Wanderley De Souza

Federal University of Rio de Janeiro

Wanderley de Souza was born in Bahia State, Brazil. He graduated in Medicine in 1974 and obtained his MSc and PhD at the Rio de Janeiro Federal University in 1976 and 1978, respectively. He is Professor of Cell Biology and Parasitology. He occupied several administrative positions as Rector of Rio de Janeiro North State University, Secretary for Science and Technology of Rio de Janeiro State, and Vice-Minister of Science and Technology of Brazil. He is a member of several scientific societies as well as academies of science and medicine. He is also a member of the editorial board of several international journals in the area of parasitology. He has published more than 600 scientific papers and 100 articles in many prestigious Brazilian newspapers.

1books edited

5chapters authored

Latest work with IntechOpen by Wanderley De Souza

Trypanosoma cruzi, an important zoonotic protozoan that causes Chagas disease, affects at least 8 million people in Latin America. Chagas disease is an important life-long infection in humans that can be divided into distinct clinical stages: the acute phase, where patient symptoms can vary from asymptomatic to severe; the indeterminate form, which is usually asymptomatic; and the chronic phase, where cardiomyopathy and/or digestive megasyndromes appear. In addition to its medical importance, T. cruzi is an interesting biological model for studying processes such as: (1) cell differentiation, where a non-infective stage transforms into an infective one; (2) cell invasion, where the infective stages are able to penetrate into a mammalian host cell, where they multiply several times and thus amplify the infection; and (3) evasion from the immune system, using several mechanisms. This book, with 13 chapters, has been organized in four major sections: 1. "Basic Biology," 2. "Biochemistry and Molecular Biology," 3. "Parasite"Host Cell Interaction," and 4 "Chemotherapy." The chapters include basic biological information on the protozoan lifecycle, including new information on parasite genomics and proteomics. In addition, they analyze the interaction with host cells as well the immune response and evasion, ending with information on experimental chemotherapy against Chagas disease.

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Biology of Trypanosoma cruzi

Edited by Wanderley De Souza

Chapters authored

Herbicides as Potential Chemotherapeutic Agents Against Parasitic Protozoa

By Wanderley de Souza

Part of the book: Herbicides

Morphological and Functional Aspects of Cytoskeleton of Trypanosomatids

By Juliana Cunha Vidal and Wanderley de Souza

Trypanosomatidae are protozoans that include monogenetic parasites, such as the Blastocrithidia and Herpetomonas genera, as well as digenetic parasites, such as the Trypanosoma and Leishmania genera. Their life cycles alternate between insect vectors and mammalian hosts. The parasite’s life cycle involves symmetrical division and different transitional developmental stages. In trypanosomatids, the cytoskeleton is composed of subpellicular microtubules organized in a highly ordered array of stable microtubules located beneath the plasma membrane, the paraflagellar rod, which is a lattice-like structure attached alongside the flagellar axoneme and a cytostome-cytopharynx. The complex life cycle, the extremely precise cytoskeletal organization and the single copy structures present in trypanosomatids provide interesting models for cell biology studies. The introduction of molecular biology, FIB/SEM (focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy) and electron microscopy tomography approaches and classical methods, such as negative staining, chemical fixation and ultrafast cryofixation have led to the determination of the three-dimensional (3D) structural organization of the cells. In this chapter, we highlight the recent findings on Trypanosomatidae cytoskeleton emphasizing their structural organization and the functional role of proteins involved in the biogenesis and duplication of cytoskeletal structures. The principal finding of this review is that all approaches listed above enhance our knowledge of trypanosomatids biology showing that cytoskeleton elements are essential to several important events throughout the protozoan life cycle.

Part of the book: Cytoskeleton

The Cytoskeleton of Giardia intestinalis

By Ana Paula Rocha Gadelha, Marlene Benchimol and Wanderley de Souza

Giardia intestinalis is a pathogenic protozoan, which is the causative agent of giardiasis. The Giardia trophozoite presents a cytoskeleton formed by specialized microtubular structures such as the ventral disk, four pairs of flagella, the median body, and the funis that are involved in cell division and differentiation. Because trophozoite motility and adhesion to the host intestinal cells are important processes mediated by the parasite cytoskeleton, the fine regulation of these elements may be directly related to the mechanisms that underlie infection. The organization of Giardia cytoskeleton at the ultrastructural level has been analyzed by different classical microscopy methods, including negative stain and chemical fixation for scanning and transmission electron microscopy. In this chapter, we provide an overview of the G. intestinalis cytoskeleton, emphasizing its structural organization and proteins involved in the maintenance of the structures as well as their functional role. These structures have been recently analyzed in some detail using techniques such as electron microscopy tomography, cryoelectron microscopy, ultra-high resolution scanning electron microscopy (UHRSEM), and helium ion microscopy (HIM). In addition, genome survey and phylogenetic analysis as well as proteomic analysis have revealed the presence of several new and not yet well-characterized proteins.

Part of the book: Giardiasis

How Does the Main Infective Stage of T. cruzi Enter and Avoid Degradation in Host Cells? A Description of the Pathways and Organelles Involved on These Processes

By Emile Barrias, Lissa C. Reignault and Wanderley de Souza

Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas disease, is an intracellular parasite that targets specific proteins of the host cell resulting in the generation of a unique parasitophorous vacuole (PV). As an intracellular parasite, T. cruzi interacts with cells from the mammalian host. Here we review aspects related with the binding of the main infective developmental stage (trypomastigote) to the host cell and its recognition by surface-exposed ligands/receptors. This process involves numerous signaling pathways and culminates in the entry of the parasite and modifications in both cells. The invasion of trypomastigotes occurs through multiple endocytic process, assembly of the PV, interaction of this vacuole with the endolysosomal system, lysis of the PV membrane, and multiplication of amastigotes within the cell in direct contact with host cell organelles.

Part of the book: Biology of Trypanosoma cruzi

Introductory Chapter: Biology of Trypanosoma cruzi

By Wanderley de Souza

Part of the book: Biology of Trypanosoma cruzi

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