Trypanosoma cruzi extracellular amastigotes and host cell signaling: more pieces to the puzzle
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Updated: May 15, 2026

Introducing a Gene Knockout Directly Into the Amastigote Stage of Trypanosoma cruzi Using the CRISPR/Cas9 System
Published on: July 31, 2019
Eden R Ferreira1, Alexis Bonfim-Melo, Renato A Mortara
1Disciplina de Parasitologia, Departamento de Microbiologia, Imunologia e Parasitologia, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Abstract:
Among the different infective stages that Trypanosoma cruzi employs to invade cells, extracellular amastigotes (EAs) have recently gained attention by our group. This is true primarily because these amastigotes are able to infect cultured cells and animals, establishing a sustainable infective cycle. EAs are thus an excellent means of adaptation and survival for T. cruzi, whose different infective stages each utilize unique mechanisms for attachment and penetration. Here we discuss some features of host cell invasion by EAs and the associated host cell signaling events that occur as part of the process.
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