Stage-regulated GFP Expression in Trypanosoma cruzi: applications from host-parasite interactions to drug screening.

Trypanosoma cruzi is the etiological agent of Chagas disease, an illness that affects about 10 million people, mostly in South America, for which there is no effective treatment or vaccine. In this context, transgenic parasites expressing reporter genes are interesting tools for investigating parasite biology and host-parasite interactions, with a view to developing new strategies for disease prevention and treatment. We describe here the construction of a stably transfected fluorescent T.

Trypanosoma cruzi: identification of DNA targets of the nuclear periphery coiled-coil protein TcNUP-1.

The nuclear lamina is a structure that lines the inner nuclear membrane. In metazoans, lamins are the primary structural components of the nuclear lamina and are involved in several processes. Eukaryotes that lack lamins have distinct proteins with homologous functions.

Molecular characterization of type II topoisomerase in the endosymbiont-bearing Trypanosomatid Blastocrithidia culicis.

DNA topoisomerases are involved in DNA metabolism. These enzymes are inhibited by antimicrobial and antitumoral agents and might be important targets in the chemotherapy of diseases caused by parasites. We have cloned and characterized the gene encoding topoisomerase II from the monoxenic trypanosomatid Blastocrithidia culicis (BcTOP2).