Heat shock signalling and response in African trypanosomes

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The core body temperature of mammals is tightly regulated, and although increased temperatures can be fatal, periods of fever can used as part of a strategy to prevent infections by killing temperature sensitive bacteria and viruses. The African trypanosomes are parasites that are transmitted by the bite of an infected tsetse fly in sub-Saharan Africa, and cause disease in farm animals and humans which results in periods of fever. The parasite is able to survive these during period of fever by making specific proteins that help it cope with the elevated temperature it experiences. The way in which the parasite is able to do this is not clear, but we do know that it is different to the way mammals respond to elevated temperatures. This project will investigate the way in which the parasite is able to sense and respond to elevated temperatures using a combination of experimental techniques to study parasite cells grown in flasks. We will examine the types of proteins the parasites produces to allow it cope with elevated temperatures, and how this response is co-ordinated. Studying this response is important as it will help us to understand how the parasite adapts to periods of fever in their hosts, knowledge that will help in the fight against the diseases they cause in farm animals and humans. Improved fundamental understanding of these molecular mechanisms is also important for our understanding of metabolic diseases and cancers where dysregulation occurs.