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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
biochemistry, genetics and molecular biology
Extracellular lipid droplets promote hemozoin crystallization in the gut of the blood fluke Schistosoma mansoni
FEBS Letters, Volume 581, No. 9, Year 2007
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Description
Hemozoin (Hz) is a heme crystal produced upon hemoglobin digestion as the main mechanism of heme disposal in several hematophagous organisms. Here, we show that, in the helminth Schistosoma mansoni, Hz formation occurs in extracellular lipid droplets (LDs). Transmission electron microscopy of adult worms revealed the presence of numerous electron-lucent round structures similar to LDs in gut lumen, where multicrystalline Hz assemblies were found associated to their surfaces. Female regurgitates promoted Hz formation in vitro in reactions partially inhibited by boiling. Fractionation of regurgitates showed that Hz crystallization activity was essentially concentrated on lower density fractions, which have small amounts of pre-formed Hz crystals, suggesting that hydrophilic-hydrophobic interfaces, and not Hz itself, play a key catalytic role in Hz formation in S. mansoni. Thus, these data demonstrate that LDs present in the gut lumen of S. mansoni support Hz formation possibly by allowing association of heme to the lipid-water interface of these structures. © 2007 Federation of European Biochemical Societies.
Authors & Co-Authors
Corrêa Soares, Juliana B.R.
Brazil, Rio de Janeiro
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro
Maya-Monteiro, Clarissa Menezes
Brazil, Rio de Janeiro
Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz
Bittencourt-Cunha, Paula Rêgo Barros
Brazil, Rio de Janeiro
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro
Atella, Geórgia CorrěA
Brazil, Rio de Janeiro
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro
Lara, Flávio Alves
Brazil, Rio de Janeiro
Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz
D'Avila, Joana Costa
Brazil, Rio de Janeiro
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro
Menezes, Diego Silva
Brazil, Rio de Janeiro
Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz
Vannier-Santos, Marcos André
Brazil, Rio de Janeiro
Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz
de Oliveira, Pedro Lagerblad
Brazil, Rio de Janeiro
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro
Egan, Timothy John
South Africa, Cape Town
University of Cape Town
Oliveira, Marcus F.
Brazil, Rio de Janeiro
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro
Statistics
Citations: 44
Authors: 11
Affiliations: 3
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1016/j.febslet.2007.03.054
ISSN:
00145793
Research Areas
Environmental
Participants Gender
Female