RESEARCH ARTICLE


Intracellular Signaling Pathways Involved in Cell Differentiation in Trypanosomatids



Angela H. Lopes*, 1, Marta T. Gomes2, Fernando L. Dutra1, Alane B. Vermelho1, José R. Meyer-Fernandes , Mário A. C. Silva-Neto2, Thaïs Souto-Padrón1, Danielle P. Vieira1
1 Instituto de Microbiologia Prof. Paulo de Góes, UFRJ; Cidade Universitária, Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, R.J. 21941-590, Brazil
2 Instituto de Bioquímica Médica, UFRJ; Cidade Universitária, Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, R.J. 21941-590, Brazil

Article Information


Identifiers and Pagination:

Year: 2010
Volume: 4
First Page: 102
Last Page: 110
Publisher ID: TOPARAJ-4-102
DOI: 10.2174/1874421401004010102

Article History:

Received Date: 15/11/2009
Revision Received Date: 19/9/2010
Acceptance Date: 23/9/2010
Electronic publication date: 10/12/2010
Collection year: 2010

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Creative Commons License
© 2010 Lopeset al;

open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

* Address correspondence to this author at the Instituto de Microbiologia Prof. Paulo de Góes, UFRJ; Cidade Universitária, Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, R.J. 21941-590, Brazil; Tel: + 55-21-2562-6740; Fax: + 55-21-2560-8344; E-mail: angela.lopes@micro.ufrj.br


Abstract

Knowledge of cell signaling pathways in trypanosomatids is crucial for the future design of new drugs to treat diseases caused by these parasites. The publication of the complete genome sequences of three pathogenic trypanosomatids, Trypanosoma brucei, T. cruzi and Leishmania major, revealed numerous protein members of signaling pathways that modulate important processes, such as cell differentiation. Even so, little is known about the role that these proteins play in the physiology of trypanosomatids. This review aims to stimulate discussion on this subject to encourage further studies of the signaling pathways involved in the cell differentiation of trypanosomatids.

Keywords: Cellular differentiation, signaling pathways, protein kinases, Trypanosoma cruzi, Trypanosoma brucei, Leishmania.