GSE160853
RNA sequencing analysis of HEK293T cells infected with a lentivirus coding the BRCT domain from Leishmania major Pes protein
Given the prevalence of leishmaniasis and cancer, the co-existence of these two diseases may be merely coincidental. However, a number of epidemiological studies suggest that an association between these two entities does exist. Mammalian PES protein has been reported to be involved in different cellular processes such as cell cycle regulation. Its BRCT domain has been identified as a key factor in DNA damage-responsive checkpoints. We aimed to elucidate the hypothetical oncogenic character of this BRCT domain from Leishmania major PES protein (LmPES) on the host cells. For this purpose, we generated a lentivirus carrying this BRCT domain sequence (lentiBRCT) and a lentivirus expressing the lucifarese protein (lentiLuc), as control. Then, HEK293T mammal cells were infected with these lentivirus. Gene expression profiling analysis revealed that BRCT domain from LmPES protein altered the expression of proliferation, survival and chemoresistance related genes. In addition, RNA sequencing study showed a down-regulation of mitochondrial genes in the BRCT domain expressing cells triggering a mitochondrial dysfunction. Altogether, our results reinforce the idea that in eukaryotes, horizontal gene transfer may be also achieved by parasitism like Leishmania infection driving therefore to some crucial biological changes such as proliferation and drug resistance. Overall design: To study the effect of  BRCT domain from Leishmania major Pes protein expression in mammal cells