Conservation and divergence within the clathrin interactome of <i>Trypanosoma cruzi</i>

Trypanosomatids are parasitic protozoa with a significant burden on human health. African and American trypanosomes are causative agents of Nagana and Chagas disease respectively, and speciated about 300 million years ago. These parasites have highly distinct life cycles, pathologies, transmission strategies and surface proteomes, being dominated by the variant surface glycoprotein (African) or mucins (American) respectively. In African trypanosomes clathrin-mediated trafficking is responsible for endocytosis and post-Golgi transport, with several mechanistic aspects distinct from higher organisms. Using clathrin light chain (TcCLC) and EpsinR (TcEpsinR) as affinity handles, we identified candidate clathrin-associated proteins (CAPs) in Trypanosoma cruzi; the cohort includes orthologs of many proteins known to mediate vesicle trafficking, but significantly not the AP-2 adaptor complex. Several trypanosome-specific proteins common with African trypanosomes, were also identified. Fluorescence microscopy revealed localisations for TcEpsinR, TcCLC and TcCHC at the posterior region of trypomastigote cells, coincident with the flagellar pocket and Golgi apparatus. These data provide the first systematic analysis of clathrin-mediated trafficking in T. cruzi, allowing comparison between protein cohorts and other trypanosomes and also suggest that clathrin trafficking in at least some life stages of T. cruzi may be AP-2-independent

Herbal therapy associated with antibiotic therapy: potentiation of the antibiotic activity against methicillin – resistant Staphylococcus aureus by Turnera ulmifolia L

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Staphylococcus </it>genus is widely spread in nature being part of the indigenous microbiota of skin and mucosa of animal and birds. Some <it>Staphylococcus </it>species are frequently recognized as etiological agents of many animal and human opportunistic infections This is the first report testing the antibiotic resistance-modifying activity of <it>Turnera ulmifolia </it>against methicillin-resistant <it>Staphylococcus aureus </it>– MRSA strain.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In this study an ethanol extract of <it>Turnera ulmifolia </it>L. and chlorpromazine were tested for their antimicrobial activity alone or in combination with aminoglycosides against an MRSA strain.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The synergism of the ethanol extract and aminoglycosides were verified using microdillution method. A synergistic effect of this extract on gentamicin and kanamycin was demonstrated. Similarly, a potentiating effect of chlorpromazine on kanamycin, gentamicin and neomycin, indicating the involvement of an efflux system in the resistance to these aminoglycosides.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>It is therefore suggested that extracts from <it>Turnera ulmifolia </it>could be used as a source of plant-derived natural products with resistance-modifying activity, constituting a new weapon against the problem of bacterial resistance to antibiotics demonstrated in MRSA strains.</p