genomics and Phylogenomics of Leishmania amazonensis Parasite. Evol Bioinform Online 2014; 10:131-53. [PMID: 25336895 PMCID: PMC4182287 DOI: 10.4137/ebo.s13759] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2013] [Revised: 02/21/2014] [Accepted: 02/25/2014] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Leishmaniasis is an infectious disease caused by Leishmania species. Leishmania amazonensis is a New World Leishmania species belonging to the Mexicana complex, which is able to cause all types of leishmaniasis infections. The L. amazonensis reference strain MHOM/BR/1973/M2269 was sequenced identifying 8,802 codifying sequences (CDS), most of them of hypothetical function. Comparative analysis using six Leishmania species showed a core set of 7,016 orthologs. L. amazonensis and Leishmania mexicana share the largest number of distinct orthologs, while Leishmania braziliensis presented the largest number of inparalogs. Additionally, phylogenomic analysis confirmed the taxonomic position for L. amazonensis within the “Mexicana complex”, reinforcing understanding of the split of New and Old World Leishmania. Potential non-homologous isofunctional enzymes (NISE) were identified between L. amazonensis and Homo sapiens that could provide new drug targets for development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diogo A Tschoeke
- Pólo de Biologia Computacional e Sistemas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz/IOC), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. ; Laboratório de Biologia Computacional e Sistemas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - Gisele L Nunes
- Laboratório de Biologia Computacional e Sistemas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - Rodrigo Jardim
- Pólo de Biologia Computacional e Sistemas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz/IOC), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. ; Laboratório de Biologia Computacional e Sistemas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - Joana Lima
- Laboratório de Biologia Computacional e Sistemas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - Aline Sr Dumaresq
- Laboratório de Biologia Computacional e Sistemas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - Monete R Gomes
- Laboratório de Biologia Computacional e Sistemas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - Leandro de Mattos Pereira
- Laboratório de Biologia Computacional e Sistemas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - Daniel R Loureiro
- Pólo de Biologia Computacional e Sistemas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz/IOC), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - Patricia H Stoco
- Laboratório de Protozoologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil
| | - Herbert Leonel de Matos Guedes
- Laboratório de Inflamação Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. ; Wellcome Trust Centre for Molecular Parasitology, Institute of Immunity, Infection and Inflammation, College of MVLS, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Antonio Basilio de Miranda
- Pólo de Biologia Computacional e Sistemas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz/IOC), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. ; Laboratório de Biologia Computacional e Sistemas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - Jeronimo Ruiz
- Pólo de Biologia Computacional e Sistemas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz/IOC), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. ; Instituto René Rachou (Fiocruz/IRR), Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - André Pitaluga
- Laboratório de Biologia Molecular de Parasitas e Vetores, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - Floriano P Silva
- Pólo de Biologia Computacional e Sistemas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz/IOC), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. ; Laboratório de Bioquímica de Proteínas e Peptídeos, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - Christian M Probst
- Pólo de Biologia Computacional e Sistemas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz/IOC), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. ; Instituto Carlos Chagas (Fiocruz/ICC), Curitiba, PR, Brazil
| | - Nicholas J Dickens
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Molecular Parasitology, Institute of Immunity, Infection and Inflammation, College of MVLS, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Jeremy C Mottram
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Molecular Parasitology, Institute of Immunity, Infection and Inflammation, College of MVLS, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Edmundo C Grisard
- Laboratório de Protozoologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil
| | - Alberto Mr Dávila
- Pólo de Biologia Computacional e Sistemas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz/IOC), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. ; Laboratório de Biologia Computacional e Sistemas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
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Henriques C, Henriques-Pons A, Meuser-Batista M, Ribeiro AS, de Souza W. In vivo imaging of mice infected with bioluminescent Trypanosoma cruzi unveils novel sites of infection. Parasit Vectors 2014; 7:89. [PMID: 24589192 PMCID: PMC3973021 DOI: 10.1186/1756-3305-7-89] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2013] [Accepted: 02/21/2014] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The development of techniques that allow the imaging of animals infected with parasites expressing luciferase opens up new possibilities for following the fate of parasites in infected mammals. Methods D-luciferin potassium salt stock solution was prepared in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) at 15 mg/ml. To produce bioluminescence, infected and control mice received an intraperitoneal injection of luciferin stock solution (150 mg/kg). All mice were immediately anesthetized with 2% isofluorane, and after 10 minutes were imaged. Ex vivo evaluation of infected tissues and organs was evaluated in a 24-well plate in 150 μg/ml D-luciferin diluted in PBS. Images were captured using the IVIS Lumina image system (Xenogen). Dissected organs were also evaluated by microscopy of hematoxylin-eosin stained sections. Results Here we describe the results obtained using a genetically modified Dm28c strain of T. cruzi expressing the firefly luciferase to keep track of infection by bioluminescence imaging. Progression of infection was observed in vivo in BALB/c mice at various intervals after infection with transgenic Dm28c-luc. The bioluminescent signal was immediately observed at the site of T. cruzi inoculation, and one day post infection (dpi) it was disseminated in the peritoneal cavity. A similar pattern in the cavity was observed on 7 dpi, but the bioluminescence was more intense in the terminal region of the large intestine, rectum, and gonads. On 14 and 21 dpi, bioluminescent parasites were also observed in the heart, snout, paws, hind limbs, and forelimbs. From 28 dpi to 180 dpi in chronically infected mice, bioluminescence declined in regions of the body but was concentrated in the gonad region. Ex vivo evaluation of dissected organs and tissues by bioluminescent imaging confirmed the in vivo bioluminescent foci. Histopathological analysis of dissected organs demonstrated parasite nests at the rectum and snout, in muscle fibers of mice infected with Dm28c-WT and with Dm28c-luc, corroborating the bioluminescent imaging. Conclusion Bioluminescence imaging is accurate for tracking parasites in vivo, and this methodology is important to gain a better understanding of the infection, tissue inflammation, and parasite biology regarding host cell interaction, proliferation, and parasite clearance to subpatent levels.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Wanderley de Souza
- Laboratório de Ultraestrutura Celular Hertha Meyer, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, CCS-Bloco G, Ilha do Fundão, 21941-900 Rio de Janeiro-RJ, Brazil.
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Smirlis D, Soares MBP. Selection of molecular targets for drug development against trypanosomatids. Subcell Biochem 2014; 74:43-76. [PMID: 24264240 DOI: 10.1007/978-94-007-7305-9_2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Trypanosomatid parasites are a group of flagellated protozoa that includes the genera Leishmania and Trypanosoma, which are the causative agents of diseases (leishmaniases, sleeping sickness and Chagas disease) that cause considerable morbidity and mortality, affecting more than 27 million people worldwide. Today no effective vaccines for the prevention of these diseases exist, whereas current chemotherapy is ineffective, mainly due to toxic side effects of current drugs and to the emergence of drug resistance and lack of cost effectiveness. For these reasons, rational drug design and the search of good candidate drug targets is of prime importance. The search for drug targets requires a multidisciplinary approach. To this end, the completion of the genome project of many trypanosomatid species gives a vast amount of new information that can be exploited for the identification of good drug candidates with a prediction of "druggability" and divergence from mammalian host proteins. In addition, an important aspect in the search for good drug targets is the "target identification" and evaluation in a biological pathway, as well as the essentiality of the gene in the mammalian stage of the parasite, which is provided by basic research and genetic and proteomic approaches. In this chapter we will discuss how these bioinformatic tools and experimental evaluations can be integrated for the selection of candidate drug targets, and give examples of metabolic and signaling pathways in the parasitic protozoa that can be exploited for rational drug design.
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Metabolic signatures of triatomine vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi unveiled by metabolomics. PLoS One 2013; 8:e77283. [PMID: 24204787 PMCID: PMC3813737 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0077283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2013] [Accepted: 09/01/2013] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Chagas disease is a trypanosomiasis whose causative agent is the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which is transmitted to humans by hematophagous insects known as triatomines and affects a large proportion of South America. The digestive tract of the insect vectors in which T. cruzi develops constitutes a dynamic environment that affects the development of the parasite. Thus, we set out to investigate the chemical composition of the triatomine intestinal tract through a metabolomics approach. We performed Direct Infusion Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry on fecal samples of three triatomine species (Rhodnius prolixus, Triatoma infestans, Panstrongylus megistus) fed with rabbit blood. We then identified groups of metabolites whose frequencies were either uniform in all species or enriched in each of them. By querying the Human Metabolome Database, we obtained putative identities of the metabolites of interest. We found that a core group of metabolites with uniform frequencies in all species represented approximately 80% of the molecules detected, whereas the other 20% varied among triatomine species. The uniform core was composed of metabolites of various categories, including fatty acids, steroids, glycerolipids, nucleotides, sugars, and others. Nevertheless, the metabolic fingerprint of triatomine feces differs depending on the species considered. The variable core was mainly composed of prenol lipids, amino acids, glycerolipids, steroids, phenols, fatty acids and derivatives, benzoic acid and derivatives, flavonoids, glycerophospholipids, benzopyrans, and quinolines. Triatomine feces constitute a rich and varied chemical medium whose constituents are likely to affect T. cruzi development and infectivity. The complexity of the fecal metabolome of triatomines suggests that it may affect triatomine vector competence for specific T. cruzi strains. Knowledge of the chemical environment of T. cruzi in its invertebrate host is likely to generate new ways to understand the factors influencing parasite proliferation as well as methods to control Chagas disease.
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Kawano DF, Silva VBD, Jorge DMDM, Silva CHTDPD, Carvalho I. Search for a platelet-activating factor receptor in the Trypanosoma cruzi proteome: a potential target for Chagas disease chemotherapy. Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz 2011; 106:957-67. [DOI: 10.1590/s0074-02762011000800010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2011] [Accepted: 11/08/2011] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
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Kwon JY, Seo YR. Differential gene expression following ionizing radiation in multicellular spheroid depending on p53 status: identification of potential targets and prediction of responsive signaling pathways. BIOCHIP JOURNAL 2011. [DOI: 10.1007/s13206-011-5313-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
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Gomes MR, Guimarães ACR, de Miranda AB. Specific and nonhomologous isofunctional enzymes of the genetic information processing pathways as potential therapeutical targets for tritryps. Enzyme Res 2011; 2011:543912. [PMID: 21808726 PMCID: PMC3145330 DOI: 10.4061/2011/543912] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2011] [Revised: 03/22/2011] [Accepted: 05/05/2011] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Leishmania major, Trypanosoma brucei, and Trypanosoma cruzi (Tritryps) are unicellular protozoa that cause leishmaniasis, sleeping sickness and Chagas' disease, respectively. Most drugs against them were discovered through the screening of large numbers of compounds against whole parasites. Nonhomologous isofunctional enzymes (NISEs) may present good opportunities for the identification of new putative drug targets because, though sharing the same enzymatic activity, they possess different three-dimensional structures thus allowing the development of molecules against one or other isoform. From public data of the Tritryps' genomes, we reconstructed the Genetic Information Processing Pathways (GIPPs). We then used AnEnPi to look for the presence of these enzymes between Homo sapiens and Tritryps, as well as specific enzymes of the parasites. We identified three candidates (ECs 3.1.11.2 and 6.1.1.-) in these pathways that may be further studied as new therapeutic targets for drug development against these parasites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monete Rajão Gomes
- Laboratório de Biologia Computacional e Sistemas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz/FIOCRUZ, 21045-900 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
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Capriles PVSZ, Guimarães ACR, Otto TD, Miranda AB, Dardenne LE, Degrave WM. Structural modelling and comparative analysis of homologous, analogous and specific proteins from Trypanosoma cruzi versus Homo sapiens: putative drug targets for chagas' disease treatment. BMC Genomics 2010; 11:610. [PMID: 21034488 PMCID: PMC3091751 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2164-11-610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2010] [Accepted: 10/29/2010] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Trypanosoma cruzi is the etiological agent of Chagas' disease, an endemic infection that causes thousands of deaths every year in Latin America. Therapeutic options remain inefficient, demanding the search for new drugs and/or new molecular targets. Such efforts can focus on proteins that are specific to the parasite, but analogous enzymes and enzymes with a three-dimensional (3D) structure sufficiently different from the corresponding host proteins may represent equally interesting targets. In order to find these targets we used the workflows MHOLline and AnEnΠ obtaining 3D models from homologous, analogous and specific proteins of Trypanosoma cruzi versus Homo sapiens. Results We applied genome wide comparative modelling techniques to obtain 3D models for 3,286 predicted proteins of T. cruzi. In combination with comparative genome analysis to Homo sapiens, we were able to identify a subset of 397 enzyme sequences, of which 356 are homologous, 3 analogous and 38 specific to the parasite. Conclusions In this work, we present a set of 397 enzyme models of T. cruzi that can constitute potential structure-based drug targets to be investigated for the development of new strategies to fight Chagas' disease. The strategies presented here support the concept of structural analysis in conjunction with protein functional analysis as an interesting computational methodology to detect potential targets for structure-based rational drug design. For example, 2,4-dienoyl-CoA reductase (EC 1.3.1.34) and triacylglycerol lipase (EC 3.1.1.3), classified as analogous proteins in relation to H. sapiens enzymes, were identified as new potential molecular targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Priscila V S Z Capriles
- Grupo de Modelagem Molecular de Sistemas Biológicos, Laboratório Nacional de Computação Científica, LNCC/MCT, Petrópolis, CEP 25651-075, Brazil.
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