Tiago de Paula Marcelino, Angela Maria Fala, Matheus Monteiro da Silva, Normanda Souza-Melo, Amaranta Muniz Malvezzi, Angélica Hollunder Klippel, Martin Zoltner, Norma Padilla-Mejia, Samantha Kosto, Mark C Field, Gabriela de Assis Burle Caldas, Santuza Maria Ribeiro Teixeira, Rafael Miguez Couñago, Katlin Brauer Massirer, Sergio Schenkman
The TcK2 protein kinase of Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease, is structurally similar to the human kinase PERK, which phosphorylates the initiation factor eIF2α, and in turn, inhibits translation initiation. We have previously shown that absence of TcK2 kinase impairs parasite proliferation within mammalian cells, positioning it as a potential target for treatment of Chagas disease. To better understand its role in the parasite, here we initially confirmed the importance of TcK2 in parasite proliferation by generating CRISPR/Cas9 TcK2-null cells, albeit more efficiently differentiate into infective forms...
May 23, 2023: Journal of Biological Chemistry