title: Identification, sequencing and expression of peroxidoxin genes from Leishmania aethiopica.
abstract: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a painful, disfiguring and debilitating disease prevalent in Ethiopia and other countries around the world. In Ethiopia, CL is primarily caused by Leishmania aethiopica and less often by L. tropica and L. major. The intracellular survival mechanisms of Leishmania parasites are still not well understood. Recently a new family of antioxidant enzymes called peroxidoxins have been identified that play an important role in parasite survival. In this study, we have identified two distinct peroxidoxin genes (Pxn1 and Pxn2) that are part of a multi-gene family in L. aethiopica. Protein sequence analysis showed that Pxn1 and Pxn2 are highly homologous to peroxidoxins from other Leishmania species. We have found that L. aethiopica Pxn1 is predominantly expressed in amastigotes and stationary phase promastigotes, whereas Pxn2 is constitutively expressed in the different stages of the parasite. This pattern of RNA expression is consistent with patterns seen in some Leishmania species, but not all. Data from this study will be helpful in enhancing vaccine strategies and drug studies targeted towards peroxidoxins.
authors.affiliation: Armauer Hansen Research Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
authors.forename: Dagim
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jirata
authors.forename: Teklu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kuru
authors.forename: Abebe
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Genetu
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Barr
authors.forename: Asrat
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hailu
authors.forename: Abraham
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aseffa
authors.forename: Lashitew
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gedamu
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D002460:Cell Line; D005002:Ethiopia; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D006801:Humans; D007891:Leishmania / Q000235:genetics*; D016773:Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous / Q000469:parasitology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010544:Peroxidases / Q000235:genetics*; D054464:Peroxiredoxins; D016053:RNA, Protozoan / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D016053:RNA, Protozoan; D010544:Peroxidases; D054464:Peroxiredoxins