Specific inhibition of the differentiation of Trypanosoma cruzi.

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Abstract
The morphological transformation of T. cruzi amastigotes was studied in both mammalian cells [murine S-2 cell line]and an extracellular differentiation system. Inhibitors of ADP-ribosyl transferase were found to block differentiation in both cases, without affecting proliferation. The inhibitory effect was reversible and was not observed with chemical analogs that do not inhibit ADP-ribosyl transferase. As inhibitors of ADP-ribosyl transferase have recently been shown to block the differentiation of several cell types from vertebrates (Farzaneh, et. al., 1982, Johnstone et Williams, 1982) the enzyme may be of general importance in eucaryotic differentiation both in multicellular and unicellular organism. Since the compounds can block T. cruzi differentiation inside mammalian cells, it may be possible to exploit such inhibition in a new and potentially powerful approach to the chemotherpy of several important parasitic diseases.