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Hickson J, Athayde LFA, Miranda TG, Junior PAS, Dos Santos AC, da Cunha Galvão LM, da Câmara ACJ, Bartholomeu DC, de Souza RDCM, Murta SMF, Nahum LA. Trypanosoma cruzi iron superoxide dismutases: insights from phylogenetics to chemotherapeutic target assessment. Parasit Vectors 2022; 15:194. [PMID: 35668508 PMCID: PMC9169349 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-022-05319-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2021] [Accepted: 05/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Components of the antioxidant defense system in Trypanosoma cruzi are potential targets for new drug development. Superoxide dismutases (SODs) constitute key components of antioxidant defense systems, removing excess superoxide anions by converting them into oxygen and hydrogen peroxide. The main goal of the present study was to investigate the genes coding for iron superoxide dismutase (FeSOD) in T. cruzi strains from an evolutionary perspective. Methods In this study, molecular biology methods and phylogenetic studies were combined with drug assays. The FeSOD-A and FeSOD-B genes of 35 T. cruzi strains, belonging to six discrete typing units (Tcl–TcVI), from different hosts and geographical regions were amplified by PCR and sequenced using the Sanger method. Evolutionary trees were reconstructed based on Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood methods. Drugs that potentially interacted with T. cruzi FeSODs were identified and tested against the parasites. Results Our results suggest that T. cruzi FeSOD types are members of distinct families. Gene copies of FeSOD-A (n = 2), FeSOD-B (n = 4) and FeSOD-C (n = 4) were identified in the genome of the T. cruzi reference clone CL Brener. Phylogenetic inference supported the presence of two functional variants of each FeSOD type across the T. cruzi strains. Phylogenetic trees revealed a monophyletic group of FeSOD genes of T. cruzi TcIV strains in both distinct genes. Altogether, our results support the hypothesis that gene duplication followed by divergence shaped the evolution of T. cruzi FeSODs. Two drugs, mangafodipir and polaprezinc, that potentially interact with T. cruzi FeSODs were identified and tested in vitro against amastigotes and trypomastigotes: mangafodipir had a low trypanocidal effect and polaprezinc was inactive. Conclusions Our study contributes to a better understanding of the molecular biodiversity of T. cruzi FeSODs. Herein we provide a successful approach to the study of gene/protein families as potential drug targets. Graphical Abstract ![]()
Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13071-022-05319-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jéssica Hickson
- René Rachou Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Functional genomics of parasites group; Biosystems informatics, bioengineering and genomic group), Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Lucas Felipe Almeida Athayde
- René Rachou Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Functional genomics of parasites group; Biosystems informatics, bioengineering and genomic group), Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.,Department of Genetics, Ecology and Evolution, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Thainá Godinho Miranda
- René Rachou Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Functional genomics of parasites group; Biosystems informatics, bioengineering and genomic group), Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.,Department of Genetics, Ecology and Evolution, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Policarpo Ademar Sales Junior
- René Rachou Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Functional genomics of parasites group; Biosystems informatics, bioengineering and genomic group), Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Anderson Coqueiro Dos Santos
- Department of Genetics, Ecology and Evolution, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Lúcia Maria da Cunha Galvão
- Department of Genetics, Ecology and Evolution, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.,Department of Clinical and Toxicological Analysis, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte State, Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
| | - Antônia Cláudia Jácome da Câmara
- Department of Clinical and Toxicological Analysis, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte State, Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
| | - Daniella Castanheira Bartholomeu
- Department of Genetics, Ecology and Evolution, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Rita de Cássia Moreira de Souza
- René Rachou Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Functional genomics of parasites group; Biosystems informatics, bioengineering and genomic group), Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Silvane Maria Fonseca Murta
- René Rachou Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Functional genomics of parasites group; Biosystems informatics, bioengineering and genomic group), Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
| | - Laila Alves Nahum
- René Rachou Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Functional genomics of parasites group; Biosystems informatics, bioengineering and genomic group), Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. .,Department of Genetics, Ecology and Evolution, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil. .,Promove College of Technology, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
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Afonso MQL, da Fonseca Júnior NJ, Miranda TG, Bleicher L. Naview: A d3.js Based JavaScript Library for Drawing and Annotating Voltage-Gated Sodium Channels Membrane Diagrams. Front Bioinform 2022; 2:774417. [PMID: 36304314 PMCID: PMC9580940 DOI: 10.3389/fbinf.2022.774417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2021] [Accepted: 01/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Voltage-gated sodium channels (Nav) are membrane proteins essential to initiating and propagating action potential in neurons and other excitable cells. For a given organism there are often multiple, specialized sodium channels found in different tissues, whose mutations can cause deleterious effects observed in numerous diseases. Consequently, there is high medical and pharmacological interest in these proteins. Scientific literature often uses membrane diagrams to depict important patterns in these channels including the six transmembrane segments (S1–S6) present in four different homologous domains (D1–D4), the S4 voltage sensors, the pore-lining residue segments and the ion selectivity filter residues, glycosylation and phosphorylation residues, toxin binding sites and the inactivation loop, among others. Most of these diagrams are illustrated either digitally or by hand and programs specifically dedicated to the interactive and data-friendly generation of such visualizations are scarce or non-existing. This paper describes Naview, an open-source javascript visualization compatible with modern web browsers for the dynamic drawing and annotation of voltage-gated sodium channels membrane diagrams based on the D3.js library. By using a graphical user interface and combining user-defined annotations with optional UniProt code as inputs, Naview allows the creation and customization of membrane diagrams. In this interface, a user can also map and display important sodium channel properties, residues, regions and their relationships through symbols, colors, and edge connections. Such features can facilitate data exploration and provide fast, high-quality publication-ready graphics for this highly active area of research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcelo Querino Lima Afonso
- Departamento de Bioquímica e Imunologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Néli José da Fonseca Júnior
- Cellular Structure and 3D Bioimaging, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute, Hinxton, United Kingdom
| | - Thainá Godinho Miranda
- Departamento de Bioquímica e Imunologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Lucas Bleicher
- Departamento de Bioquímica e Imunologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
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