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All Trypanosoma cruzi developmental forms present lysosome-related organelles

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Abstract

Trypanosoma cruzi epimastigote forms concentrate their major protease, cruzipain, in the same compartment where these parasites store macromolecules obtained from medium and for this ability these organelles were named as reservosomes. Intracellular digestion occurs mainly inside reservosomes and seems to be modulated by cruzipain and its natural inhibitor chagasin that also concentrates in reservosomes. T. cruzi mammalian forms, trypomastigotes and amastigotes, are unable to capture macromolecules by endocytosis, but also express cruzipain and chagasin, whose role in infectivity has been described. In this paper, we demonstrate that trypomastigotes and amastigotes also concentrate cruzipain, chagasin as well as serine carboxypeptidase in hydrolase-rich compartments of acidic nature. The presence of P-type proton ATPase indicates that this compartment is acidified by the same enzyme as epimastigote endocytic compartments. Electron microscopy analyzes showed that these organelles are placed at the posterior region of the parasite body, are single membrane bound and possess an electron-dense matrix with electronlucent inclusions. Three-dimensional reconstruction showed that these compartments have different size and shape in trypomastigotes and amastigotes. Based on these evidences, we suggest that all T. cruzi developmental stages present lysosome-related organelles that in epimastigotes have the additional and unique ability of storing cargo.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Dr. Ana Paula C. A. Lima and Dr. Roberto Docampo for kindly providing the antibodies against chagasin and P-type +H-ATPase, respectively. Also, we would like to thank Mr. Antonio Bosco Carlos for technical support. This work was supported by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ) e Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES).

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Author notes

  1. Fabiola Parussini

    Present address: Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Vermont, 316 Stafford Hall, 95 Carrigan Drive, Burlington, VT, 05405, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratório de Ultraestrutura Celular Hertha Meyer, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, CCS, Bloco G subsolo, Cidade Universitária, Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, 21949-900, Brazil

    Celso Sant’Anna, Daniela Lourenço, Wanderley de Souza & Narcisa Leal Cunha-e-Silva

  2. Diretoria de Programas (DIPRO), INMETRO, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Celso Sant’Anna & Wanderley de Souza

  3. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas, Instituto Tecnológico de Chascomús, Universidad Nacional de General San Martín, CONICET, Av. General Paz 5445, INTI, Edificio 24, Casilla de Correo 30, 1650, San Martín, Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Fabiola Parussini & Juan Jose Cazzulo

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  1. Celso Sant’Anna
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Correspondence to Narcisa Leal Cunha-e-Silva.

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Sant’Anna, C., Parussini, F., Lourenço, D. et al. All Trypanosoma cruzi developmental forms present lysosome-related organelles. Histochem Cell Biol 130, 1187–1198 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00418-008-0486-8

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