INVESTIGADORES
SERRA Esteban Carlos
artículos
Título:
Identification of a NF-AT-like transcription factor in Schistosoma mansoni: Its possible involvement in the antiparasitic action of cyclosporin A
Autor/es:
ESTEBAN SERRA; LARDANS, VINKA; DISSOUS, COLETTE
Revista:
MOLECULAR AND BIOCHEMICAL PARASITOLOGY
Editorial:
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
Referencias:
Año: 1999 vol. 101 p. 33 - 41
ISSN:
0166-6851
Resumen:
Cyclosporin A (CsA) has been found to exert potent anti-parasite
activity against a wide range of protozoan and helminth parasites. In
schistosomes, evidence has been accumulated to propose that the drug
damages parasites by mechanisms independent of its immunosuppressive
properties. Moreover, the absence of correlation between
anti-schistosomal properties and inhibition of peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans
isomerase activity of cyclophilins (CsA receptors) for various drug
analogs, argued against a direct implication of cyclophilins in the
lethal effect of CsA. We describe, in S. mansoni, the existence of NF-AT-like
transcription factors, a protein family already characterized by its
sensitivity to CsA. The observation that CsA treatment of S. mansoni
larvae inhibited the expression of the Sm28GST protein and the
characterization of a functional NF-AT-like
site in the gene encoding this protein, provide new insights in the
understanding of the antischistosomal effect of CsA. Our results also
support the hypothesis that the regulatory function of NF-AT-like
proteins might be responsible for parasite development and survival in
the host and open new perspectives in studies of helminth biology.