Effective Separation of T. foetus membrane Lipids in one Dimensional Thin Layer Chromatography.

MARIA ROSANA RAMIREZ & JORGE OYENART; JORGE OYENART

Congreso; Congreso Saic Safe SAI; 2018

Gangliosides are a family of sialic-containing glycosphingolipid present in cell membranes. They play biological functions such as cell recognition, signal transduction, adaptation of plasma membrane to environmental variations. Glycolipids are also related to immunological factors associated with cell surfaces. Phospholipids make up a group of compounds whose basic structure presents a phosphate radical that is linked to different alcohol?s, and may hold specific substituting molecule groups such as choline, serine and ethanolamine. These membrane compounds carry out structural functions and take part in cellular signaling. Cholesterol, chemically derived from cyclopentanoperydrophenanthrene, is a component of cellular membranes and is necessary for viability and cellular proliferation. Tritrichomonas foetus is parasitic protozoa that affect the urogenital tract of cattle, where it interacts mainly with epithelial cells. But, the cellular mechanisms by which T. foetus colonizes mucosal surfaces and causes tissue injury are not well understood. Studies have demonstrated the involvement of membrane lipids in the interaction between host cells and pathogenic protozoa. However, to study the lipids from different living beings the investigator ought to select precise conditions for effective separation of the lipids. The present work is aimed to obtain a separation of membrane lipids of T. foetus on the same plate and in one dimension for further identify and quantifying lipid spots using a scanning device. The lipids were extracted according to the method of Folch et al., (1957). A method for effective separation of lipids of T. foetus in one dimensional thin layer chromatography on ready-made plates has been developed. The result demonstrates that T. foetus present phospholipids and cholesterol. It was also observed the presence of glycosphingolipids, which are associated to cell recognition and cell surface markers. Based on these results, it is intended to determine if these lipids are involved in the interaction of this parasite with host cells in vitro.