Trypanosoma cruzi TcSMUG L-surface Mucins Promote Development and Infectivity in the Triatomine Vector Rhodnius prolixus

Abstract

Background TcSMUG L products were recently identified as novel mucin-type glycoconjugates restricted to the surface of insect-dwelling epimastigote forms of Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas disease. The remarkable conservation of their predicted mature N-terminal region, which is exposed to the extracellular milieu, suggests that TcSMUG L products may be involved in structural and/or functional aspects of the interaction with the insect vector.Methodology and Principal FindingsHere, we investigated the putative roles of TcSMUG L mucins in both in vivo development and ex vivo attachment of epimastigotes to the luminal surface of the digestive tract of Rhodnius prolixus. Our results indicate that the exogenous addition of TcSMUG L N-terminal peptide, but not control T. cruzi mucin peptides, to the infected bloodmeal inhibited the development of parasites in R. prolixus in a dose-dependent manner. Pre-incubation of insect midguts with the TcSMUG L peptide impaired the ex vivo attachment of epimastigotes to the luminal surface epithelium, likely by competing out TcSMUG L binding sites on the luminal surface of the posterior midgut, as revealed by fluorescence microscopy.Conclusion and SignificanceTogether, these observations indicate that TcSMUG L mucins are a determinant of both adhesion of T. cruzi epimastigotes to the posterior midgut epithelial cells of the triatomine, and the infection of the insect vector, R. prolixus.

Rhodnius prolixus Life History Outcomes Differ when Infected with Different Trypanosoma cruzi I Strains

“…Each R. prolixus fifth instar had not eaten for about 2 weeks. 66,67 We placed each jar of nymphs under an artificial membrane feeder containing the parasite-blood solution at 37.5°C for about 30 minutes. 68 Control insects consumed blood without parasites.…”

Evaluating the microbicidal, antiparasitic and antitumor effects of CR-LAAO from Calloselasma rhodostoma venom

“…are also significant public health problems, affecting millions of people every year. These diseases are quite neglected since they are generally related to poverty, with limited therapeutic strategies and highly toxic drugs available [6,7]. Thus, the development of new drugs and strategies to inhibit, control and prevent these diseases is also necessary.…”

On the possibilities of polychromatic synchrotron radiation microtomography for visualization of internal structures of Rhodnius prolixus

“…Special attention is given to the interactions of these parasites within the gut and to the effects of the organization of midgut epithelial cells on the parasite development and metacyclogenesis. Gonzalez et al (2013) have shown that the insect vector's permissiveness to T. cruzi depends on the adhesion of the epimastigotes to the perimicrovillar membranes of the midgut to develop.…”

“…Because of the lack of a vaccine or an effective treatment for Chagas' disease, vector control is one of the primary methods for preventing this disease. Studying the internal structures of R. Prolixus head is of great importance in vector control (Rembold and Garcia, 1989;Garcia et al, 1984;Gonzalez et al, 2013). organs syntopy and structure of R. prolixus without invading or disrupting them, as shown by Almeida et al (2012aAlmeida et al ( , 2012bAlmeida et al ( , , 2014.…”