title: What has proteomics taught us about Leishmania development?
abstract: Leishmania are obligatory intracellular parasitic protozoa that cycle between sand fly mid-gut and phagolysosomes of mammalian macrophages. They have developed genetically programmed changes in gene and protein expression that enable rapid optimization of cell function according to vector and host environments. During the last two decades, host-free systems that mimic intra-lysosomal environments have been devised in which promastigotes differentiate into amastigotes axenically. These cultures have facilitated detailed investigation of the molecular mechanisms underlying Leishmania development inside its host. Axenic promastigotes and amastigotes have been subjected to transcriptome and proteomic analyses. Development had appeared somewhat variable but was revealed by proteomics to be strictly coordinated and regulated. Here we summarize the current understanding of Leishmania promastigote to amastigote differentiation, highlighting the data generated by proteomics.
authors.affiliation: Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel.
authors.forename: Polina
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tsigankov
authors.forename: Pier Federico
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Gherardini
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Helmer-Citterich
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zilberstein
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000818:Animals; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000469:parasitology*; D007891:Leishmania / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D007896:Leishmaniasis / Q000469:parasitology*; D008018:Life Cycle Stages; D008264:Macrophages / Q000469:parasitology; D010588:Phagosomes / Q000469:parasitology; D040901:Proteomics / Q000379:methods*; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D011576:Psychodidae / Q000469:parasitology; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D015800:Protozoan Proteins