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Analysis of institutional authors

Fresno Escudero, ManuelAuthorBonay, P.Author

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November 12, 2019
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Trypanosoma cruzi cleaves galectin-3 N-terminal domain to suppress its innate microbicidal activity

Publicated to: CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL IMMUNOLOGY. 199 (2): 216-229 - 2020-02-01 199(2), DOI: 10.1111/cei.13379

Authors:

Pineda, M; Corvo, L; Callejas-Hernández, F; Fresno, M; Bonay, P
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Affiliations

Univ Autonoma Madrid, Ctr Biol Mol Severo Ochoa, Nicolas Cabrera 1 - Author
Univ Glasgow, Coll Med Vet & Life Sci, Inst Infect Immun & Inflammat, Glasgow G128TA - Author

Abstract

Galectin-3 is the best-characterized member of galectins, an evolutionary conserved family of galactoside-binding proteins that play central roles in infection and immunity, regulating inflammation, cell migration and cell apoptosis. Differentially expressed by cells and tissues with immune privilege, they bind not only to host ligands, but also to glycans expressed by pathogens. In this regard, we have previously shown that human galectin-3 recognizes several genetic lineages of the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, the causal agent of Chagas' disease or American trypanosomiasis. Herein we describe a molecular mechanism developed by T. cruzi to proteolytically process galectin-3 that generates a truncated form of the protein lacking its N-terminal domain - required for protein oligomerization - but still conserves a functional carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD). Such processing relies on specific T. cruzi proteases, including Zn-metalloproteases and collagenases, and ultimately conveys profound changes in galectin-3-dependent effects, as chemical inhibition of parasite proteases allows galectin-3 to induce parasite death in vitro. Thus, T. cruzi might have established distinct mechanisms to counteract galectin-3-mediated immunity and microbicide properties. Interestingly, non-pathogenic T. rangeli lacked the ability to cleave galectin-3, suggesting that during evolution two genetically similar organisms have developed different molecular mechanisms that, in the case of T. cruzi, favoured its pathogenicity, highlighting the importance of T. cruzi proteases to avoid immune mechanisms triggered by galectin-3 upon infection. This study provides the first evidence of a novel strategy developed by T. cruzi to abrogate signalling mechanisms associated with galectin-3-dependent innate immunity.
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Keywords

trypanosoma cruzichagas’ diseasegalectin-3AdhesionAlpha-galactosyl antibodiesBlood proteinsCellsChagas diseaseChagas' diseaseChagas’ diseaseEndogenous lectinGalectin 3Galectin-3GalectinsHumansImmunity, innateInnate immunityLeishmania-majorLgals3 protein, humanMetalloproteasesProtein domainsProteinsProteolysisProtozoan proteinsRangeliRecognitionStrainsTrypanosoma cruziUp-regulation

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL IMMUNOLOGY due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2020, it was in position 78/162, thus managing to position itself as a Q2 (Segundo Cuartil), in the category Immunology. Notably, the journal is positioned en el Cuartil Q2 para la agencia Scopus (SJR) en la categoría Immunology and Allergy.

Independientemente del impacto esperado determinado por el canal de difusión, es importante destacar el impacto real observado de la propia aportación.

Según las diferentes agencias de indexación, el número de citas acumuladas por esta publicación hasta la fecha 2026-04-10:

  • WoS: 4
  • Scopus: 3
  • Europe PMC: 2
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Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2026-04-10:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 13.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 13 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 4.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 1 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.
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Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: United Kingdom.

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (Pineda, M.) and Last Author (BONAY MIARONS, PEDRO).

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