A panel of phenotypically and genotypically diverse bioluminescent:fluorescent Trypanosoma cruzi strains as a resource for Chagas disease research.
PLoS Negl Trop Dis
; 18(5): e0012106, 2024 May.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38820564
ABSTRACT
Chagas disease is caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, a protozoan parasite that displays considerable genetic diversity. Infections result in a range of pathological outcomes, and different strains can exhibit a wide spectrum of anti-parasitic drug tolerance. The genetic determinants of infectivity, virulence and therapeutic susceptibility remain largely unknown. As experimental tools to address these issues, we have generated a panel of bioluminescentfluorescent parasite strains that cover the diversity of the T. cruzi species. These reporters allow spatio-temporal infection dynamics in murine models to be monitored in a non-invasive manner by in vivo imaging, provide a capability to detect rare infection foci at single-cell resolution, and represent a valuable resource for investigating virulence and hostparasite interactions at a mechanistic level. Importantly, these parasite reporter strains can also contribute to the Chagas disease drug screening cascade by ensuring that candidate compounds have pan-species in vivo activity prior to being advanced into clinical testing. The parasite strains described in this paper are available on request.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Trypanosoma cruzi
/
Chagas Disease
Limits:
Animals
/
Female
/
Humans
Language:
En
Journal:
PLoS Negl Trop Dis
Journal subject:
MEDICINA TROPICAL
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Reino Unido