BioProject

The intracellular pathogen Trypanosoma cruzi secretes an activity that blocks TGF-β-dependent induction of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF/CCN2). More...

The intracellular pathogen Trypanosoma cruzi secretes an activity that blocks TGF-β-dependent induction of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF/CCN2). Here, we address the mechanistic basis for T. cruzi-mediated interference of CTGF/CCN2 expression by examining host cell signaling pathways and the global inhibitory effect on TGF-β-dependent gene expression. We show that the expression of a discrete subset of TGF-β-inducible genes involved in cell proliferation, wound repair, and immune regulation are blocked by the soluble T. cruzi activity, demonstrating that this parasite-derived activity has broad, but specific effects on fibroblast gene regulation. Overall design: Primary human fibroblasts were treated with TGF-β, T. cruzi conditioned medium (PCM) and TGF-β/ PCM simultaneously. Untreated cells were also included as controls. Total RNA was extracted and gene expression levels analyzed with Affymetrix microarrays. Three independent biological replicates were included for each type of treatment. Less...