title: The different behavior of diphtheria toxin, modeccin and ricin in HeLa cells infected with Trypanosoma cruzi.
abstract: We have studied the action of diphtheria toxin, modeccin and ricin on HeLa cells infected by Trypanosoma cruzi. Parasitized HeLa cells were resistant to diphtheria toxin and modeccin, whereas non-parasitized cells from the same cultures and control cultures showed cytopathological alterations. Protein synthesis, assayed by the incorporation of labelled methionine, diminished in toxin-treated control cultures but remained unaltered in the infected ones, compared to synthesis by untreated infected cells. Ricin, on the other hand, is a toxin that enters the cytoplasm by endocytosis. It has greater cytopathological effects in parasitized cells than in non-parasitized ones from the same cultures or uninfected control cells. Protein synthesis was inhibited in infected cultures treated with ricin.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Parasitología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Osuna
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rodriguez-Cabezas
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gamarro
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mascaro
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D004167:Diphtheria Toxin / Q000633:toxicity*; D004351:Drug Resistance; D006367:HeLa Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000469:parasitology; D006801:Humans; D037102:Lectins / Q000633:toxicity*; D037121:Plant Lectins; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis; D054790:Ribosome Inactivating Proteins, Type 2; D012276:Ricin / Q000633:toxicity*; D014118:Toxins, Biological / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D004167:Diphtheria Toxin; D037102:Lectins; D037121:Plant Lectins; D054790:Ribosome Inactivating Proteins, Type 2; D014118:Toxins, Biological; C016004:modeccin; D012276:Ricin