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Megasomes in Leishmania

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Structures and Organelles in Pathogenic Protists

Part of the book series: Microbiology Monographs ((MICROMONO,volume 17))

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Abstract

Leishmaniasis is a serious public health problem in the whole world. There are various forms of the disease that are caused by parasites of the genus Leishmania. Leishmaniasis is transmitted by phlebotomine sandflies and two forms of the parasite exist, the amastigote form that occurs in the mammalian host and the promastigote form found in the insect. Leishmania protein trafficking is not fully understood, but there seems to exist a classic pathway. One striking aspect of this pathway is the existence of very large lysosome-like structures in the Leishmania mexicana complex, called megasomes. These organelles were found in both axenic and lesion amastigotes and contain large amounts of lysosomal hydrolases, including cysteine proteinases, that are frequently used as a megasomal markers. There is plenty of evidence for the importance of lysosomes for Leishmania virulence and survival, suggesting that the resident enzymes and cellular targeting mechanisms might be good targets for control.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Yale University School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA

    Diane McMahon-Pratt

  2. Departamento de Análises Clínicas, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Maringá, Paraná, Brazil

    Tania Ueda-Nakamura

  3. Laboratório de Parasitas e Vetores, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

    Yara M. Traub-Csekö

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  1. Diane McMahon-Pratt
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  2. Tania Ueda-Nakamura
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  3. Yara M. Traub-Csekö
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Correspondence to Yara M. Traub-Csekö .

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  1. Inst. Biofisica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, 21949-900, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    W. de Souza

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McMahon-Pratt, D., Ueda-Nakamura, T., Traub-Csekö, Y.M. (2010). Megasomes in Leishmania . In: de Souza, W. (eds) Structures and Organelles in Pathogenic Protists. Microbiology Monographs, vol 17. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-12863-9_6

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