02419nas a2200265   4500000000100000008004100001653001500042100001500057700001300072700001500085700001700100700001300117700001400130700001600144700001900160700001500179700001400194700001600208245014600224856007900370300001300449490000600462520167100468022001402139       2015                            d10aInfections1 aMartins NO1 aSouza RT1 aCordero EM1 aMaldonado DC1 aCortez C1 aMarini MM1 aFerreira ER1 aBayer-Santos E1 aAlmeida IC1 aYoshida N1 aSilveira JF00aMolecular Characterization of a Novel Family of Trypanosoma cruzi Surface Membrane Proteins (TcSMP) Involved in Mammalian Host Cell Invasion.  uhttp://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0004216   ae00042160 v93 a<p>Author summary<em>: </em></p>

<p><em>Trypanosoma cruzi</em> is the etiologic agent of Chagas’ disease, which infects 6–7 million people worldwide, mostly in Latin America. Currently, there are no vaccines available, and the drugs used for treatment are toxic and are not fully effective. To infect mammalian hosts, <em>T</em>. <em>cruzi</em> relies on the ability to invade host cells, replicate intracellularly and spread the infection in different organs of the mammalian host. Knowledge of the structure and function of <em>T</em>. <em>cruz</em>i surface molecules is fundamental to understanding the mechanisms by which the parasite interacts with its host. <em>T</em>. <em>cruzi</em> infective forms engage a repertoire of surface and secreted molecules, some of which are involved in triggering signaling pathways both in the parasite and the host cell, leading to intracellular Ca<sup>2+</sup> mobilization, a process essential for parasite internalization. Here, we described a novel family of <em>T</em>. <em>cruzi</em> surface membrane proteins (TcSMP), including their genomic distribution, expression and cellular localization. We studied the mechanism of action of TcSMP in host-cell invasion and proposed a triggering role for TcSMP in host-cell lysosome exocytosis during metacyclic internalization. TcSMP genes are conserved among different <em>T</em>. <em>cruzi</em> lineages and share orthologs in other <em>Trypanosoma</em> species. These results suggest that the diversification of TcSMP genes in mammalian trypanosomes occurred after continental drift. In <em>T</em>. <em>cruzi</em> this gene family expanded by gene duplication.</p>
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