Juliana Alves Parente, Milce Costa, Maristela Pereira, Célia Maria de Almeida Soares
Published June 30, 2005 
Genet. Mol. Res. 4 (2): 358-371 (2005)

About the Authors
Juliana Alves Parente, Milce Costa, Maristela Pereira, Célia Maria de Almeida Soares

Corresponding author
C.M. de Almeida Soares 
Email: celia@icb.ufg.br

ABSTRACT

Proteases perform a wide variety of functions inside and outside cells, regulating many biological processes. Infectious microorganisms use proteases, either secreted or attached to their cell surface to weaken and invade their hosts. Therefore, proteases are targets for drugs against a diverse set of diseases. Paracoccidioidesbrasiliensis is the most prevalent fungal pathogen causing systemic mycosis in Latin America. The development of paracoccidioidomycosis depends on interactions between fungal and host components and proteases have been described as important factors implicated in the mechanism of host colonization by fungi. The primary goal for this study is to present an overview of the transcriptome sequences – identified cDNAs that encode proteases. We obtained a total of 53 cDNAs encoding proteases; 15 were classified as ATP-independent, 12 as ATP-dependent, 22 as proteasomesubunits, and 4 as deubiquitinatingproteases. The mechanisms and biological activity of these proteases differ in substrate specificity and in catalytic mechanisms.

Key words: Paracoccidioidesbrasiliensis, Host-fungus interaction, Proteases, Proteasome.