Trypanosomatids see the light: recent advances in bioimaging research

•The use of reporter proteins has revolutionised the research on infectious diseases.•The expression of reporter proteins must cover the whole parasite's life-cycle.•High-Throughput Screenings have greater acceptance for drug discovery studies.•In vivo imaging of transgenic parasites is suitabl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Drug discovery today 2015-01, Vol.20 (1), p.114-121
Main Authors: Calvo-Álvarez, Estefanía, Álvarez-Velilla, Raquel, Fernández-Prada, Christopher, Balaña-Fouce, Rafael, Reguera, Rosa M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Biomedical Research
Diagnostic Imaging - methods
Drug Discovery
Fluorescence
Luminescence
Organisms, Genetically Modified - genetics
Organisms, Genetically Modified - metabolism
Parasites
Trypanosoma - genetics
Trypanosoma - metabolism
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Summary:•The use of reporter proteins has revolutionised the research on infectious diseases.•The expression of reporter proteins must cover the whole parasite's life-cycle.•High-Throughput Screenings have greater acceptance for drug discovery studies.•In vivo imaging of transgenic parasites is suitable for pre-clinical trials.•Reporter proteins have opened up new advances in genetic exchange of trypanosomatids. The use of genetically engineered pathogens that express fluorescent or luminescent proteins represents a huge stride forward in the understanding of trypanosomatid-borne tropical diseases. Nowadays, such modified microorganisms are being used to screen thousands of compounds under a target-free (phenotypic) approach. In addition, experimental infections with transgenic parasites drastically reduce the number of animals required for preclinical studies, because no animal needs to be put down to assess its parasite load. Finally, the use of fluorescent parasites is contributing to unraveling genetic exchange events between trypanosomatid strains. This phenomenon is important for understanding the mechanism by which traits such as virulence, tissue tropism, and drug resistance are transferred, as well as the emergence of novel strains.
ISSN:1359-6446
1878-5832
DOI:10.1016/j.drudis.2014.09.012