Leishmaniasis, a human parasitic disease with manifestations ranging from cutaneous ulcerations to fatal visceral infection, is caused by several Leishmania species. These protozoan parasites replicate as extracellular, flagellated promastigotes in the gut of a sandfly vector and as amastigotes inside the parasitophorous vacuole of vertebrate host macrophages. Amastins are surface glycoproteins encoded by large gene families present in the genomes of several trypanosomatids and highly expressed in the intracellular amastigote stages of Trypanosoma cruzi and Leishmania spp. Here, we showed that the genome of L. braziliensis contains 52 amastin genes belonging to all four previously described amastin subfamilies and that the expression of members of all subfamilies is upregulated in L. braziliensis amastigotes. Although primary sequence alignments showed no homology to any known protein sequence, homology searches based on secondary structure predictions indicate that amastins are related to claudins, a group of proteins that are components of eukaryotic tight junction complexes. By knocking-down the expression of δ-amastins in L. braziliensis, their essential role during infection became evident. δ-amastin knockdown parasites showed impaired growth after in vitro infection of mouse macrophages and completely failed to produce infection when inoculated in BALB/c mice, an attenuated phenotype that was reverted by the re-expression of an RNAi-resistant amastin gene. Further highlighting their essential role in host-parasite interactions, electron microscopy analyses of macrophages infected with amastin knockdown parasites showed significant alterations in the tight contact that is normally observed between the surface of wild type amastigotes and the membrane of the parasitophorous vacuole. Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease caused by more than 20 species of the genus Leishmania that affects about 12 million people throughout the world and for which there is not an effective vaccine. Depending on the Leishmania species, clinical manifestation of the disease varies from self-resolving skin lesions to life-threatening visceralizing diseases. In addition to the toxicity of currently available drugs, their long treatment course, and limited efficacy, a major concern is the development of drug resistant parasite and more virulent variants. Together with the urgent need to develop new drugs that are more effective against this parasite as well as a vaccine to prevent new infections, it is also imperative to develop a better understanding of the factors that determine Leishmania virulence. Here, we describe the characterization of a gene family encoding surface proteins preferentially expressed in the mammalian stage of Leishmania that may be directly involved with the close interaction that is established between the intracellular parasite and host cell membranes. By inhibiting amastin gene expression in L. braziliensis in a mouse model of infection, we showed that these proteins are essential for intracellular parasite survival.

Trypanosoma cruzi, the protozoan that causes Chagas disease, has a complex life cycle involving several morphologically and biochemically distinct stages that establish intricate interactions with various insect and mammalian hosts. It has also a heterogeneous population structure comprising strains with distinct properties such as virulence, sensitivity to drugs, antigenic profile and tissue tropism. We present a comparative transcriptome analysis of two cloned T. cruzi strains that display contrasting virulence phenotypes in animal models of infection: CL Brener is a virulent clone and CL-14 is a clone that is neither infective nor pathogenic in in vivo models of infection. Gene expression analysis of trypomastigotes and intracellular amastigotes harvested at 60 and 96 hours post-infection (hpi) of human fibroblasts revealed large differences that reflect the parasite’s adaptation to distinct environments during the infection of mammalian cells, including changes in energy sources, oxidative stress responses, cell cycle control and cell surface components. While extensive transcriptome remodeling was observed when trypomastigotes of both strains were compared to 60 hpi amastigotes, differences in gene expression were much less pronounced when 96 hpi amastigotes and trypomastigotes of CL Brener were compared. In contrast, the differentiation of the avirulent CL-14 from 96 hpi amastigotes to extracellular trypomastigotes was associated with considerable changes in gene expression, particularly in gene families encoding surface proteins such as trans-sialidases, mucins and the mucin associated surface proteins (MASPs). Thus, our comparative transcriptome analysis indicates that the avirulent phenotype of CL-14 may be due, at least in part, to a reduced or delayed expression of genes encoding surface proteins that are associated with the transition of amastigotes to trypomastigotes, an essential step in the establishment of the infection in the mammalian host. Confirming the role of members of the trans-sialidase family of surface proteins for parasite differentiation, transfected CL-14 constitutively expressing a trans-sialidase gene displayed faster kinetics of trypomastigote release in the supernatant of infected cells compared to wild type CL-14. Chagas disease, caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, is an infection that occurs in several Latin American countries, resulting in a mild illness or in severe damage of the heart and intestinal tract. Such a broad spectrum of clinical manifestations observed in Chagas disease patients is likely due to differences in host susceptibility as well as to a large heterogeneity among T. cruzi isolates. The identification of virulence factors that are differentially expressed in the parasite population is a valuable strategy for understanding of the distinct interactions that occur between this pathogen and its host, which may or may not lead to pathogenesis. By comparing the gene expression profiles of two T. cruzi strains that display contrasting virulence phenotypes in animal models of infection, we identified a central role for genes encoding surface proteins that is associated with the differentiation from intracellular replicative amastigotes to infective trypomastigotes. We showed that the expression of these genes occurs differentially within the two strains and this difference may be a factor that impacts parasite survival and dissemination in the mammalian host.

The study of mechanisms which control gene expression in trypanosomatids has developed at an increasing rate since 1989 when the first successful DNA transfection experiments were reported. Using primarily Trypanosoma brucei as a model, several groups have begun to elucidate the basic control mechanisms and to define the cellular factors involved in mRNA transcription, processing and translation in these parasites. This review focuses on the most recent studies regarding a subset of genes that are expressed differentially during the life cycle of three groups of parasites. In addition to T. brucei, I will address studies on gene regulation in a few species of Leishmania and the results obtained by a much more limited group of laboratories studying gene expression in Trypanosoma cruzi. It is becoming evident that the regulatory strategies chosen by different species of trypanosomatids are not similar, and that for these very successful parasites it is probably advantageous to employ multiple mechanisms simultaneously. In addition, with the increasing numbers of parasite genes that have now been submitted to molecular dissection, it is also becoming evident that, among the various strategies for gene expression control, there is a predominance of regulatory pathways acting at the post-transcriptional level.

Background: The accurate identification of Lactobacillus and other co-isolated bacteria during microbial ecological studies of ecosystems such as the human or animal intestinal tracts and food products is a hard task by phenotypic methods requiring additional tests such as protein and/or lipids profiling. Results: Bacteria isolated in different probiotic prospecting studies, using de Man, Rogosa and Sharpe medium (MRS), were typed at species level by PCR amplification of 16S-23S rRNA intergenic spacers using universal primers that anneal within 16S and 23S genes, followed by restriction digestion analyses of PCR products. The set of enzymes chosen differentiates most species of Lactobacillus genus and also co-isolated bacteria such as Enterococcus, Streptococcus, Weissella, Staphylococcus, and Escherichia species. The in silico predictions of restriction patterns generated by the Lactobacillus shorter spacers digested with 11 restriction enzymes with 6 bp specificities allowed us to distinguish almost all isolates at the species level but not at the subspecies one. Simultaneous theoretical digestions of the three spacers (long, medium and short) with the same set of enzymes provided more complex patterns and allowed us to distinguish the species without purifying and cloning of PCR products. Conclusion: Lactobacillus isolates and several other strains of bacteria co-isolated on MRS medium from gastrointestinal ecosystem and fermented food products could be identified using DNA fingerprints generated by restriction endonucleases. The methodology based on amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA) is easier, faster and more accurate than the current methodologies based on fermentation profiles, used in most laboratories for the purpose of identification of these bacteria in different prospecting studies.

Trypanosoma cruzi, a protozoan parasite that causes Chagas disease, exhibits unique mechanisms for gene expression such as constitutive polycistronic transcription of protein-coding genes, RNA editing and trans-splicing. In the absence of mechanism controlling transcription initiation, organized subsets of T. cruzi genes must be post-transcriptionally co-regulated in response to extracellular signals. The mechanisms that regulate stage-specific gene expression in this parasite have become much clearer through sequencing its whole genome as well as performing various proteomic and microarray analyses, which have demonstrated that at least half of the T. cruzi genes are differentially regulated during its life cycle. In this review, we attempt to highlight the recent advances in characterising cis and trans-acting elements in the T. cruzi genome that are involved in its post-transcriptional regulatory machinery.