Analysis parasite protein kinases particularly with regard to their role for host-parasite interaction

• Applicant: Dr. Martin Wiese
• Subject Area: Parasitology and Biology of Tropical Infectious Disease Pathogens
• Term: from 2006 to 2009
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 28832411

Protein kinases are key regulatory elements in the homeostasis of living cells. They are involved in such basic processes as cell division, differentiation and adaptation to a changing environment. During their life cycle Leishmania parasites assume two biochemically and morphologically distinguishable forms, the promastigotes in the sandfly and the amastigotes in the macrophages of the infected mammal. The intracellular amastigote requires a set of mitogen-activated protein kinase homologues for its survival and proliferation. In this project we investigate the interaction of the parasite and its host cell. We use kinase deletion mutants and parasites expressing kinases sensitised for a specific inhibitor in infection experiments monitoring parasite survival. To unravel the mechanism how a parasite kinase influences the survival of the pathogen we search for the respective kinase substrate.

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 1131: Life Inside Cells