Transcriptional changes during Trypanosoma cruzi metacyclogenesis

During its life cycle, Trypanosoma cruzi undergoes different modifications and one of them is the change from epimastigotes to metacyclic trypomastigotes, known as metacyclogenesis. This differentiation stage is essential because the parasite acquires the form to infect humans and develop the disease. In this work, the transcriptome of metacyclic trypomastigotes and epimastigotes was analyzed to identify differentially expressed genes that may be involved in metacyclogenesis. For this, in vitro induction of metacyclogenesis was performed to obtain metacyclic trypomastigotes. RNA-Seq was performed on epimastigotes and metacyclic trypomastigotes, each in triplicate. Differential gene expression analysis showed 513 genes, of which 221 were up-regulated and 292 down-regulated in metacyclic trypomastigotes. The analysis showed that these genes are related to relevant biological processes in metacyclogenesis. Within these processes, we found that most of the genes associated with infectivity and gene expression regulation were up-regulated in metacyclic trypomastigotes. Instead, the genes involved in cell division, DNA replication, differentiation, cytoskeleton, and metabolism were mainly down-regulated. Some of these genes are of interest to verify their participation in the metacyclogenesis of T. cruzi and in the future they can be used as potential therapeutic targets in the design of new drugs for Chagas disease.