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Expression And Functional Analysis Of Lipids And Glycolipids From The Mammal-Dwelling Stages Of Trypanosoma Cruzi, Felipe Gazos Lopes
Expression And Functional Analysis Of Lipids And Glycolipids From The Mammal-Dwelling Stages Of Trypanosoma Cruzi, Felipe Gazos Lopes
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Trypanosoma cruzi is the causative agent of the life-threatening Chagas disease, in which increased platelet aggregation related to myocarditis is observed. Platelet-activating factor (PAF) is a potent intercellular lipid mediator and second messenger that exerts its activity through a PAF-specific receptor (PAFR). Previous data from our group suggested that T. cruzi synthesizes a phospholipid with PAF-like activity. The structure of T. cruzi PAF-like molecule, however, remains elusive. Here, we have purified and structurally characterized the putative T. cruzi PAF-like molecule by electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS). Our ESI-MS/MS data demonstrated that the T. cruzi PAF-like molecule is actually a lysophosphatidylcholine …