Nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase1 (TcNTPDase-1) gene expression is increased due to heat shock and in infective forms of Trypanosoma cruzi.

Background: Ecto-Nucleoside Triphosphate Diphosphohydrolases (Ecto-NTPDases) are enzymes that hydrolyze tri- and/or di-phosphate nucleotides. Evidences point to their participation in Trypanosoma cruzi virulence and infectivity. In this work, we evaluate TcNTPDase-1 gene expression in comparison with ecto-NTPDase activity, in order to study the role of TcNTPDase-1 in parasite virulence, infectivity and adaptation to heat shock.

Proteomic analysis of two Trypanosoma cruzi zymodeme 3 strains.

Two Trypanosoma cruzi Z3 strains, designated as 3663 and 4167, were previously isolated from insect vectors captured in the Brazilian Amazon region. These strains exhibited different infection patterns in Vero, C6/36, RAW 264.7 and HEp-2 cell lineages, in which 3663 trypomastigote form was much less infective than 4167 ones.