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Wippel HH, Fioramonte M, Chavez JD, Bruce JE. Deciphering the architecture and interactome of hnRNP proteins and enigmRBPs. Mol Omics 2021; 17:503-516. [PMID: 34017973 PMCID: PMC8355073 DOI: 10.1039/d1mo00024a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) have conserved domains and consensus sequences that interact with RNAs and other proteins forming ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes. RNPs are involved in the regulation of several cellular processes, including transcription, pre-mRNA splicing, mRNA transport, localization, degradation and storage, and ultimately control of translation. Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins (hnRNPs) comprise a family of RBPs that mediate transcription control and nuclear processing of transcripts. Some hnRNPs are part of the spliceosome complex, a dynamic machinery formed by RNPs that regulate alternative splicing of pre-mRNAs. Here, chemical crosslinking of proteins was applied to identify specific interacting regions and protein structural features of hnRNPs: hnRNPA1, hnRNPA2/B1, hnRNPC, and RALY. The results reveal interaction of these proteins within RNA-binding domains and conserved motifs, providing evidence of a coordinated action of known regulatory sequences of RBPs. Moreover, these crosslinking data enable structural model generation for RBPs, illustrating how crosslinking mass spectrometry can complement other structural methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helisa H Wippel
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
| | - Mariana Fioramonte
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA. and University of Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil
| | - Juan D Chavez
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
| | - James E Bruce
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
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de Castro Andreassa E, Santos MDMD, Wassmandorf R, Wippel HH, Carvalho PC, Fischer JDSDG, Souza TDACBD. Proteomic changes in Trypanosoma cruzi epimastigotes treated with the proapoptotic compound PAC-1. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-PROTEINS AND PROTEOMICS 2020; 1869:140582. [PMID: 33285319 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbapap.2020.140582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2020] [Revised: 10/23/2020] [Accepted: 11/30/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Apoptosis is a highly regulated process of cell death in metazoans. Therefore, understanding the biochemical changes associated with apoptosis-like death in Trypanosoma cruzi is key to drug development. PAC-1 was recently shown to induce apoptosis in T. cruzi; with this as motivation, we used quantitative proteomics to unveil alterations of PAC-1-treated versus untreated epimastigotes. The PAC-1 treatment reduced the abundance of putative vesicle-associated membrane protein, putative eukaryotic translation initiation factor 1 eIF1, coatomer subunit beta, putative amastin, and a putative cytoskeleton-associated protein. Apoptosis-like signaling also increases the abundance of proteins associated with actin cytoskeleton remodeling, cell polarization, apoptotic signaling, phosphorylation, methylation, ergosterol biosynthesis, vacuolar proteins associated with autophagy, and flagellum motility. We shortlist seventeen protein targets for possible use in chemotherapy for Chagas disease. Almost all differentially abundant proteins belong to a family of proteins previously associated with apoptosis in metazoans, suggesting that the apoptotic pathway's key functions have been preserved from trypanosomatids and metazoans. SIGNIFICANCE: Approximately 8 million people worldwide are infected with Trypanosoma cruzi. The treatment of Chagas disease comprises drugs with severe side effects, thus limiting their application. Thus, developing new pharmaceutical solutions is relevant, and several molecules targeting apoptosis are therapeutically efficient for parasitic, cardiac, and neurological diseases. Apoptotic processes lead to specific morphological features that have been previously observed in T. cruzi. Here, we investigate changes in epimastigotes' proteomic profile treated with the proapoptotic compound PAC-1, providing data concerning the regulation of both metabolic and cellular processes in nonmetazoan apoptotic cells. We shortlist seventeen protein target candidates for use in chemotherapy for Chagas disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emanuella de Castro Andreassa
- Structural and Computational Proteomics Laboratory, Carlos Chagas Institute, FIOCRUZ-PR, Curitiba, PR, 80320-290, Brazil
| | - Marlon Dias Mariano Dos Santos
- Structural and Computational Proteomics Laboratory, Carlos Chagas Institute, FIOCRUZ-PR, Curitiba, PR, 80320-290, Brazil
| | - Rafaela Wassmandorf
- Structural and Computational Proteomics Laboratory, Carlos Chagas Institute, FIOCRUZ-PR, Curitiba, PR, 80320-290, Brazil
| | - Helisa Helena Wippel
- Structural and Computational Proteomics Laboratory, Carlos Chagas Institute, FIOCRUZ-PR, Curitiba, PR, 80320-290, Brazil
| | - Paulo Costa Carvalho
- Structural and Computational Proteomics Laboratory, Carlos Chagas Institute, FIOCRUZ-PR, Curitiba, PR, 80320-290, Brazil
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Romagnoli BAA, Holetz FB, Alves LR, Goldenberg S. RNA Binding Proteins and Gene Expression Regulation in Trypanosoma cruzi. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2020; 10:56. [PMID: 32154189 PMCID: PMC7045066 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2020.00056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2019] [Accepted: 02/03/2020] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The regulation of gene expression in trypanosomatids occurs mainly at the post-transcriptional level. In the case of Trypanosoma cruzi, the characterization of messenger ribonucleoprotein (mRNP) particles has allowed the identification of several classes of RNA binding proteins (RBPs), as well as non-canonical RBPs, associated with mRNA molecules. The protein composition of the mRNPs as well as the localization and functionality of the mRNAs depend on their associated proteins. mRNPs can also be organized into larger complexes forming RNA granules, which function as stress granules or P-bodies depending on the associated proteins. The fate of mRNAs in the cell, and consequently the genes expressed, depends on the set of proteins associated with the messenger molecule. These proteins allow the coordinated expression of mRNAs encoding proteins that are related in function, resulting in the formation of post-transcriptional operons. However, the puzzle posed by the combinatorial association of sets of RBPs with mRNAs and how this relates to the expressed genes remain to be elucidated. One important tool in this endeavor is the use of the CRISPR/CAS system to delete genes encoding RBPs, allowing the evaluation of their effect on the formation of mRNP complexes and associated mRNAs in the different compartments of the translation machinery. Accordingly, we recently established this methodology for T. cruzi and deleted the genes encoding RBPs containing zinc finger domains. In this manuscript, we will discuss the data obtained and the potential of the CRISPR/CAS methodology to unveil the role of RBPs in T. cruzi gene expression regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruno A A Romagnoli
- Gene Expression Regulation Laboratory, Institute Carlos Chagas, Curitiba, Brazil
| | - Fabiola B Holetz
- Gene Expression Regulation Laboratory, Institute Carlos Chagas, Curitiba, Brazil
| | - Lysangela R Alves
- Gene Expression Regulation Laboratory, Institute Carlos Chagas, Curitiba, Brazil
| | - Samuel Goldenberg
- Gene Expression Regulation Laboratory, Institute Carlos Chagas, Curitiba, Brazil
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Wippel HH, Malgarin JS, Inoue AH, Leprevost FDV, Carvalho PC, Goldenberg S, Alves LR. Unveiling the partners of the DRBD2-mRNP complex, an RBP in Trypanosoma cruzi and ortholog to the yeast SR-protein Gbp2. BMC Microbiol 2019; 19:128. [PMID: 31185899 PMCID: PMC6560856 DOI: 10.1186/s12866-019-1505-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2018] [Accepted: 05/31/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Background RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) are well known as key factors in gene expression regulation in eukaryotes. These proteins associate with mRNAs and other proteins to form mRNP complexes that ultimately determine the fate of target transcripts in the cell. This association is usually mediated by an RNA-recognition motif (RRM). In the case of trypanosomatids, these proteins play a paramount role, as gene expression regulation is mostly posttranscriptional. Despite their relevance in the life cycle of Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas’ disease, to date, few RBPs have been characterized in this parasite. Results We investigated the role of DRBD2 in T. cruzi, an RBP with two RRM domains that is associated with cytoplasmic translational complexes. We show that DRBD2 is an ortholog of the Gbp2 in yeast, an SR-rich protein involved in mRNA quality control and export. We used an immunoprecipitation assay followed by shotgun proteomics and RNA-seq to assess the interaction partners of the DRBD2-mRNP complex in epimastigotes. The analysis identified mostly proteins involved in RNA metabolism and regulation, such as ALBA1, ALBA3, ALBA4, UBP1, UBP2, DRBD3, and PABP2. The RNA-seq results showed that most of the transcripts regulated by the DRBD2 complex mapped to hypothetical proteins related to multiple processes, such as to biosynthetic process, DNA metabolic process, protein modification, and response to stress. Conclusions The identification of regulatory proteins in the DRBD2-mRNP complex corroborates the important role of DRBD2 in gene expression regulation in T. cruzi. We consider these results an important contribution to future studies regarding gene expression regulation in T. cruzi, especially in the field of RNA-binding proteins. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12866-019-1505-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helisa Helena Wippel
- Carlos Chagas Institute-Fiocruz, Professor Algacyr Munhoz Mader, 3775, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil
| | | | - Alexandre Haruo Inoue
- Carlos Chagas Institute-Fiocruz, Professor Algacyr Munhoz Mader, 3775, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil.,Molecular Biology Institute-Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil
| | - Felipe da Veiga Leprevost
- Medical Science Unit I, Department of Pathology, University of Michigan, EUA, 1301 Catherine St, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Paulo Costa Carvalho
- Carlos Chagas Institute-Fiocruz, Professor Algacyr Munhoz Mader, 3775, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil
| | - Samuel Goldenberg
- Carlos Chagas Institute-Fiocruz, Professor Algacyr Munhoz Mader, 3775, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil
| | - Lysangela Ronalte Alves
- Carlos Chagas Institute-Fiocruz, Professor Algacyr Munhoz Mader, 3775, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil.
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Abstract
In trypanosomes, RNA polymerase II transcription is polycistronic and individual mRNAs are excised by trans-splicing and polyadenylation. The lack of individual gene transcription control is compensated by control of mRNA processing, translation and degradation. Although the basic mechanisms of mRNA decay and translation are evolutionarily conserved, there are also unique aspects, such as the existence of six cap-binding translation initiation factor homologues, a novel decapping enzyme and an mRNA stabilizing complex that is recruited by RNA-binding proteins. High-throughput analyses have identified nearly a hundred regulatory mRNA-binding proteins, making trypanosomes valuable as a model system to investigate post-transcriptional regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine Clayton
- University of Heidelberg Center for Molecular Biology (ZMBH), Im Neuenheimer Feld 282, D69120 Heidelberg, Germany
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