Lysine transporters in human trypanosomatid pathogens
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Purification of Extracellular Trypanosomes, Including African, from Blood by Anion-Exchangers (Diethylaminoethyl-cellulose Columns)
Published on: April 6, 2019
Ehud Inbar1, Gaspar E Canepa, Carolina Carrillo
1Faculty of Biology, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, 32000, Haifa, Israel.
Abstract:
In previous studies we characterized arginine transporter genes from Trypanosoma cruzi and Leishmania donovani, the etiological agents of chagas disease and kala azar, respectively, both fatal diseases in humans. Unlike arginine transporters in higher eukaryotes that transport also lysine, these parasite transporters translocate only arginine. This phenomenon prompted us to identify and characterize parasite lysine transporters. Here we demonstrate that LdAAP7 and TcAAP7 encode lysine-specific permeases in L. donovani and T. cruzi, respectively. These two lysine permeases are both members of the large amino acid/auxin permease family and share certain biochemical properties, such as specificity and Km. However, we evidence that LdAAP7 and TcAAP7 differ in their regulation and localization, such differences are likely a reflection of the dissimilar L. donovani and T. cruzi life cycles. Failed attempts to delete both alleles of LdAAP7 support the premise that this is an essential gene that encodes the only lysine permeases expressed in L. donovani promastigotes and T. cruzi epimastigotes, respectively.
Related Concept Videos
Antiprotozoal Agents
Leishmaniasis
American Trypanosomiasis
The Significance of Membrane Transport
Transporters facilitate either an active or passive movement of solutes. They can allow a single-molecule transport down its...
Carrier-Mediated Transport
Active transport involves two types of membrane-spanning transporters: uptake and efflux. Uptake transporters are expressed in the small...
Lysosomal Hydrolases

