Bioenergetic consequences of FoF1-ATP synthase/ATPase deficiency in two life cycle stages of Trypanosoma brucei

Graphene quantum dots disrupt the mitochondrial potential of Trypanosoma brucei by interacting with the p18 subunit of ATP synthase F1 after endocytosis via the VSG recycling pathway

HYPOTHESIS

Trypanosomiasis is one of the main threats to human and animal health in African countries. Trypanosoma brucei can evade the host immune recognition by rapidly altering its variant surface glycoprotein (VSG). The ATP synthase F1 subunit of the parasite exhibits extremely low similarity to that of its mammalian hosts, hypothetically making it an ideal target for the development of novel therapeutics.

EXPERIMENTS

Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) were synthesized, and their adhesion to T. brucei surface and internalization was observed microscopically. The activity of ATP synthase and mitochondrial membrane potential of T. brucei were measured after exposure to GQDs. Proteomics, biolayer interferometry, and molecular dynamic simulations were utilized to evaluate the interaction between GQDs with the target proteins.

FINDINGS

GQDs specifically adhered to the VSG of T. brucei and were conveyed inside the parasite via the VSG internalization pathway. The GQDs promoted intracellular ROS production, interacted with, and inhibited the activity of the p18 subunit of ATP synthase, disrupted parasite mitochondrial membrane potential. Additionally, the GQDs caused a decrease in aminoacyl - tRNA biosynthesis, and upregulated RNA and protein degradation pathways. The findings of this study offer a novel avenue for the target-oriented discovery of anti-trypanosome drugs.

RESC14 and RESC8 cooperate to mediate RESC function and dynamics during trypanosome RNA editing

Mitochondrial transcripts in Trypanosoma brucei require extensive uridine insertion/deletion RNA editing to generate translatable open reading frames. The RNA editing substrate binding complex (RESC) serves as the scaffold that coordinates the protein-protein and protein-RNA interactions during editing. RESC broadly contains two modules termed the guide RNA binding complex (GRBC) and the RNA editing mediator complex (REMC), as well as organizer proteins. How the protein and RNA components of RESC dynamically interact to facilitate editing is not well understood. Here, we examine the roles of organizer proteins, RESC8 and RESC14, in facilitating RESC dynamics. High-throughput sequencing of editing intermediates reveals an overlapping RESC8 and RESC14 function during editing progression across multiple transcripts. Blue native PAGE analysis demonstrates that RESC14 is essential for incorporation of RESC8 into a large RNA-containing complex, while RESC8 is important in recruiting a smaller ribonucleoprotein complex (RNP) to this large complex. Proximity labeling shows that RESC14 is important for stable RESC protein-protein interactions, as well as RESC-RECC associations. Together, our data support a model in which RESC14 is necessary for assembly of editing competent RESC through recruitment of an RNP containing RESC8, GRBC and gRNA to REMC and mRNA.

In silico prediction of the metabolism of Blastocrithidia nonstop, a trypanosomatid with non-canonical genetic code

BACKGROUND

Almost all extant organisms use the same, so-called canonical, genetic code with departures from it being very rare. Even more exceptional are the instances when a eukaryote with non-canonical code can be easily cultivated and has its whole genome and transcriptome sequenced. This is the case of Blastocrithidia nonstop, a trypanosomatid flagellate that reassigned all three stop codons to encode amino acids.

RESULTS

We in silico predicted the metabolism of B. nonstop and compared it with that of the well-studied human parasites Trypanosoma brucei and Leishmania major. The mapped mitochondrial, glycosomal and cytosolic metabolism contains all typical features of these diverse and important parasites. We also provided experimental validation for some of the predicted observations, concerning, specifically presence of glycosomes, cellular respiration, and assembly of the respiratory complexes.

CONCLUSIONS

In an unusual comparison of metabolism between a parasitic protist with a massively altered genetic code and its close relatives that rely on a canonical code we showed that the dramatic differences on the level of nucleic acids do not seem to be reflected in the metabolisms. Moreover, although the genome of B. nonstop is extremely AT-rich, we could not find any alterations of its pyrimidine synthesis pathway when compared to other trypanosomatids. Hence, we conclude that the dramatic alteration of the genetic code of B. nonstop has no significant repercussions on the metabolism of this flagellate.

Developmental dynamics of mitochondrial mRNA abundance and editing reveal roles for temperature and the differentiation-repressive kinase RDK1 in cytochrome oxidase subunit II mRNA editing

IMPORTANCE

Trypanosoma brucei is the unicellular parasite that causes African sleeping sickness and nagana disease in livestock. The parasite has a complex life cycle consisting of several developmental forms in the human and tsetse fly insect vector. Both the mammalian and insect hosts provide different nutritional environments, so T. brucei must adapt its metabolism to promote its survival and to complete its life cycle. As T. brucei is transmitted from the human host to the fly, the parasite must regulate its mitochondrial gene expression through a process called uridine insertion/deletion editing to achieve mRNAs capable of being translated into functional respiratory chain proteins required for energy production in the insect host. Therefore, it is essential to understand the mechanisms by which T. brucei regulates mitochondrial gene expression during transmission from the mammalian host to the insect vector.

Mitochondrion of the Trypanosoma brucei long slender bloodstream form is capable of ATP production by substrate-level phosphorylation

The long slender bloodstream form Trypanosoma brucei maintains its essential mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) through the proton-pumping activity of the FoF1-ATP synthase operating in the reverse mode. The ATP that drives this hydrolytic reaction has long been thought to be generated by glycolysis and imported from the cytosol via an ATP/ADP carrier (AAC). Indeed, we demonstrate that AAC is the only carrier that can import ATP into the mitochondrial matrix to power the hydrolytic activity of the FoF1-ATP synthase. However, contrary to expectations, the deletion of AAC has no effect on parasite growth, virulence or levels of ΔΨm. This suggests that ATP is produced by substrate-level phosphorylation pathways in the mitochondrion. Therefore, we knocked out the succinyl-CoA synthetase (SCS) gene, a key mitochondrial enzyme that produces ATP through substrate-level phosphorylation in this parasite. Its absence resulted in changes to the metabolic landscape of the parasite, lowered virulence, and reduced mitochondrial ATP content. Strikingly, these SCS mutant parasites become more dependent on AAC as demonstrated by a 25-fold increase in their sensitivity to the AAC inhibitor, carboxyatractyloside. Since the parasites were able to adapt to the loss of SCS in culture, we also analyzed the more immediate phenotypes that manifest when SCS expression is rapidly suppressed by RNAi. Importantly, when performed under nutrient-limited conditions mimicking various host environments, SCS depletion strongly affected parasite growth and levels of ΔΨm. In totality, the data establish that the long slender bloodstream form mitochondrion is capable of generating ATP via substrate-level phosphorylation pathways.

Trypanosome RNA helicase KREH2 differentially controls non-canonical editing and putative repressive structure via a novel proposed 'bifunctional' gRNA in mRNA A6

U-insertion/deletion (U-indel) RNA editing in trypanosome mitochondria is directed by guide RNAs (gRNAs). This editing may developmentally control respiration in bloodstream forms (BSF) and insect procyclic forms (PCF). Holo-editosomes include the accessory RNA Editing Substrate Binding Complex (RESC) and RNA Editing Helicase 2 Complex (REH2C), but the specific proteins controlling differential editing remain unknown. Also, RNA editing appears highly error prone because most U-indels do not match the canonical pattern. However, despite extensive non-canonical editing of unknown functions, accurate canonical editing is required for normal cell growth. In PCF, REH2C controls editing fidelity in RESC-bound mRNAs. Here, we report that KREH2, a REH2C-associated helicase, developmentally controls programmed non-canonical editing, including an abundant 3' element in ATPase subunit 6 (A6) mRNA. The 3' element sequence is directed by a proposed novel regulatory gRNA. In PCF, KREH2 RNAi-knockdown up-regulates the 3' element, which establishes a stable structure hindering element removal by canonical initiator-gRNA-directed editing. In BSF, KREH2-knockdown does not up-regulate the 3' element but reduces its high abundance. Thus, KREH2 differentially controls extensive non-canonical editing and associated RNA structure via a novel regulatory gRNA, potentially hijacking factors as a 'molecular sponge'. Furthermore, this gRNA is bifunctional, serving in canonical CR4 mRNA editing whilst installing a structural element in A6 mRNA.

An ancestral interaction module promotes oligomerization in divergent mitochondrial ATP synthases

Mitochondrial ATP synthase forms stable dimers arranged into oligomeric assemblies that generate the inner-membrane curvature essential for efficient energy conversion. Here, we report cryo-EM structures of the intact ATP synthase dimer from Trypanosoma brucei in ten different rotational states. The model consists of 25 subunits, including nine lineage-specific, as well as 36 lipids. The rotary mechanism is influenced by the divergent peripheral stalk, conferring a greater conformational flexibility. Proton transfer in the lumenal half-channel occurs via a chain of five ordered water molecules. The dimerization interface is formed by subunit-g that is critical for interactions but not for the catalytic activity. Although overall dimer architecture varies among eukaryotes, we find that subunit-g together with subunit-e form an ancestral oligomerization motif, which is shared between the trypanosomal and mammalian lineages. Therefore, our data defines the subunit-g/e module as a structural component determining ATP synthase oligomeric assemblies.

Common and unique features of glycosylation and glycosyltransferases in African trypanosomes

Eukaryotic protein glycosylation is mediated by glycosyl- and oligosaccharyl-transferases. Here, we describe how African trypanosomes exhibit both evolutionary conservation and significant divergence compared with other eukaryotes in how they synthesise their glycoproteins. The kinetoplastid parasites have conserved components of the dolichol-cycle and oligosaccharyltransferases (OSTs) of protein N-glycosylation, and of glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor biosynthesis and transfer to protein. However, some components are missing, and they process and decorate their N-glycans and GPI anchors in unique ways. To do so, they appear to have evolved a distinct and functionally flexible glycosyltransferases (GT) family, the GT67 family, from an ancestral eukaryotic β3GT gene. The expansion and/or loss of GT67 genes appears to be dependent on parasite biology. Some appear to correlate with the obligate passage of parasites through an insect vector, suggesting they were acquired through GT67 gene expansion to assist insect vector (tsetse fly) colonisation. Others appear to have been lost in species that subsequently adopted contaminative transmission. We also highlight the recent discovery of a novel and essential GT11 family of kinetoplastid parasite fucosyltransferases that are uniquely localised to the mitochondria of Trypanosoma brucei and Leishmania major. The origins of these kinetoplastid FUT1 genes, and additional putative mitochondrial GT genes, are discussed.

Repurposing of MitoTam: Novel Anti-Cancer Drug Candidate Exhibits Potent Activity against Major Protozoan and Fungal Pathogens

Many of the currently available anti-parasitic and anti-fungal frontline drugs have severe limitations, including adverse side effects, complex administration, and increasing occurrence of resistance. The discovery and development of new therapeutic agents is a costly and lengthy process. Therefore, repurposing drugs with already established clinical application offers an attractive, fast-track approach for novel treatment options. In this study, we show that the anti-cancer drug candidate MitoTam, a mitochondria-targeted analog of tamoxifen, efficiently eliminates a wide range of evolutionarily distinct pathogens in vitro, including pathogenic fungi, Plasmodium falciparum, and several species of trypanosomatid parasites, causative agents of debilitating neglected tropical diseases. MitoTam treatment was also effective in vivo and significantly reduced parasitemia of two medically important parasites, Leishmania mexicana and Trypanosoma brucei, in their respective animal infection models. Functional analysis in the bloodstream form of T. brucei showed that MitoTam rapidly altered mitochondrial functions, particularly affecting cellular respiration, lowering ATP levels, and dissipating mitochondrial membrane potential. Our data suggest that the mode of action of MitoTam involves disruption of the inner mitochondrial membrane, leading to rapid organelle depolarization and cell death. Altogether, MitoTam is an excellent candidate drug against several important pathogens, for which there are no efficient therapies and for which drug development is not a priority.

Characterization of a highly diverged mitochondrial ATP synthase Fo subunit in Trypanosoma brucei

The mitochondrial F1Fo ATP synthase of the parasite Trypanosoma brucei has been previously studied in detail. This unusual enzyme switches direction in functionality during the life cycle of the parasite, acting as an ATP synthase in the insect stages, and as an ATPase to generate mitochondrial membrane potential in the mammalian bloodstream stages. Whereas the trypanosome F1 moiety is relatively highly conserved in structure and composition, the Fo subcomplex and the peripheral stalk have been shown to be more variable. Interestingly, a core subunit of the latter, the normally conserved subunit b, has been resistant to identification by sequence alignment or biochemical methods. Here, we identified a 17 kDa mitochondrial protein of the inner membrane, Tb927.8.3070, that is essential for normal growth, efficient oxidative phosphorylation, and membrane potential maintenance. Pull-down experiments and native PAGE analysis indicated that the protein is both associated with the F1Fo ATP synthase and integral to its assembly. In addition, its knockdown reduced the levels of Fo subunits, but not those of F1, and disturbed the cell cycle. Finally, analysis of structural homology using the HHpred algorithm showed that this protein has structural similarities to Fo subunit b of other species, indicating that this subunit may be a highly diverged form of the elusive subunit b.

Mitochondrial adaptations throughout the Trypanosoma brucei life cycle

The unicellular parasite Trypanosoma brucei has a digenetic life cycle that alternates between a mammalian host and an insect vector. During programmed development, this extracellular parasite encounters strikingly different environments that determine its energy metabolism. Functioning as a bioenergetic, biosynthetic, and signaling center, the single mitochondrion of T. brucei is drastically remodeled to support the dynamic cellular demands of the parasite. This manuscript will provide an up-to-date overview of how the distinct T. brucei developmental stages differ in their mitochondrial metabolic and bioenergetic pathways, with a focus on the electron transport chain, proline oxidation, TCA cycle, acetate production, and ATP generation. Although mitochondrial metabolic rewiring has always been simply viewed as a consequence of the differentiation process, the possibility that certain mitochondrial activities reinforce parasite differentiation will be explored.

Oxidative Phosphorylation Is Required for Powering Motility and Development of the Sleeping Sickness Parasite Trypanosoma brucei in the Tsetse Fly Vector

The single-celled parasite Trypanosoma brucei is transmitted by hematophagous tsetse flies. Life cycle progression from mammalian bloodstream form to tsetse midgut form and, subsequently, infective salivary gland form depends on complex developmental steps and migration within different fly tissues. As the parasite colonizes the glucose-poor insect midgut, ATP production is thought to depend on activation of mitochondrial amino acid catabolism via oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). This process involves respiratory chain complexes and F₁F_o-ATP synthase and requires protein subunits of these complexes that are encoded in the parasite's mitochondrial DNA (kDNA). Here, we show that progressive loss of kDNA-encoded functions correlates with a decreasing ability to initiate and complete development in the tsetse. First, parasites with a mutated F₁F_o-ATP synthase with reduced capacity for OXPHOS can initiate differentiation from bloodstream to insect form, but they are unable to proliferate in vitro. Unexpectedly, these cells can still colonize the tsetse midgut. However, these parasites exhibit a motility defect and are severely impaired in colonizing or migrating to subsequent tsetse tissues. Second, parasites with a fully disrupted F₁F_o-ATP synthase complex that is completely unable to produce ATP by OXPHOS can still differentiate to the first insect stage in vitro but die within a few days and cannot establish a midgut infection in vivo. Third, parasites lacking kDNA entirely can initiate differentiation but die soon after. Together, these scenarios suggest that efficient ATP production via OXPHOS is not essential for initial colonization of the tsetse vector but is required to power trypanosome migration within the fly. IMPORTANCE African trypanosomes cause disease in humans and their livestock and are transmitted by tsetse flies. The insect ingests these parasites with its blood meal, but to be transmitted to another mammal, the trypanosome must undergo complex development within the tsetse fly and migrate from the insect's gut to its salivary glands. Crucially, the parasite must switch from a sugar-based diet while in the mammal to a diet based primarily on amino acids when it develops in the insect. Here, we show that efficient energy production by an organelle called the mitochondrion is critical for the trypanosome's ability to swim and to migrate through the tsetse fly. Surprisingly, trypanosomes with impaired mitochondrial energy production are only mildly compromised in their ability to colonize the tsetse fly midgut. Our study adds a new perspective to the emerging view that infection of tsetse flies by trypanosomes is more complex than previously thought.

Redesigned and reversed: architectural and functional oddities of the trypanosomal ATP synthase

Mitochondrial F-type adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthases are commonly introduced as highly conserved membrane-embedded rotary machines generating the majority of cellular ATP. This simplified view neglects recently revealed striking compositional diversity of the enzyme and the fact that in specific life stages of some parasites, the physiological role of the enzyme is to maintain the mitochondrial membrane potential at the expense of ATP rather than to produce ATP. In addition, mitochondrial ATP synthases contribute indirectly to the organelle's other functions because they belong to major determinants of submitochondrial morphology. Here, we review current knowledge about the trypanosomal ATP synthase composition and architecture in the context of recent advances in the structural characterization of counterpart enzymes from several eukaryotic supergroups. We also discuss the physiological function of mitochondrial ATP synthases in three trypanosomatid parasites, Trypanosoma cruzi, Trypanosoma brucei and Leishmania, with a focus on their disease-causing life cycle stages. We highlight the reversed proton-pumping role of the ATP synthase in the T. brucei bloodstream form, the enzyme's potential link to the regulation of parasite's glycolysis and its role in generating mitochondrial membrane potential in the absence of mitochondrial DNA.

Mitochondrial Contact Site and Cristae Organization System and F1FO-ATP Synthase Crosstalk Is a Fundamental Property of Mitochondrial Cristae

Mitochondrial cristae are polymorphic invaginations of the inner membrane that are the fabric of cellular respiration. Both the mitochondrial contact site and cristae organization system (MICOS) and the F1FO-ATP synthase are vital for sculpting cristae by opposing membrane-bending forces. While MICOS promotes negative curvature at crista junctions, dimeric F1FO-ATP synthase is crucial for positive curvature at crista rims. Crosstalk between these two complexes has been observed in baker's yeast, the model organism of the Opisthokonta supergroup. Here, we report that this property is conserved in Trypanosoma brucei, a member of the Discoba clade that separated from the Opisthokonta ∼2 billion years ago. Specifically, one of the paralogs of the core MICOS subunit Mic10 interacts with dimeric F1FO-ATP synthase, whereas the other core Mic60 subunit has a counteractive effect on F1FO-ATP synthase oligomerization. This is evocative of the nature of MICOS-F1FO-ATP synthase crosstalk in yeast, which is remarkable given the diversification that these two complexes have undergone during almost 2 eons of independent evolution. Furthermore, we identified a highly diverged, putative homolog of subunit e, which is essential for the stability of F1FO-ATP synthase dimers in yeast. Just like subunit e, it is preferentially associated with dimers and interacts with Mic10, and its silencing results in severe defects to cristae and the disintegration of F1FO-ATP synthase dimers. Our findings indicate that crosstalk between MICOS and dimeric F1FO-ATP synthase is a fundamental property impacting crista shape throughout eukaryotes. IMPORTANCE Mitochondria have undergone profound diversification in separate lineages that have radiated since the last common ancestor of eukaryotes some eons ago. Most eukaryotes are unicellular protists, including etiological agents of infectious diseases, like Trypanosoma brucei. Thus, the study of a broad range of protists can reveal fundamental features shared by all eukaryotes and lineage-specific innovations. Here, we report that two different protein complexes, MICOS and F1FO-ATP synthase, known to affect mitochondrial architecture, undergo crosstalk in T. brucei, just as in baker's yeast. This is remarkable considering that these complexes have otherwise undergone many changes during their almost 2 billion years of independent evolution. Thus, this crosstalk is a fundamental property needed to maintain proper mitochondrial structure even if the constituent players considerably diverged.