Search for a platelet-activating factor receptor in the Trypanosoma cruzi proteome: a potential target for Chagas disease chemotherapy
Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz
; 106(8): 957-967, Dec. 2011. ilus, tab
Article
em En
| LILACS
| ID: lil-610970
Biblioteca responsável:
BR1.1
ABSTRACT
Chagas disease (CD) causes the highest burden of parasitic diseases in the Western Hemisphere and is therefore a priority for drug research and development. Platelet-activating factor (PAF) causes the CD parasite Trypanosoma cruzi to differentiate, which suggests that the parasite may express PAF receptors. Here, we explored the T. cruzi proteome for PAF receptor-like proteins. From a total of 23,000 protein sequences, we identified 29 hypothetical proteins that are predicted to have seven transmembrane domains (TMDs), which is the main characteristic of the G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), including the PAF receptor. The TMDs of these sequences were independently aligned with domains from 25 animal PAF receptors and the sequences were analysed for conserved residues. The conservation score mean values for the TMDs of the hypothetical proteins ranged from 31.7-44.1 percent, which suggests that if the putative T. cruzi PAF receptor is among the sequences identified, the TMDs are not highly conserved. These results suggest that T. cruzi contains several GPCR-like proteins and that one of these GPCRs may be a PAF receptor. Future studies may further validate the PAF receptor as a target for CD chemotherapy.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
LILACS
Assunto principal:
Trypanosoma cruzi
/
Glicoproteínas da Membrana de Plaquetas
/
Proteínas de Protozoários
/
Proteoma
/
Receptores Acoplados a Proteínas G
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz
Assunto da revista:
MEDICINA TROPICAL
/
PARASITOLOGIA
Ano de publicação:
2011
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Brasil