Changes in the concentration of free amino acids in the haemolymph of Rhodnius prolixus during the fifth instar

"Urate and NOX5 Control Blood Digestion in the Hematophagous Insect Rhodnius prolixus"

Low levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) are now recognized as essential players in cell signaling. Here, we studied the role of two conserved enzymes involved in redox regulation that play a critical role in the control of ROS in the digestive physiology of a blood-sucking insect, the kissing bug Rhodnius prolixus. RNAi-mediated silencing of RpNOX5 and RpXDH induced early mortality in adult females after a blood meal. Recently, a role for RpNOX5 in gut motility was reported, and here, we show that midgut peristalsis is also under the control of RpXDH. Together with impaired peristalsis, silencing either genes impaired egg production and hemoglobin digestion, and decreased hemolymph urate titers. Ultrastructurally, the silencing of RpNOX5 or RpXDH affected midgut cells, changing the cells of blood-fed insects to a phenotype resembling the cells of unfed insects, suggesting that these genes work together in the control of blood digestion. Injection of either allopurinol (an XDH inhibitor) or uricase recapitulated the gene silencing effects, suggesting that urate itself is involved in the control of blood digestion. The silencing of each of these genes influenced the expression of the other gene in a complex way both in the unfed state and after a blood meal, revealing signaling crosstalk between them that influences redox metabolism and nitrogen excretion and plays a central role in the control of digestive physiology.

The Uptake and Metabolism of Amino Acids, and Their Unique Role in the Biology of Pathogenic Trypanosomatids

Trypanosoma brucei, as well as Trypanosoma cruzi and more than 20 species of the genus Leishmania, form a group of flagellated protists that threaten human health. These organisms are transmitted by insects that, together with mammals, are their natural hosts. This implies that during their life cycles each of them faces environments with different physical, chemical, biochemical, and biological characteristics. In this work we review how amino acids are obtained from such environments, how they are metabolized, and how they and some of their intermediate metabolites are used as a survival toolbox to cope with the different conditions in which these parasites should establish the infections in the insects and mammalian hosts.

The Dose Makes the Poison: Nutritional Overload Determines the Life Traits of Blood-Feeding Arthropods

Vertebrate blood composition is heavily biased towards proteins, and hemoglobin, which is a hemeprotein, is by far the most abundant protein. Typically, hematophagous insects ingest blood volumes several times their weight before the blood meal. This barbarian feast offers an abundance of nutrients, but the degradation of blood proteins generates toxic concentrations of amino acids and heme, along with unparalleled microbiota growth. Despite this challenge, hematophagous arthropods have successfully developed mechanisms that bypass the toxicity of these molecules. While these adaptations allow hematophagous arthropods to tolerate their diet, they also constitute a unique mode of operation for cell signaling, immunity, and metabolism, the study of which may offer insights into the biology of disease vectors and may lead to novel vector-specific control methods.

Aspects of Trypanosoma cruzi stage differentiation

Trypanosoma cruzi alternates between different morphological and functional types during its life cycle. Since the discovery of this parasite at the beginning of the twentieth century, efforts have been made to determine the basis of its pathogenesis in the course of Chagas disease and its biochemical constituents. There has also been work to develop tools and strategies for prophylaxis of the important disease caused by these parasites which affects millions of people in Latin America. The identification of axenic conditions allowing T. cruzi growth and differentiation has led to the identification and characterization of stage-specific antigens as well as a better characterization of the biological properties and biochemical particularities of each individual developmental stage. The recent availability of genomic data should pave the way to new progress in our knowledge of the biology and pathogenesis of T. cruzi. This review addresses the differentiation and major stage-specific antigens of T. cruzi and attempts to describe the complexity of the parasite and of the disease it causes.

Use of L-proline and ATP production by Trypanosoma cruzi metacyclic forms as requirements for host cell invasion

The process of host cell invasion by Trypanosoma cruzi depends on parasite energy. What source of energy is used for that event is not known. To address this and other questions related to T. cruzi energy requirements and cell invasion, we analyzed metacyclic trypomastigote forms of the phylogenetically distant CL and G strains. For both strains, the nutritional stress experienced by cells starved for 24, 36, or 48 h in phosphate-buffered saline reduced the ATP content and the ability of the parasite to invade HeLa cells proportionally to the starvation time. Inhibition of ATP production by treating parasites with rotenone plus antimycin A also diminished the infectivity. Nutrient depletion did not alter the expression of gp82, the surface molecule that mediates CL strain internalization, but increased the expression of gp90, the negative regulator of cell invasion, in the G strain. When L-proline was given to metacyclic forms starved for 36 h, the ATP levels were restored to those of nonstarved controls for both strains. Glucose had no such effect, although this carbohydrate and L-proline were transported in similar fashions. Recovery of infectivity promoted by L-proline treatment of starved parasites was restricted to the CL strain. The profile of restoration of ATP content and gp82-mediated invasion capacity by L-proline treatment of starved Y-strain parasites was similar to that of the CL strain, whereas the Dm28 and Dm30 strains, whose infectivity is downregulated by gp90, behaved like the G strain. L-Proline was also found to increase the ability of the CL strain to traverse a gastric mucin layer, a property important for the establishment of T. cruzi infection by the oral route. Efficient translocation of parasites through gastric mucin toward the target epithelial cells in the stomach mucosa is an essential requirement for subsequent cell invasion. By relying on these closely associated ATP-driven processes, the metacyclic trypomastigotes effectively accomplish their internalization.