title: Trypanosomatids see the light: recent advances in bioimaging research.
abstract: The use of genetically engineered pathogens that express fluorescent or luminescent proteins represents a huge stride forward in the understanding of trypanosomatid-borne tropical diseases. Nowadays, such modified microorganisms are being used to screen thousands of compounds under a target-free (phenotypic) approach. In addition, experimental infections with transgenic parasites drastically reduce the number of animals required for preclinical studies, because no animal needs to be put down to assess its parasite load. Finally, the use of fluorescent parasites is contributing to unraveling genetic exchange events between trypanosomatid strains. This phenomenon is important for understanding the mechanism by which traits such as virulence, tissue tropism, and drug resistance are transferred, as well as the emergence of novel strains.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciencias Biomédicas, Universidad de León, Campus de Vegazana s/n, 24071 León, Spain.
authors.forename: Estefanía
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Calvo-Álvarez
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciencias Biomédicas, Universidad de León, Campus de Vegazana s/n, 24071 León, Spain.
authors.forename: Raquel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Álvarez-Velilla
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases Research Center of the CHUL of Québec and Laval University, Québec City, Québec G1V 4G2, Canada.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fernández-Prada
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciencias Biomédicas, Universidad de León, Campus de Vegazana s/n, 24071 León, Spain. Electronic address: rbalf@unileon.es.
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Balaña-Fouce
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciencias Biomédicas, Universidad de León, Campus de Vegazana s/n, 24071 León, Spain.
authors.forename: Rosa M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Reguera
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D035843:Biomedical Research; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D055808:Drug Discovery; D005453:Fluorescence; D049449:Luminescence; D030781:Organisms, Genetically Modified / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D010271:Parasites; D014345:Trypanosoma / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism