Expression and localization of Aurora kinases in Trypanosoma cruzi.

FASSOLARI M; TORRES HN; FLAWIÁ MM; ALONSO GD

San Miguel de Tucumán. Tucumán, Argentina.

Congreso; XLV Reunión Anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Investigación en Bioquímica y Biología Molecular (SAIB).; 2009

Sociedad Argentina de Investigacion en Bioquimica y Biologia Molecular

Aurora kinases (AUKs) belong to a family of S/T kinases that play an essential role in many events during cell division. However, recent works suggest that some members of this family are involved in processes that occur in interphase. In mammals the Aurora kinase family includes 3 members, two of them have been found to be over-expressed in some cancer lines. In many protozoan, AUKs have been described and in Trypanosoma cruzi we found 3 possible AUK genes (TcAUK). T. cruzi is a kinetoplastid parasite with a complex life cycle in which it adopts 3 different forms: epimastigote, amastigote and trypomastigote. We determined by RT-PCR that TcAUKs are expressed in the 3 stages of T. cruzi life cycle, showing differences in the mRNA levels of the same AUK among different parasite forms. To study the possible functions of the TcAUKs we generated transgenic parasites that over-express these genes. TcAUK1 also was expressed as a fusion protein with GFP, to determine its localization in epimastigote cells. Because substrates of these enzymes in T. cruzi are unknown, we express recombinant TcAUKs to evaluate its substrate specificity. Viewing the increasing role of AUKs in wide cellular events, all related to cytoskeleton dynamics, it would be of great importance to elucidate their function in a protozoan that not only divides but also changes its form during the life cycle.