Macrophage activation is one of the hallmarks observed in trypanosomiasis, and the parasites must cope with the resulting oxidative burden, which includes the production of peroxynitrite, an unusual peroxo-acid that acts as a strong oxidant and trypanocidal molecule. Cytosolic tryparedoxin peroxidase (cTXNPx) has been recently identified as essential for oxidative defense in trypanosomatids. This peroxiredoxin decomposes peroxides using tryparedoxin (TXN) as electron donor, which in turn is reduced by dihydrotrypanothione. In this work, we studied the kinetics of the reaction of peroxynitrite with the different thiol-containing components of the cytosolic tryparedoxin peroxidase system in T. brucei (Tb) and T. cruzi (Tc), namely trypanothione, TXN, and cTXNPx. We found that whereas peroxynitrite reacted with dihydrotrypanothione and TbTXN at moderate rates (7200 and 3500 M ؊1 s ؊1 , respectively, at pH 7.4 and 37°C) and within the range of typical thiols, the second order rate constants for the reaction of peroxynitrite with reduced TbcTXNPx and TccTXNPx were 9 ؋ 10 5 and 7.2 ؋ 10 5 M ؊1 s ؊1 at pH 7.4 and 37°C, respectively. This reactivity was dependent on a highly reactive cTXNPx thiol group identified as cysteine 52. Competition experiments showed that TbcTXNPx inhibited other fast peroxynitrite-mediated processes, such as the oxidation of Mn 3؉ -porphyrins. Moreover, steady-state kinetic studies indicate that peroxynitrite-dependent TbcTXNPx and TccTXNPx oxidation is readily reverted by TXN, supporting that these peroxiredoxins would be not only a preferential target for peroxynitrite reactivity but also be able to act catalytically in peroxynitrite decomposition in vivo.

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Trypanosoma cruzi tryparedoxin 1 (TcTXN1) is an oxidoreductase belonging to the thioredoxin superfamily, which mediates electron transfer between trypanothione and peroxiredoxins. In trypanosomes TXNs, and not thioredoxins, constitute the oxido-reductases of peroxiredoxins. Since, to date, there is no information concerning TcTXN1 substrates in T. cruzi, the aim of this work was to characterize TcTXN1 in two aspects: expression throughout T. cruzi life cycle and subcellular localization; and the study of TcTXN1 interacting-proteins. We demonstrate that TcTXN1 is a cytosolic and constitutively expressed protein in T. cruzi. In order to start to unravel the redox interactome of T. cruzi we designed an active site mutant protein lacking the resolving cysteine, and validated the complex formation in vitro between the mutated TcTXN1 and a known partner, the cytosolic peroxiredoxin. Through the expression of this mutant protein in parasites with an additional 6xHis-tag, heterodisulfide complexes were isolated by affinity chromatography and identified by 2-DE/MS. This allowed us to identify fifteen TcTXN1 proteins which are involved in two main processes: oxidative metabolism and protein synthesis and degradation. Our approach led us to the discovery of several putatively TcTXN1-interacting proteins thereby contributing to our understanding of the redox interactome of T. cruzi.

h Trypanosoma cruzi species is categorized into six discrete typing units (TcI to TcVI) of which TcI is most abundantly noted in the sylvatic transmission cycle and considered the major cause of human disease. In our study, the TcI strains Colombiana (COL), SylvioX10/4 (SYL), and a cultured clone (TCC) exhibited different biological behavior in a murine model, ranging from high parasitemia and symptomatic cardiomyopathy (SYL), mild parasitemia and high tissue tropism (COL), to no pathogenicity (TCC). Proteomic profiling of the insect (epimastigote) and infective (trypomastigote) forms by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis/matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry, followed by functional annotation of the differential proteome data sets (>2-fold change, P < 0.05), showed that several proteins involved in (i) cytoskeletal assembly and remodeling, essential for flagellar wave frequency and amplitude and forward motility of the parasite, and (ii) the parasite-specific antioxidant network were enhanced in COL and SYL (versus TCC) trypomastigotes. Western blotting confirmed the enhanced protein levels of cytosolic and mitochondrial tryparedoxin peroxidases and their substrate (tryparedoxin) and iron superoxide dismutase in COL and SYL (versus TCC) trypomastigotes. Further, COL and SYL (but not TCC) were resistant to exogenous treatment with stable oxidants (H 2 O 2 and peroxynitrite [ONOO ؊ ]) and dampened the intracellular superoxide and nitric oxide response in macrophages, and thus these isolates escaped from macrophages. Our findings suggest that protein expression conducive to increase in motility and control of macrophage-derived free radicals provides survival and persistence benefits to TcI isolates of T. cruzi. C hagas disease, caused by the unicellular protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, is ranked as the third most important parasitic disease in terms of disability-adjusted life years (1, 2). T. cruzi is naturally transmitted by Triatomine insects. In recent years, a significant proportion of the infected population has emigrated from rural areas, leading to the urbanization of Chagas disease in countries where the disease is endemic, as well as internationally (1). Chagas disease is therefore an emergent global public health problem associated with congenital transmission (3, 4), blood transfusions (5), and organ transplantations (6). Current estimates suggest that ϳ70 million people are at risk of infection (7,8) and that ϳ6 million individuals are infected with T. cruzi in Latin America and Mexico. However, these estimates may not be accurate, since they are not derived from detailed epidemiological studies. For example, in Argentina, the Chagas Disease National Control Program reported 13 provinces located in the Central-Northeast area as endemic for Chagas disease in 2010 (9). Vectorial transmission was reported to be absent in Jujuy, Entre Ríos, La Pampa, Neuquén, and Río Negro but active in provinces such as Formosa, Chaco, Córdoba, Santiago del Estero, and others, with a ...

Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease (CD), contains exclusively Fe-dependent superoxide dismutases (Fe-SODs). During T. cruzi invasion to macrophages, superoxide radical (O2•−) is produced at the phagosomal compartment toward the internalized parasite via NOX-2 (gp91-phox) activation. In this work, T. cruzi cytosolic Fe-SODB overexpressers (pRIBOTEX–Fe-SODB) exhibited higher resistance to macrophage-dependent killing and enhanced intracellular proliferation compared with wild-type (WT) parasites. The higher infectivity of Fe-SODB overexpressers compared with WT parasites was lost in gp91-phox−/− macrophages, underscoring the role of O2•− in parasite killing. Herein, we studied the entrance of O2•− and its protonated form, perhydroxyl radical [(HO2•); pKa = 4.8], to T. cruzi at the phagosome compartment. At the acidic pH values of the phagosome lumen (pH 5.3 ± 0.1), high steady-state concentrations of O2•− and HO2• were estimated (∼28 and 8 µM, respectively). Phagosomal acidification was crucial for O2•− permeation, because inhibition of the macrophage H+-ATPase proton pump significantly decreased O2•− detection in the internalized parasite. Importantly, O2•− detection, aconitase inactivation, and peroxynitrite generation were lower in Fe-SODB than in WT parasites exposed to external fluxes of O2•− or during macrophage infections. Other mechanisms of O2•− entrance participate at neutral pH values, because the anion channel inhibitor 5-nitro-2-(3-phenylpropylamino) benzoic acid decreased O2•− detection. Finally, parasitemia and tissue parasite burden in mice were higher in Fe-SODB–overexpressing parasites, supporting the role of the cytosolic O2•−-catabolizing enzyme as a virulence factor for CD.