title: Trypanosoma cruzi Coexpressing Ornithine Decarboxylase and Green Fluorescence Proteins as a Tool to Study the Role of Polyamines in Chagas Disease Pathology.
abstract: Polyamines are essential for Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease. As T. cruzi behaves as a natural auxotrophic organism, it relies on host polyamines biosynthesis. In this paper we obtained a double-transfected T. cruzi parasite that expresses the green fluorescent protein (GFP) and a heterologous ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), used itself as a novel selectable marker. These autotrophic and fluorescent parasites were characterized; the ODC presented an apparent Km for ornithine of 0.51 ± 0.16 mM and an estimated V(max) value of 476.2 nmoles/h/mg of protein. These expressing ODC parasites showed higher metacyclogenesis capacity than the auxotrophic counterpart, supporting the idea that polyamines are engaged in this process. This double-transfected T. cruzi parasite results in a powerful tool-easy to follow by its fluorescence-to study the role of polyamines in Chagas disease pathology and in related processes such as parasite survival, invasion, proliferation, metacyclogenesis, and tissue spreading.
authors.affiliation: Fundación Instituto Leloir-(FIL-IIBBA-) CONICET and Departamento de Química Biológica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, 1428 Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Jeremías José
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Barclay
authors.forename: Luciano Gastón
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Morosi
authors.forename: María Cristina
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Vanrell
authors.forename: Edith Corina
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Trejo
authors.forename: Patricia Silvia
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Romano
authors.forename: Carolina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Carrillo