Glycoinositol phospholipids from Trypanosoma cruzi transmit signals to the cells of the host immune system through both ceramide and glycan chains.
Chagas' disease is a chronic disease affecting millions of people in Latin America. The cell surface of Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent, is covered by a glycocalyx whose components play important roles in parasite survival and infectivity. The most abundant surface component is a glycolipid (glycoinositol phospholipid, GIPL) related in structure to glycosylphosphatidyl inositol anchors. In this review, we describe the biological effects of highly purified native GIPLs and their glycan or lipid moities on cells of the host immune system.
DosReis
George A
GA
Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Bloco G, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Cidade Universitária, Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Peçanha
Lígia M T
LM
Bellio
Maria
M
Previato
José O
JO
Mendonça-Previato
Lúcia
L
D000818:Animals; D002240:Carbohydrate Sequence; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000276:immunology*; D017261:Glycosylphosphatidylinositols / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D008264:Macrophages / Q000276:immunology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi / Q000276:immunology* / Q000502:physiology
D017261:Glycosylphosphatidylinositols