Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 17, 2026

Ultrastructural Expansion Microscopy in Three In Vitro Life Cycle Stages of Trypanosoma cruzi
09:45

Ultrastructural Expansion Microscopy in Three In Vitro Life Cycle Stages of Trypanosoma cruzi

Published on: May 12, 2023

Trypanosoma cruzi: attachment to perimicrovillar membrane glycoproteins of Rhodnius prolixus

C R Alves1, J M Albuquerque-Cunha, C B Mello

  • 1Laboratório de Biologia Molecular e Doenças Endêmicas, Departamento de Bioquímica e Biologia Molecular, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.

Experimental Parasitology
|January 26, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Trypanosoma cruzi epimastigotes adhere to Rhodnius prolixus midgut cells via hydrophobic proteins interacting with perimicrovillar membrane glycoproteins, a process influenced by specific carbohydrates.

Area of Science:

  • Parasitology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Vector Biology

Background:

  • Trypanosoma cruzi is the causative agent of Chagas disease.
  • Rhodnius prolixus is a primary vector for T. cruzi.
  • Understanding parasite-vector interactions is crucial for disease control.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify proteins mediating the adhesion of T. cruzi epimastigotes to the vector's midgut.
  • To investigate the role of carbohydrates and specific proteins in this interaction.

Main Methods:

  • Video microscopy to observe parasite adhesion to insect midgut cells.
  • Inhibition assays using carbohydrates and lectins.
  • Analysis of protein interactions between parasite and vector.

Main Results:

  • T. cruzi epimastigotes showed high adhesion to non-treated R. prolixus posterior midgut cells.
  • Adhesion was inhibited by specific carbohydrates (N-acetylgalactosamine, D-galactose, etc.).
  • Hydrophobic epimastigote proteins bound to specific R. prolixus perimicrovillar membrane (PMM) polypeptides (e.g., 45.5, 44kDa).

Conclusions:

  • Glycoproteins in the R. prolixus PMM and hydrophobic proteins on T. cruzi epimastigotes are key for parasite adhesion.
  • Carbohydrate interactions play a significant role in mediating this attachment.

More Related Videos

Sexual Transmission of American Trypanosomes from Males and Females to Naive Mates13:55

Sexual Transmission of American Trypanosomes from Males and Females to Naive Mates

Published on: January 27, 2019

Establishment of Larval Zebrafish as an Animal Model to Investigate Trypanosoma cruzi Motility In Vivo13:21

Establishment of Larval Zebrafish as an Animal Model to Investigate Trypanosoma cruzi Motility In Vivo

Published on: September 30, 2017

Related Concept Videos

American Trypanosomiasis01:22

American Trypanosomiasis

Chagas disease, or American trypanosomiasis, is a vector-borne parasitic infection caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, a flagellated protozoan (kinetoplastid) of the family Trypanosomatidae. The disease is endemic in Latin America, although cases are increasingly reported worldwide due to human migration. Transmission most commonly occurs when feces of infected triatomine bugs contaminate bite wounds or mucosal surfaces; additional routes include congenital, transfusional, transplant-related, and oral...
Rabies01:28

Rabies

Rabies is a lethal zoonotic disease caused by a single-stranded, negative-sense RNA virus of the Lyssavirus genus, within the family Rhabdoviridae. Its primary mode of transmission to humans is through bites or saliva-contaminated scratches from infected mammals such as dogs, bats, raccoons, or foxes. Transmission can also occur if infectious saliva contacts abraded skin or intact mucous membranes, including the conjunctiva.Viral Entry and Early ReplicationOnce introduced at the bite or scratch...
Diversity of Protists I01:15

Diversity of Protists I

Excavata is a diverse group of protists that includes both chemoorganotrophic and phototrophic species, with some thriving in anaerobic environments. Among the key groups within Excavata are diplomonads and parabasalids, which are flagellated protists that lack mitochondria and chloroplasts. These microorganisms typically inhabit anoxic environments, such as the intestines of animals, where they exist either symbiotically or as parasites, relying on fermentation for energy production. Some...
Toxoplasmosis01:28

Toxoplasmosis

Toxoplasmosis, a zoonotic disease caused by the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii, poses significant public health challenges globally due to its high seroprevalence and varied clinical manifestations. As an obligate intracellular parasite, T. gondii can infect all warm-blooded vertebrates, but felids are its only definitive hosts, shedding unsporulated oocysts into the environment. Humans typically acquire the infection through ingestion of tissue cysts in undercooked meat or oocysts from...
Leishmaniasis01:30

Leishmaniasis

Leishmaniasis is a protozoal disease caused by species of the genus Leishmania and transmitted through the bite of infected female sandflies. The parasite exists in two principal morphological forms during its life cycle. A sandfly acquires intracellular amastigotes from an infected reservoir host, such as a dog. Within the sandfly, these forms differentiate into motile, flagellated promastigotes. During a subsequent blood meal, promastigotes are injected into the human host, where they...