Transcriptional changes during metacyclogenesis of a Colombian Trypanosoma cruzi strain

During its life cycle, Trypanosoma cruzi undergoes physiological modifications in order to adapt to insect vector and mammalian host conditions. Metacyclogenesis is essential, as the parasite acquires the ability to infect a variety of mammalian species, including humans, in which pathology is caused. In this work, the transcriptomes of metacyclic trypomastigotes and epimastigotes were analyzed in order to identify differentially expressed genes that may be involved in metacyclogenesis. Toward this end, in vitro induction of metacyclogenesis was performed and metacyclic trypomastigotes obtained. RNA-Seq was performed on triplicate samples of epimastigotes and metacyclic trypomastigotes. Differential gene expression analysis showed 513 genes, of which 221 were upregulated and 292 downregulated in metacyclic trypomastigotes. The analysis showed that these genes are related to biological processes relevant in metacyclogenesis. Within these processes, we found that most of the genes associated with infectivity and gene expression regulation were upregulated in metacyclic trypomastigotes, while genes involved in cell division, DNA replication, differentiation, cytoskeleton, and metabolism were mainly downregulated. The participation of some of these genes in T. cruzi metacyclogenesis is of interest, as they may be used as potential therapeutic targets in the design of new drugs for Chagas disease.