STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY OF T. cruzi mRNA MADURATION PROTEINS AS POTENTIAL TARGET FOR DRUG DESING

CARMONA N, GÓMEZ BARROSO JA, BERCOVICH N, VAZQUEZ M, AGUILAR CF.

Mendoza

Congreso; XXVI Annual Scientific Meeting of Cuyo Biology Society; 2008

Sociedad de Biología de Cuyo

STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY OF T. cruzi mRNA MADURATION PROTEINS AS POTENTIAL TARGET FOR DRUG DESING Carmona N, Gómez Barroso JA, Bercovich N, Vazquez M, Aguilar CF. Lab de Biol Mol Estructural, Univ. Nac de San Luis, San Lui 5700. E-mail: natycarmona04@hotmail.com Trypanosoma cruzi is the etiologic agent of Chagas’ disease. The objective of our work is the resolution by X-ray crystallography o the three-dimensional structure of T. cruzi proteins involved in mRNA cleavage and polyadenylation as a first step for rationa drug design. The main objective of the Chagas´ Disease Research Network is the search for protein targets in metabolic routes absen in the human host and common in trypanosomatids. The T. cruz proteins studied in this work are: TcFIP1-like (factor interacting with Pap1) and TcCPSF30 (cleavaje and polyadenylation facto 30). They were expressed in E. coli as fusion proteins with N terminal Histag. We have overexpressed and purified them Refolding assays were realized for TcCPSF30. The refolded protein was used for crystallization and other structural studies TcFIP1-like was overexpressed in soluble form and was purifided Different bioinformatic studies showed structural particularitie with a high potential for drug design.