A MITOCHONDRIAL CYCLOPHILIN FROM AND ITS ROLE IN PROGRAMMED CELL DEATH Trypanosoma cruzi

BUSTOS PATRICIA , PERRONE ALINA , CÁMARA MARIA DE LOS MILAGROS , POSTAN M , MORENO S , BUA J .

MENDOZA

Congreso; XLVIII Reunión Anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Investigación Bioquímica y Biología Molecular; 2012

Sociedad Argentina de Investigación Bioquímica y Biología Molecular

Cyclophilins (CyP) are enzymes involved in protein folding and are target of Cyclosporin A (CsA). In , we described the CyP gene family. One very interesting CyP in mammals is CyPD, involved in the mitochondrial permeability transition pore opening, which plays an important role in programmed cell death (PCD). has a CyPD homologue gene, CyP21, which is expressed in the three stages of the parasite and localises in the mitochondrion.To further characterise this protein, we stimulated oxidative stress in epimastigotes using 5mM H O or 1.25μM ß-lapachone. In these conditions, mitochondrial membrane potential decreased, cytochrome translocated into the citosol, cleavage of a PARP-like protein was observed and DNA degradation occurred. All these typical apoptotic features were prevented by pre-incubation with 1μM CsA. To study the specific role of CyP21, epimastigotes were transfected with pTEXOmni- CyP21-GFP. Changes in morphology or growth rates were not observed. However, further experiments are undergoing. This is the first evidence that a homologue of CyPD, which is involved inPCDevents, is expressed in a protozoan parasite.