Artigo Acesso aberto Produção Nacional Revisado por pares

Insights into the role of gp63-like proteins in lower trypanosomatids

2005; Oxford University Press; Volume: 254; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/j.1574-6968.2005.00022.x

ISSN

1574-6968

Autores

Claudia M. d’Avila-Levy, Felipe A. Dias, Ana Cristina Nogueira de Melo, Juliana Lopes Martins, Angela H. Lopes, André Luis Souza Dos Santos, Alane Beatriz Vermelho, Marta H. Branquinha,

Tópico(s)

Studies on Chitinases and Chitosanases

Resumo

Any actual understanding of trypanosomatids in general requires a comprehensive analysis of the less‐specialized species as thorough as our knowledge of the more specialized Leishmania and Trypanosoma. In this context, we have shown by antibody cross‐reactivity that purified extracellular metallopeptidases from Phytomonas françai, Crithidia deanei (cured strain) and Crithidia guilhermei share common epitopes with the leishmanial gp63. Flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy analyses indicated the presence of gp63‐like molecules on the cell surface of these lower trypanosomatids. Binding assays with explanted guts of Aedes aegypti incubated with purified gp63 and the pretreatment of trypanosomatids with anti‐gp63 antibodies indicated that the gp63‐like molecules are involved in the adhesive process of these trypanosomatids to the A. aegypti gut wall. In addition, our results indicate for the first time that the gp63‐like molecule binds to a polypeptide of 50 kDa on the A. aegypti gut epithelium extract.

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