Host and tissue specificity of Trypanosoma cruzi in the wild reservoirs

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24390102
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Partial Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Parasitology (including Sanitary zoology)
• Research Institution: Juntendo University
• Principal Investigator: Nara Takeshi 順天堂大学, 医学(系)研究科(研究院), 准教授 (40276473)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): HASHIMOTO Muneaki 順天堂大学, 医学部, 准教授 (30407308) ; TSUBOUCHI Akiko 順天堂大学, 医学部, 助教 (10398662) ; MORALES Jorge 順天堂大学, 医学部, 助教 (20596126)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: シャーガス病 / Trypanosoma cruzi / 臓器特異性 / 自然宿主 / 休眠

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Chagas disease is caused by infection of the parasitic protist, Trypanosoma cruzi. T. cruzi can persist for decades and 10-30% of the patients enter into the chronic stage, which is characterized by heart failure and/or megadisease. The long-term persistence of pathogens like Toxoplasma is generally associated with a cyst or “a dormant form”. Iralu has reported induction of a cyst-like form of T. cruzi by treatment with urease (Nature 204:486 1964), whereas no further report has described T. cruzi cysts. In the present study, we reanalyzed cyst formation in T. cruzi and found that a lectin, concanavalin A (ConA), can successfully induce the cyst formation. T. cruzi epimastigotes treated with ConA developed a large vacuole inside the cell and the organelles began to divide in the cytoplasm. Our findings provide important insights into the mechanism of transmission and persistence of the parasite.

Free Research Field

寄生虫学