NEW ROLES FOR PROTEASES IN THE INFECTION BIOLOGY OF COCCIDIAN PARASITES

FABIOLA PARUSSINI; CHIN FEN TEO; JILL HARPER; EMILY BINDER; KAMI KIM; VERN B. CARRUTHERS

Foz do Iguassu, Paraná

Conferencia; The IXth International Coccidiosis Conference; 2005

Fundación APINCO DE CIENCIA E TECNOLOGIAS AVICOLAS

Coccidianparasites including Toxoplasma gondii cause widespread infections and diseasein humans and animals. The need for new therapeutic agents along with thefascinating biology of these parasites has fueled a keen interest inunderstanding how key steps in the life cycle are regulated. Proteolysis isintimately associated with cell and tissue invasion by these obligateintracellular parasites and recent studies have begun to identify the proteasesinvolved in these processes. Based on clues from inhibitor experiments andcleave site mapping studies, we and others are using emerging genomeinformation and molecular genetics to identify and validate proteases thatregulate secretory organelle biogenesis and invasion protein activity. Thesestudies are revealing roles for a variety of proteases including cathepsins,subtilases, and rhomboids in cell and tissue invasion. The identification ofhighly selective inhibitors for these proteases has the potential to not onlyfurther dissect their role in infection but also to potentially prevent orameliorate disease.