Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
5
pubmed:dateCreated
2000-6-13
pubmed:abstractText
Earlier studies showed that mice primed for a few hours with the trans-sialidase (TS) of Trypanosoma cruzi, the agent of Chagas' disease, become highly susceptible to trypanosomal infection. These studies suggest that TS affects parasite virulence independent of antigenic stimulation. Potentially, TS could enhance or reduce the virulence of heterologous microbes depending on the mechanism of TS action and on the type of immune response elicited by the particular parasite. We tested this hypothesis by expressing heterologous TS in Leishmania major, a protozoan parasite that causes cutaneous leishmaniasis and lacks TS and the TS product alpha2-3-linked sialic acid. Leishmania cells transfected with a T. cruzi TS expression construct made high levels of active enzyme, which was present in the promastigotes and shed into the extracellular milieu. TS expression did not affect L. major binding to and entry into cultured macrophages or its tropism for macrophage infection in vivo. However, TS-expressing L. major exhibited elevated virulence in BALB/c mice, as determined by lesion progression, parasite numbers, and macro- and microscopic examination of cutaneous lesions. Several genetic tests proved that the enhanced virulence was directly attributable to TS expression. The results are consistent with TS functioning to sabotage the mouse immune system to confer a growth advantage on T. cruzi and transgenic L. major. These data suggest that heterologous expression of T. cruzi virulence factors in Leishmania may provide a new approach for dissecting their function in vivo.
pubmed:grant
pubmed:commentsCorrections
http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/10768966-10081500, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/10768966-10462512, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/10768966-10601357, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/10768966-10639450, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/10768966-1374711, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/10768966-1378212, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/10768966-1500849, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/10768966-1711561, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/10768966-1732417, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/10768966-1833644, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/10768966-2111345, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/10768966-2124701, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/10768966-2304458, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/10768966-3055197, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/10768966-6338592, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/10768966-6606002, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/10768966-6701528, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/10768966-7479765, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/10768966-7612219, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/10768966-7722448, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/10768966-7826016, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/10768966-8188342, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/10768966-8341323, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/10768966-8381772, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/10768966-8486668, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/10768966-8751943, http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/commentcorrection/10768966-8784772
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
May
pubmed:issn
0019-9567
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
68
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
2728-34
pubmed:dateRevised
2009-11-18
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2000
pubmed:articleTitle
Heterologous expression of Trypanosoma cruzi trans-sialidase in Leishmania major enhances virulence.
pubmed:affiliation
Parasitology Research Center, Department of Pathology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, USA.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.