Heat shock signalling and response in African trypanosomes

哺乳动物的核心体温受到严格控制，尽管体温升高可能是致命的，但发烧可以作为一种策略的一部分，通过杀死对温度敏感的细菌和病毒来预防感染。非洲锥虫是一种在撒哈拉以南非洲由受感染的采采蝇叮咬传播的寄生虫，在农场动物和人类中引起疾病，导致发烧。这种寄生虫能够在发烧期间生存下来，通过制造特定的蛋白质来帮助它应对它所经历的高温。寄生虫能够做到这一点的方式尚不清楚，但我们知道这与哺乳动物对高温的反应不同。该项目将通过结合实验技术来研究在烧瓶中生长的寄生虫细胞，研究寄生虫能够感知和应对高温的方式。我们将研究寄生虫产生的蛋白质类型，以使其能够应对高温，以及这种反应是如何协调的。研究这种反应很重要，因为它将帮助我们了解寄生虫如何适应宿主的发烧时期，这些知识将有助于对抗它们在农场动物和人类中引起的疾病。提高对这些分子机制的基本理解对于我们理解发生失调的代谢疾病和癌症也很重要。

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.