Trypanosoma cruzi, the unicellular parasite that causes Chagas disease, is an eukaryote, meaning its cells have a nucleus and several organelles in which the functions are compartmentalized.
Aquaporins are a universal type of membrane protein that have the fundamental function of maintaining the osmotic balance between all these compartments, meaning they pump water in or out of them when needed. If we can characterize the function and vulnerabilities of trypanosomal aquaporins, they could become potential targets for therapies with little or no impact on the host.
This is what Victoria Vitali went to do in Uruguay: learn how to use CRISPR/Cas9 technology to manipulate the protein's genes to reveal its position within the cell, its function, and its potential to deliver specific drugs to their target organelles.
We are thankful to Drs. Laura Chiribao (IQUIFIB, UBA-CONICET) and Karina Alleva (CEINBIO, Facultad de Medicina, UDELAR) for joining with Victoria and UNU-BIOLAC in one of the many Latin American pushes to end this neglected disease's burden on the continent.
