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Durrani H, Bjork JA, Zimmer SL. Role of PIP39 in oxidative stress response appears conserved in kinetoplastids. Mol Biochem Parasitol 2024; 259:111620. [PMID: 38653348 DOI: 10.1016/j.molbiopara.2024.111620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2024] [Revised: 04/04/2024] [Accepted: 04/18/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
Kinetoplastids, a group of flagellated protists that are often insect intestinal parasites, encounter various sources of oxidative stress. Such stressors include reactive oxygen species, both internally produced within the protist, and induced externally by host immune responses. This investigation focuses on the role of a highly conserved aspartate-based protein phosphatase, PTP-Interacting protein (PIP39) in managing oxidative stress. In addition to its well accepted role in a Trypanosoma brucei life stage transition, there is evidence of PIP39 participation in the T. brucei oxidative stress response. To examine whether this latter PIP39 role may exist more broadly, we aimed to elucidate PIP39's contribution to redox homeostasis in the monoxenous parasite Leptomonas seymouri. Utilizing CRISPR-Cas9-mediated elimination of PIP39 in conjunction with oxidative stress assays, we demonstrate that PIP39 is required for cellular tolerance to oxidative stress in L. seymouri, positing it as a putative regulatory node for adaptive stress responses. We propose that future analysis of L. seymouri PIP39 enzymatic activity, regulation, and potential localization to a specialized organelle termed a glycosome will contribute to a deeper understanding of the molecular mechanisms by which protozoan parasites adapt to oxidative environments. Our study also demonstrates success at using gene editing tools developed for Leishmania for the related L. seymouri.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hina Durrani
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota School of Medicine, Duluth, USA
| | - James A Bjork
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota School of Medicine, Duluth, USA
| | - Sara L Zimmer
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota School of Medicine, Duluth, USA.
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2
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Zahedifard F, Bansal M, Sharma N, Kumar S, Shen S, Singh P, Rathi B, Zoltner M. Phenotypic screening reveals a highly selective phthalimide-based compound with antileishmanial activity. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2024; 18:e0012050. [PMID: 38527083 PMCID: PMC10994559 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0012050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2023] [Revised: 04/04/2024] [Accepted: 03/05/2024] [Indexed: 03/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Pharmacophores such as hydroxyethylamine (HEA) and phthalimide (PHT) have been identified as potential synthons for the development of compounds against various parasitic infections. In order to further advance our progress, we conducted an experiment utilising a collection of PHT and HEA derivatives through phenotypic screening against a diverse set of protist parasites. This approach led to the identification of a number of compounds that exhibited significant effects on the survival of Entamoeba histolytica, Trypanosoma brucei, and multiple life-cycle stages of Leishmania spp. The Leishmania hits were pursued due to the pressing necessity to expand our repertoire of reliable, cost-effective, and efficient medications for the treatment of leishmaniases. Antileishmanials must possess the essential capability to efficiently penetrate the host cells and their compartments in the disease context, to effectively eliminate the intracellular parasite. Hence, we performed a study to assess the effectiveness of eradicating L. infantum intracellular amastigotes in a model of macrophage infection. Among eleven L. infantum growth inhibitors with low-micromolar potency, PHT-39, which carries a trifluoromethyl substitution, demonstrated the highest efficacy in the intramacrophage assay, with an EC50 of 1.2 +/- 3.2 μM. Cytotoxicity testing of PHT-39 in HepG2 cells indicated a promising selectivity of over 90-fold. A chemogenomic profiling approach was conducted using an orthology-based method to elucidate the mode of action of PHT-39. This genome-wide RNA interference library of T. brucei identified sensitivity determinants for PHT-39, which included a P-type ATPase that is crucial for the uptake of miltefosine and amphotericin, strongly indicating a shared route for cellular entry. Notwithstanding the favourable properties and demonstrated efficacy in the Plasmodium berghei infection model, PHT-39 was unable to eradicate L. major infection in a murine infection model of cutaneous leishmaniasis. Currently, PHT-39 is undergoing derivatization to optimize its pharmacological characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Farnaz Zahedifard
- Drug Discovery and Evaluation Unit, Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Biocev, Vestec, Czech Republic
| | - Meenakshi Bansal
- H. G. Khorana Centre for Chemical Biology, Department of Chemistry, Hansraj College, University of Delhi, Delhi, India
- Department of Chemistry, Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram, University of Science & Technology, Murthal, Sonepat Haryana, India
| | - Neha Sharma
- H. G. Khorana Centre for Chemical Biology, Department of Chemistry, Hansraj College, University of Delhi, Delhi, India
| | - Sumit Kumar
- Department of Chemistry, Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram, University of Science & Technology, Murthal, Sonepat Haryana, India
| | - Siqi Shen
- Drug Discovery and Evaluation Unit, Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Biocev, Vestec, Czech Republic
| | - Priyamvada Singh
- Department of Chemistry, Miranda House, University of Delhi, Delhi, India
- Delhi School of Public Health, Institution of Eminence, University of Delhi, Delhi, India
| | - Brijesh Rathi
- H. G. Khorana Centre for Chemical Biology, Department of Chemistry, Hansraj College, University of Delhi, Delhi, India
- Delhi School of Public Health, Institution of Eminence, University of Delhi, Delhi, India
| | - Martin Zoltner
- Drug Discovery and Evaluation Unit, Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Biocev, Vestec, Czech Republic
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3
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Welsh CL, Madan LK. Allostery in Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases is Enabled by Divergent Dynamics. J Chem Inf Model 2024; 64:1331-1346. [PMID: 38346324 PMCID: PMC11144062 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.3c01615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/27/2024]
Abstract
Dynamics-driven allostery provides important insights into the working mechanics of proteins, especially enzymes. In this study, we employ this paradigm to answer a basic question: in enzyme superfamilies, where the catalytic mechanism, active sites, and protein fold are conserved, what accounts for the difference in the catalytic prowess of the individual members? We show that when subtle changes in sequence do not translate to changes in structure, they do translate to changes in dynamics. We use sequentially diverse PTP1B, TbPTP1, and YopH as representatives of the conserved protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) superfamily. Using amino acid network analysis of group behavior (community analysis) and influential node dominance on networks (eigenvector centrality), we explain the dynamic basis of the catalytic variations seen between the three proteins. Importantly, we explain how a dynamics-based blueprint makes PTP1B amenable to allosteric control and how the same is abstracted in TbPTP1 and YopH.
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Affiliation(s)
- Colin L Welsh
- Department of Cell and Molecular Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics, College of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina 29425, United States
| | - Lalima K Madan
- Department of Cell and Molecular Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics, College of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina 29425, United States
- Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina 29425, United States
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4
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Welsh CL, Madan LK. Allostery in Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases is Enabled by Divergent Dynamics. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.07.23.550226. [PMID: 37547015 PMCID: PMC10402003 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.23.550226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/08/2023]
Abstract
Dynamics-driven allostery provides important insights into the working mechanics of proteins, especially enzymes. In this study we employ this paradigm to answer a basic question: in enzyme superfamilies where the catalytic mechanism, active sites and protein fold are conserved, what accounts for the difference in the catalytic prowess of the individual members? We show that when subtle changes in sequence do not translate to changes in structure, they do translate to changes in dynamics. We use sequentially diverse PTP1B, TbPTP1, and YopH as the representatives of the conserved Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase (PTP) superfamily. Using amino acid network analysis of group behavior (community analysis) and influential node dominance on networks (eigenvector centrality), we explain the dynamic basis of catalytic variations seen between the three proteins. Importantly, we explain how a dynamics-based blueprint makes PTP1B amenable to allosteric control and how the same is abstracted in TbPTP1 and YopH.
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5
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Christopher M, Sreeja-Raju A, Abraham A, Gokhale DV, Pandey A, Sukumaran RK. Early cellular events and potential regulators of cellulase induction in Penicillium janthinellum NCIM 1366. Sci Rep 2023; 13:5057. [PMID: 36977777 PMCID: PMC10050438 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-32340-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2022] [Accepted: 03/26/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Cellulase production by fungi is tightly regulated in response to environmental cues, and understanding this mechanism is a key pre-requisite in the efforts to improve cellulase secretion. Based on UniProt descriptions of secreted Carbohydrate Active enZymes (CAZymes), 13 proteins of the cellulase hyper-producer Penicillium janthinellum NCIM 1366 (PJ-1366) were annotated as cellulases- 4 cellobiohydrolases (CBH), 7 endoglucanases (EG) and 2 beta glucosidases (BGL). Cellulase, xylanase, BGL and peroxidase activities were higher for cultures grown on a combination of cellulose and wheat bran, while EG was stimulated by disaccharides. Docking studies indicated that the most abundant BGL- Bgl2- has different binding sites for the substrate cellobiose and the product glucose, which helps to alleviate feedback inhibition, probably accounting for the low level of glucose tolerance exhibited. Out of the 758 transcription factors (TFs) differentially expressed on cellulose induction, 13 TFs were identified whose binding site frequencies on the promoter regions of the cellulases positively correlated with their abundance in the secretome. Further, correlation analysis of the transcriptional response of these regulators and TF-binding sites on their promoters indicated that cellulase expression is possibly preceded by up-regulation of 12 TFs and down-regulation of 16 TFs, which cumulatively regulate transcription, translation, nutrient metabolism and stress response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meera Christopher
- Biofuels and Biorefineries Section, Microbial Processes and Technology Division, CSIR- National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, Industrial Estate P.O., Pappanamcode, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, 695019, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad- 201002, India
| | - AthiraRaj Sreeja-Raju
- Biofuels and Biorefineries Section, Microbial Processes and Technology Division, CSIR- National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, Industrial Estate P.O., Pappanamcode, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, 695019, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad- 201002, India
| | - Amith Abraham
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | | | - Ashok Pandey
- Centre for Innovation and Translational Research, CSIR-Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, Lucknow, 226 001, Uttar Pradesh, India
- Sustainability Cluster, School of Engineering, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun, 248 007, India
- Centre for Energy and Environmental Sustainability, Lucknow, 226 029, India
| | - Rajeev K Sukumaran
- Biofuels and Biorefineries Section, Microbial Processes and Technology Division, CSIR- National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, Industrial Estate P.O., Pappanamcode, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, 695019, India.
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad- 201002, India.
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6
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Andrade-Alviárez D, Bonive-Boscan AD, Cáceres AJ, Quiñones W, Gualdrón-López M, Ginger ML, Michels PAM. Delineating transitions during the evolution of specialised peroxisomes: Glycosome formation in kinetoplastid and diplonemid protists. Front Cell Dev Biol 2022; 10:979269. [PMID: 36172271 PMCID: PMC9512073 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2022.979269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2022] [Accepted: 08/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
One peculiarity of protists belonging to classes Kinetoplastea and Diplonemea within the phylum Euglenozoa is compartmentalisation of most glycolytic enzymes within peroxisomes that are hence called glycosomes. This pathway is not sequestered in peroxisomes of the third Euglenozoan class, Euglenida. Previous analysis of well-studied kinetoplastids, the ‘TriTryps’ parasites Trypanosoma brucei, Trypanosoma cruzi and Leishmania spp., identified within glycosomes other metabolic processes usually not present in peroxisomes. In addition, trypanosomatid peroxins, i.e. proteins involved in biogenesis of these organelles, are divergent from human and yeast orthologues. In recent years, genomes, transcriptomes and proteomes for a variety of euglenozoans have become available. Here, we track the possible evolution of glycosomes by querying these databases, as well as the genome of Naegleria gruberi, a non-euglenozoan, which belongs to the same protist supergroup Discoba. We searched for orthologues of TriTryps proteins involved in glycosomal metabolism and biogenesis. Predicted cellular location(s) of each metabolic enzyme identified was inferred from presence or absence of peroxisomal-targeting signals. Combined with a survey of relevant literature, we refine extensively our previously postulated hypothesis about glycosome evolution. The data agree glycolysis was compartmentalised in a common ancestor of the kinetoplastids and diplonemids, yet additionally indicates most other processes found in glycosomes of extant trypanosomatids, but not in peroxisomes of other eukaryotes were either sequestered in this ancestor or shortly after separation of the two lineages. In contrast, peroxin divergence is evident in all euglenozoans. Following their gain of pathway complexity, subsequent evolution of peroxisome/glycosome function is complex. We hypothesize compartmentalisation in glycosomes of glycolytic enzymes, their cofactors and subsequently other metabolic enzymes provided selective advantage to kinetoplastids and diplonemids during their evolution in changing marine environments. We contend two specific properties derived from the ancestral peroxisomes were key: existence of nonselective pores for small solutes and the possibility of high turnover by pexophagy. Critically, such pores and pexophagy are characterised in extant trypanosomatids. Increasing amenability of free-living kinetoplastids and recently isolated diplonemids to experimental study means our hypothesis and interpretation of bioinformatic data are suited to experimental interrogation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego Andrade-Alviárez
- Laboratorio de Enzimología de Parásitos, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela
| | - Alejandro D. Bonive-Boscan
- Laboratorio de Enzimología de Parásitos, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela
| | - Ana J. Cáceres
- Laboratorio de Enzimología de Parásitos, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela
| | - Wilfredo Quiñones
- Laboratorio de Enzimología de Parásitos, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela
| | | | - Michael L. Ginger
- School of Applied Sciences, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, United Kingdom
| | - Paul A. M. Michels
- Centre for Immunity, Infection and Evolution and Centre for Translational and Chemical Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- *Correspondence: Paul A. M. Michels,
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Oldrieve GR, Malacart B, López-Vidal J, Matthews KR. The genomic basis of host and vector specificity in non-pathogenic trypanosomatids. Biol Open 2022; 11:bio059237. [PMID: 35373253 PMCID: PMC9099014 DOI: 10.1242/bio.059237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2022] [Accepted: 03/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Trypanosoma theileri, a non-pathogenic parasite of bovines, has a predicted surface protein architecture that likely aids survival in its mammalian host. Their surface proteins are encoded by genes which account for ∼10% of their genome. A non-pathogenic parasite of sheep, Trypanosoma melophagium, is transmitted by the sheep ked and is closely related to T. theileri. To explore host and vector specificity between these species, we sequenced the T. melophagium genome and transcriptome and an annotated draft genome was assembled. T. melophagium was compared to 43 kinetoplastid genomes, including T. theileri. T. melophagium and T. theileri have an AT biased genome, the greatest bias of publicly available trypanosomatids. This trend may result from selection acting to decrease the genomic nucleotide cost. The T. melophagium genome is 6.3Mb smaller than T. theileri and large families of proteins, characteristic of the predicted surface of T. theileri, were found to be absent or greatly reduced in T. melophagium. Instead, T. melophagium has modestly expanded protein families associated with the avoidance of complement-mediated lysis. We propose that the contrasting genomic features of these species is linked to their mode of transmission from their insect vector to their mammalian host. This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guy R. Oldrieve
- Institute of Immunology and Infection Research, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FL, UK
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Oxidative Phosphorylation Is Required for Powering Motility and Development of the Sleeping Sickness Parasite Trypanosoma brucei in the Tsetse Fly Vector. mBio 2022; 13:e0235721. [PMID: 35012336 PMCID: PMC8749461 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.02357-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
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 F1Fo-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 F1Fo-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 F1Fo-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.
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Trypanosoma brucei Tim50 Possesses PAP Activity and Plays a Critical Role in Cell Cycle Regulation and Parasite Infectivity. mBio 2021; 12:e0159221. [PMID: 34517757 PMCID: PMC8546626 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.01592-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Trypanosoma brucei, the infective agent for African trypanosomiasis, possesses a homologue of the translocase of the mitochondrial inner membrane 50 (TbTim50). It has a pair of characteristic phosphatase signature motifs, DXDX(T/V). Here, we demonstrated that, besides its protein phosphatase activity, the recombinant TbTim50 binds and hydrolyzes phosphatidic acid in a concentration-dependent manner. Mutations of D242 and D244, but not of D345and D347, to alanine abolished these activities. In silico structural homology models identified the putative binding interfaces that may accommodate different phosphosubstrates. Interestingly, TbTim50 depletion in the bloodstream form (BF) of T. brucei reduced cardiolipin (CL) levels and decreased mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨ). TbTim50 knockdown (KD) also reduced the population of G2/M phase and increased that of G1 phase cells; inhibited segregation and caused overreplication of kinetoplast DNA (kDNA), and reduced BF cell growth. Depletion of TbTim50 increased the levels of AMPK phosphorylation, and parasite morphology was changed with upregulation of expression of a few stumpy marker genes. Importantly, we observed that TbTim50-depleted parasites were unable to establish infection in mice. Proteomics analysis showed reductions in levels of the translation factors, flagellar transport proteins, and many proteasomal subunits, including those of the mitochondrial heat shock locus ATPase (HslVU), which is known to play a role in regulation of kinetoplast DNA (kDNA) replication. Reduction of the level of HslV in TbTim50 KD cells was further validated by immunoblot analysis. Together, our results showed that TbTim50 is essential for mitochondrial function, regulation of kDNA replication, and the cell cycle in the BF. Therefore, TbTim50 is an important target for structure-based drug design to combat African trypanosomiasis.
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Mulindwa J, Ssentamu G, Matovu E, Kamanyi Marucha K, Aresta-Branco F, Helbig C, Clayton C. In vitro culture of freshly isolated Trypanosoma brucei brucei bloodstream forms results in gene copy-number changes. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2021; 15:e0009738. [PMID: 34516555 PMCID: PMC8459984 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0009738] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2021] [Revised: 09/23/2021] [Accepted: 08/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Most researchers who study unicellular eukaryotes work with an extremely limited number of laboratory-adapted isolates that were obtained from the field decades ago, but the effects of passage in laboratory rodents, and adaptation to in vitro culture, have been little studied. For example, the vast majority of studies of Trypanosoma brucei biology have concentrated on just two strains, Lister 427 and EATRO1125, which were taken from the field over half a century ago and have since have undergone innumerable passages in rodents and culture. We here describe two new Trypanosoma brucei brucei strains. MAK65 and MAK98, which have undergone only 3 rodent passages since isolation from Ugandan cattle. High-coverage sequencing revealed that adaptation of the parasites to culture was accompanied by changes in gene copy numbers. T. brucei has so far been considered to be uniformly diploid, but we also found trisomy of chromosome 5 not only in one Lister 427 culture, but also in the MAK98 field isolate. Trisomy of chromosome 6, and increased copies of other chromosome segments, were also seen in established cultured lines. The two new T. brucei strains should be useful to researchers interested in trypanosome differentiation and pathogenicity. Initial results suggested that the two strains have differing infection patterns in rodents. MAK65 is uniformly diploid and grew more reproducibly in bloodstream-form culture than MAK98.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julius Mulindwa
- Department of Biochemistry and Sports Science, College of Natural Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Geofrey Ssentamu
- School of Biosecurity, Biotechnical and Laboratory Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Enock Matovu
- School of Biosecurity, Biotechnical and Laboratory Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
| | | | | | - Claudia Helbig
- Heidelberg University Centre for Molecular Biology (ZMBH), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Christine Clayton
- Heidelberg University Centre for Molecular Biology (ZMBH), Heidelberg, Germany
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Abstract
African trypanosomes are responsible for important diseases of humans and animals in sub-Saharan Africa. The best-studied species is Trypanosoma brucei, which is characterized by development in the mammalian host between morphologically slender and stumpy forms. The latter are adapted for transmission by the parasite's vector, the tsetse fly. The development of stumpy forms is driven by density-dependent quorum-sensing (QS), the molecular basis for which is now coming to light. In this review, I discuss the historical context and biological features of trypanosome QS and how it contributes to the parasite's infection dynamics within its mammalian host. Also, I discuss how QS can be lost in different trypanosome species, such as T. brucei evansi and T. brucei equiperdum, or modulated when parasites find themselves competing with others of different genotypes or of different trypanosome species in the same host. Finally, I consider the potential to exploit trypanosome QS therapeutically. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Microbiology, Volume 75 is October 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keith R Matthews
- Institute for Immunology and Infection Research, Ashworth Laboratories, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FL, United Kingdom;
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12
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Parasite protein phosphatases: biological function, virulence, and host immune evasion. Parasitol Res 2021; 120:2703-2715. [PMID: 34309709 DOI: 10.1007/s00436-021-07259-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2021] [Accepted: 07/18/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Protein phosphatases are enzymes that dephosphorylate tyrosine and serine/threonine amino acid residues. Although their role in cellular processes has been best characterized in higher eukaryotes, they have also been identified and studied in different pathogenic microorganisms (e.g., parasites) in the last two decades. Whereas some parasite protein phosphatases carry out functions similar to those of their homologs in yeast and mammalian cells, others have unique structural and/or functional characteristics. Thus, the latter unique phosphatases may be instrumental as targets for drug therapy or as markers for diagnosis. It is important to better understand the involvement of protein phosphatases in parasites in relation to their cell cycle, metabolism, virulence, and evasion of the host immune response. The up-to-date information about parasite phosphatases of medical and veterinarian relevance is herein reviewed.
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13
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Steketee PC, Dickie EA, Iremonger J, Crouch K, Paxton E, Jayaraman S, Alfituri OA, Awuah-Mensah G, Ritchie R, Schnaufer A, Rowan T, de Koning HP, Gadelha C, Wickstead B, Barrett MP, Morrison LJ. Divergent metabolism between Trypanosoma congolense and Trypanosoma brucei results in differential sensitivity to metabolic inhibition. PLoS Pathog 2021; 17:e1009734. [PMID: 34310651 PMCID: PMC8384185 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1009734] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2021] [Revised: 08/24/2021] [Accepted: 06/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Animal African Trypanosomiasis (AAT) is a debilitating livestock disease prevalent across sub-Saharan Africa, a main cause of which is the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma congolense. In comparison to the well-studied T. brucei, there is a major paucity of knowledge regarding the biology of T. congolense. Here, we use a combination of omics technologies and novel genetic tools to characterise core metabolism in T. congolense mammalian-infective bloodstream-form parasites, and test whether metabolic differences compared to T. brucei impact upon sensitivity to metabolic inhibition. Like the bloodstream stage of T. brucei, glycolysis plays a major part in T. congolense energy metabolism. However, the rate of glucose uptake is significantly lower in bloodstream stage T. congolense, with cells remaining viable when cultured in concentrations as low as 2 mM. Instead of pyruvate, the primary glycolytic endpoints are succinate, malate and acetate. Transcriptomics analysis showed higher levels of transcripts associated with the mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, acetate generation, and the glycosomal succinate shunt in T. congolense, compared to T. brucei. Stable-isotope labelling of glucose enabled the comparison of carbon usage between T. brucei and T. congolense, highlighting differences in nucleotide and saturated fatty acid metabolism. To validate the metabolic similarities and differences, both species were treated with metabolic inhibitors, confirming that electron transport chain activity is not essential in T. congolense. However, the parasite exhibits increased sensitivity to inhibition of mitochondrial pyruvate import, compared to T. brucei. Strikingly, T. congolense exhibited significant resistance to inhibitors of fatty acid synthesis, including a 780-fold higher EC50 for the lipase and fatty acid synthase inhibitor Orlistat, compared to T. brucei. These data highlight that bloodstream form T. congolense diverges from T. brucei in key areas of metabolism, with several features that are intermediate between bloodstream- and insect-stage T. brucei. These results have implications for drug development, mechanisms of drug resistance and host-pathogen interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pieter C Steketee
- The Roslin Institute, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Emily A Dickie
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Parasitology, Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - James Iremonger
- The Roslin Institute, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Kathryn Crouch
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Parasitology, Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Edith Paxton
- The Roslin Institute, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Siddharth Jayaraman
- The Roslin Institute, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Omar A Alfituri
- The Roslin Institute, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | | | - Ryan Ritchie
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Parasitology, Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Achim Schnaufer
- Institute of Immunology and Infection Research, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Tim Rowan
- Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Harry P de Koning
- Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Catarina Gadelha
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Bill Wickstead
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Michael P Barrett
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Parasitology, Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom.,Glasgow Polyomics, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Liam J Morrison
- The Roslin Institute, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
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14
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Walsh B, Hill KL. Right place, right time: Environmental sensing and signal transduction directs cellular differentiation and motility in Trypanosoma brucei. Mol Microbiol 2021; 115:930-941. [PMID: 33434370 DOI: 10.1111/mmi.14682] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2020] [Revised: 01/08/2021] [Accepted: 01/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Trypanosoma brucei and other African trypanosomes are vector-borne parasites that cause substantial human suffering across sub-Saharan Africa. The T. brucei life cycle is punctuated by numerous developmental stages, each occurring in a specific environmental niche and characterized by a unique morphology, metabolism, surface protein coat, and gene expression profile. The environmental cues and signaling pathways that drive transitions between these stages remain incompletely understood. Recent studies have started to fill this gap in knowledge. Likewise, several new studies have expanded our understanding of parasite movement through specific tissues and the parasite's ability to alter movement in response to external cues. Life cycle stage differentiation and motility are intimately integrated phenomena, as parasites must be at the right place (i.e., within a specific environmental milieu) at the right time (i.e., when they are appropriately staged and preadapted for perceiving and responding to signals) in order to complete their life cycle. In this review, we highlight some of the recent work that has transformed our understanding of signaling events that control parasite differentiation and motility. Increased knowledge of T. brucei environmental sensing and signal transduction advances our understanding of parasite biology and may direct prospective chemotherapeutic and transmission blockade strategies that are critical to eradication efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Breanna Walsh
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.,Medical Scientist Training Program, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Kent L Hill
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.,California NanoSystems Institute, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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15
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Calvo-Álvarez E, Bonnefoy S, Salles A, Benson FE, McKean PG, Bastin P, Rotureau B. Redistribution of FLAgellar Member 8 during the trypanosome life cycle: Consequences for cell fate prediction. Cell Microbiol 2021; 23:e13347. [PMID: 33896083 PMCID: PMC8459223 DOI: 10.1111/cmi.13347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2020] [Revised: 04/17/2021] [Accepted: 04/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The single flagellum of African trypanosomes is essential in multiple aspects of the parasites' development. The FLAgellar Member 8 protein (FLAM8), localised to the tip of the flagellum in cultured insect forms of Trypanosoma brucei, was identified as a marker of the locking event that controls flagellum length. Here, we investigated whether FLAM8 could also reflect the flagellum maturation state in other parasite cycle stages. We observed that FLAM8 distribution extended along the entire flagellar cytoskeleton in mammalian‐infective forms. Then, a rapid FLAM8 concentration to the distal tip occurs during differentiation into early insect forms, illustrating the remodelling of an existing flagellum. In the tsetse cardia, FLAM8 further localises to the entire length of the new flagellum during an asymmetric division. Strikingly, in parasites dividing in the tsetse midgut and in the salivary glands, the amount and distribution of FLAM8 in the new flagellum were seen to predict the daughter cell fate. We propose and discuss how FLAM8 could be considered a meta‐marker of the flagellum stage and maturation state in trypanosomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Estefanía Calvo-Álvarez
- Trypanosome Cell Biology Unit, Institut Pasteur and INSERM U1201, Paris, France.,Trypanosome Transmission Group, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
| | - Serge Bonnefoy
- Trypanosome Cell Biology Unit, Institut Pasteur and INSERM U1201, Paris, France
| | - Audrey Salles
- Unit of Technology and Service Photonic BioImaging (UTechS PBI), C2RT, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
| | - Fiona E Benson
- Division of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
| | - Paul G McKean
- Division of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
| | - Philippe Bastin
- Trypanosome Cell Biology Unit, Institut Pasteur and INSERM U1201, Paris, France
| | - Brice Rotureau
- Trypanosome Cell Biology Unit, Institut Pasteur and INSERM U1201, Paris, France.,Trypanosome Transmission Group, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
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16
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Michels PAM, Villafraz O, Pineda E, Alencar MB, Cáceres AJ, Silber AM, Bringaud F. Carbohydrate metabolism in trypanosomatids: New insights revealing novel complexity, diversity and species-unique features. Exp Parasitol 2021; 224:108102. [PMID: 33775649 DOI: 10.1016/j.exppara.2021.108102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2021] [Revised: 03/13/2021] [Accepted: 03/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
The human pathogenic trypanosomatid species collectively called the "TriTryp parasites" - Trypanosoma brucei, Trypanosoma cruzi and Leishmania spp. - have complex life cycles, with each of these parasitic protists residing in a different niche during their successive developmental stages where they encounter diverse nutrients. Consequently, they adapt their metabolic network accordingly. Yet, throughout the life cycles, carbohydrate metabolism - involving the glycolytic, gluconeogenic and pentose-phosphate pathways - always plays a central role in the biology of these parasites, whether the available carbon and free energy sources are saccharides, amino acids or lipids. In this paper, we provide an updated review of the carbohydrate metabolism of the TriTryps, highlighting new data about this metabolic network, the interconnection of its pathways and the compartmentalisation of its enzymes within glycosomes, cytosol and mitochondrion. Differences in the expression of the branches of the metabolic network between the successive life-cycle stages of each of these parasitic trypanosomatids are discussed, as well as differences between them. Recent structural and kinetic studies have revealed unique regulatory mechanisms for some of the network's key enzymes with important species-specific variations. Furthermore, reports of multiple post-translational modifications of trypanosomal glycolytic enzymes suggest that additional mechanisms for stage- and/or environmental cues that regulate activity are operational in the parasites. The detailed comparison of the carbohydrate metabolism of the TriTryps has thus revealed multiple differences and a greater complexity, including for the reduced metabolic network in bloodstream-form T. brucei, than previously appreciated. Although these parasites are related, share many cytological and metabolic features and are grouped within a single taxonomic family, the differences highlighted in this review reflect their separate evolutionary tracks from a common ancestor to the extant organisms. These differences are indicative of their adaptation to the different insect vectors and niches occupied in their mammalian hosts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul A M Michels
- Centre for Immunity, Infection and Evolution and Centre for Translational and Chemical Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
| | - Oriana Villafraz
- Laboratoire de Microbiologie Fondamentale et Pathogénicité (MFP), Université de Bordeaux, CNRS UMR-5234, France
| | - Erika Pineda
- Laboratoire de Microbiologie Fondamentale et Pathogénicité (MFP), Université de Bordeaux, CNRS UMR-5234, France
| | - Mayke B Alencar
- Laboratory of Biochemistry of Tryps, Department of Parasitology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, 05508-000, Brazil
| | - Ana J Cáceres
- Laboratorio de Enzimología de Parásitos, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, 5101, Venezuela.
| | - Ariel M Silber
- Laboratory of Biochemistry of Tryps, Department of Parasitology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, 05508-000, Brazil.
| | - Frédéric Bringaud
- Laboratoire de Microbiologie Fondamentale et Pathogénicité (MFP), Université de Bordeaux, CNRS UMR-5234, France.
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17
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Identification of positive and negative regulators in the stepwise developmental progression towards infectivity in Trypanosoma brucei. Sci Rep 2021; 11:5755. [PMID: 33707699 PMCID: PMC7952579 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-85225-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2020] [Accepted: 02/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Trypanosoma brucei is a protozoan parasite that causes important human and livestock diseases in sub-Saharan Africa. By overexpressing a single RNA-binding protein, RBP6, in non-infectious procyclics trypanosomes, we previously recapitulated in vitro the events occurring in the tsetse fly vector, namely the development of epimastigotes and infectious, quiescent metacyclic parasites. To identify genes involved in this developmental progression, we individually targeted 86 transcripts by RNAi in the RBP6 overexpression cell line and assessed the loss-of-function phenotypes on repositioning the kinetoplast, an organelle that contains the mitochondrial genome, the expression of BARP or brucei alanine rich protein, a marker for epimastigotes, and metacyclic variant surface glycoprotein. This screen identified 22 genes that positively or negatively regulate the stepwise progression towards infectivity at different stages. Two previously uncharacterized putative nucleic acid binding proteins emerged as potent regulators, namely the cold shock domain-containing proteins CSD1 and CSD2. RNA-Seq data from a selected group of cell lines further revealed that the components of gene expression regulatory networks identified in this study affected the abundance of a subset of transcripts in very similar fashion. Finally, our data suggest a considerable overlap between the genes that regulate the formation of stumpy bloodstream form trypanosomes and the genes that govern the development of metacyclic form parasites.
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18
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Bevkal S, Naguleswaran A, Rehmann R, Kaiser M, Heller M, Roditi I. An Alba-domain protein required for proteome remodelling during trypanosome differentiation and host transition. PLoS Pathog 2021; 17:e1009239. [PMID: 33493187 PMCID: PMC7861527 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1009239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2020] [Revised: 02/04/2021] [Accepted: 12/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The transition between hosts is a challenge for digenetic parasites as it is unpredictable. For Trypanosoma brucei subspecies, which are disseminated by tsetse flies, adaptation to the new host requires differentiation of stumpy forms picked up from mammals to procyclic forms in the fly midgut. Here we show that the Alba-domain protein Alba3 is not essential for mammalian slender forms, nor is it required for differentiation of slender to stumpy forms in culture or in mice. It is crucial, however, for the development of T. brucei procyclic forms during the host transition. While steady state levels of mRNAs in differentiating cells are barely affected by the loss of Alba3, there are major repercussions for the proteome. Mechanistically, Alba3 aids differentiation by rapidly releasing stumpy forms from translational repression and stimulating polysome formation. In its absence, parasites fail to remodel their proteome appropriately, lack components of the mitochondrial respiratory chain and show reduced infection of tsetse. Interestingly, Alba3 and the closely related Alba4 are functionally redundant in slender forms, but Alba4 cannot compensate for the lack of Alba3 during differentiation from the stumpy to the procyclic form. We postulate that Alba-domain proteins play similar roles in regulating translation in other protozoan parasites, in particular during life-cycle and host transitions. Trypanosoma brucei is a unicellular eukaryotic parasite that is responsible for African trypanosomiasis. The parasite needs two hosts, mammals and tsetse flies, in order to complete its life cycle. Throughout its developmental cycle, T. brucei encounters diverse environments to which it has to adapt in order to maintain its transmission and infectivity. Successful adaptation to the new environment and transition to different life-cycle stages are the general challenges faced by many digenetic parasites. In this study we show that the Alba-domain protein Alba3 is essential for differentiation of the mammalian stumpy form (transition form) to the procyclic form in the tsetse host. An Alba3 deletion mutant infects mice and shows characteristic waves of parasitaemia, but is severely compromised in its ability to infect tsetse flies. Stumpy forms are translationally repressed, but are poised to resume protein synthesis during differentiation. We show that Alba3 is key to efficient escape from translation repression; in its absence, there is a delay in the formation of polysomes and resumption of protein synthesis. This impacts the formation of procyclic-specific mitochondrial respiratory complex proteins as well as the repression of some bloodstream-specific proteins. This is the first time that a single protein has been shown to have a major influence on translation as an adaptive response to changing hosts. It is also the first time that a mechanism has been established for Alba-domain proteins in parasites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shubha Bevkal
- Institute of Cell Biology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Graduate School of Cellular and Biomedical Science, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | | | - Ruth Rehmann
- Institute of Cell Biology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Marcel Kaiser
- Department of Medical and Parasitology and Infection Biology, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland
- University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Manfred Heller
- Proteomics and Mass Spectrometry Core Facility, Department for BioMedical Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Isabel Roditi
- Institute of Cell Biology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- * E-mail:
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19
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Cestari I, Stuart K. The phosphoinositide regulatory network in Trypanosoma brucei: Implications for cell-wide regulation in eukaryotes. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2020; 14:e0008689. [PMID: 33119588 PMCID: PMC7595295 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008689] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The unicellular eukaryote Trypanosoma brucei undergoes extensive cellular and developmental changes during its life cycle. These include regulation of mammalian stage surface antigen variation and surface composition changes between life stages; switching between glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation; differential mRNA editing; and changes in posttranscriptional gene expression, protein trafficking, organellar function, and cell morphology. These diverse events are coordinated and controlled throughout parasite development, maintained in homeostasis at each life stage, and are essential for parasite survival in both the host and insect vector. Described herein are the enzymes and metabolites of the phosphatidylinositol (PI) cellular regulatory network, its integration with other cellular regulatory systems that collectively control and coordinate these numerous cellular processes, including cell development and differentiation and the many associated complex processes in multiple subcellular compartments. We conclude that this regulation is the product of the organization of these enzymes within the cellular architecture, their activities, metabolite fluxes, and responses to environmental changes via signal transduction and other processes. We describe a paradigm for how these enzymes and metabolites could function to control and coordinate multiple cellular functions. The significance of the PI system's regulatory functions in single-celled eukaryotes to metazoans and their potential as chemotherapeutic targets are indicated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor Cestari
- Institute of Parasitology, McGill University, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, Canada
- Division of Experimental Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- * E-mail: (IC); (KS)
| | - Kenneth Stuart
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
- Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
- * E-mail: (IC); (KS)
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20
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Doleželová E, Kunzová M, Dejung M, Levin M, Panicucci B, Regnault C, Janzen CJ, Barrett MP, Butter F, Zíková A. Cell-based and multi-omics profiling reveals dynamic metabolic repurposing of mitochondria to drive developmental progression of Trypanosoma brucei. PLoS Biol 2020; 18:e3000741. [PMID: 32520929 PMCID: PMC7307792 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000741] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2019] [Revised: 06/22/2020] [Accepted: 05/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Mitochondrial metabolic remodeling is a hallmark of the Trypanosoma brucei digenetic life cycle because the insect stage utilizes a cost-effective oxidative phosphorylation (OxPhos) to generate ATP, while bloodstream cells switch to aerobic glycolysis. Due to difficulties in acquiring enough parasites from the tsetse fly vector, the dynamics of the parasite's metabolic rewiring in the vector have remained obscure. Here, we took advantage of in vitro-induced differentiation to follow changes at the RNA, protein, and metabolite levels. This multi-omics and cell-based profiling showed an immediate redirection of electron flow from the cytochrome-mediated pathway to an alternative oxidase (AOX), an increase in proline consumption, elevated activity of complex II, and certain tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle enzymes, which led to mitochondrial membrane hyperpolarization and increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels. Interestingly, these ROS molecules appear to act as signaling molecules driving developmental progression because ectopic expression of catalase, a ROS scavenger, halted the in vitro-induced differentiation. Our results provide insights into the mechanisms of the parasite's mitochondrial rewiring and reinforce the emerging concept that mitochondria act as signaling organelles through release of ROS to drive cellular differentiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Doleželová
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | - Michaela Kunzová
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | - Mario Dejung
- Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB), Mainz, Germany
| | - Michal Levin
- Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB), Mainz, Germany
| | - Brian Panicucci
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | - Clément Regnault
- Welcome Centre for Integrative Parasitology, Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, Glasgow Polyomics, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Christian J. Janzen
- Welcome Centre for Integrative Parasitology, Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, Glasgow Polyomics, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Michael P. Barrett
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Biocenter, University Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - Falk Butter
- Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB), Mainz, Germany
| | - Alena Zíková
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
- * E-mail:
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21
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Zoltner M, Campagnaro GD, Taleva G, Burrell A, Cerone M, Leung KF, Achcar F, Horn D, Vaughan S, Gadelha C, Zíková A, Barrett MP, de Koning HP, Field MC. Suramin exposure alters cellular metabolism and mitochondrial energy production in African trypanosomes. J Biol Chem 2020; 295:8331-8347. [PMID: 32354742 PMCID: PMC7294092 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.ra120.012355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2020] [Revised: 04/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduced about a century ago, suramin remains a frontline drug for the management of early-stage East African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness). Cellular entry into the causative agent, the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma brucei, occurs through receptor-mediated endocytosis involving the parasite's invariant surface glycoprotein 75 (ISG75), followed by transport into the cytosol via a lysosomal transporter. The molecular basis of the trypanocidal activity of suramin remains unclear, but some evidence suggests broad, but specific, impacts on trypanosome metabolism (i.e. polypharmacology). Here we observed that suramin is rapidly accumulated in trypanosome cells proportionally to ISG75 abundance. Although we found little evidence that suramin disrupts glycolytic or glycosomal pathways, we noted increased mitochondrial ATP production, but a net decrease in cellular ATP levels. Metabolomics highlighted additional impacts on mitochondrial metabolism, including partial Krebs' cycle activation and significant accumulation of pyruvate, corroborated by increased expression of mitochondrial enzymes and transporters. Significantly, the vast majority of suramin-induced proteins were normally more abundant in the insect forms compared with the blood stage of the parasite, including several proteins associated with differentiation. We conclude that suramin has multiple and complex effects on trypanosomes, but unexpectedly partially activates mitochondrial ATP-generating activity. We propose that despite apparent compensatory mechanisms in drug-challenged cells, the suramin-induced collapse of cellular ATP ultimately leads to trypanosome cell death.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Zoltner
- School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom
| | - Gustavo D Campagnaro
- Institute for Infection, Immunity, and Inflammation, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Gergana Taleva
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Alana Burrell
- Department of Biological and Medical Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Michela Cerone
- Institute for Infection, Immunity, and Inflammation, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Ka-Fai Leung
- Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Fiona Achcar
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Parasitology and Glasgow Polyomics, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - David Horn
- School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom
| | - Sue Vaughan
- Department of Biological and Medical Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Catarina Gadelha
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Alena Zíková
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Michael P Barrett
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Parasitology and Glasgow Polyomics, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Harry P de Koning
- Institute for Infection, Immunity, and Inflammation, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Mark C Field
- School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom .,Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
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22
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A Global Analysis of Enzyme Compartmentalization to Glycosomes. Pathogens 2020; 9:pathogens9040281. [PMID: 32290588 PMCID: PMC7237986 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens9040281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2020] [Revised: 04/08/2020] [Accepted: 04/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
In kinetoplastids, the first seven steps of glycolysis are compartmentalized into a glycosome along with parts of other metabolic pathways. This organelle shares a common ancestor with the better-understood eukaryotic peroxisome. Much of our understanding of the emergence, evolution, and maintenance of glycosomes is limited to explorations of the dixenous parasites, including the enzymatic contents of the organelle. Our objective was to determine the extent that we could leverage existing studies in model kinetoplastids to determine the composition of glycosomes in species lacking evidence of experimental localization. These include diverse monoxenous species and dixenous species with very different hosts. For many of these, genome or transcriptome sequences are available. Our approach initiated with a meta-analysis of existing studies to generate a subset of enzymes with highest evidence of glycosome localization. From this dataset we extracted the best possible glycosome signal peptide identification scheme for in silico identification of glycosomal proteins from any kinetoplastid species. Validation suggested that a high glycosome localization score from our algorithm would be indicative of a glycosomal protein. We found that while metabolic pathways were consistently represented across kinetoplastids, individual proteins within those pathways may not universally exhibit evidence of glycosome localization.
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Quiñones W, Acosta H, Gonçalves CS, Motta MCM, Gualdrón-López M, Michels PAM. Structure, Properties, and Function of Glycosomes in Trypanosoma cruzi. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2020; 10:25. [PMID: 32083023 PMCID: PMC7005584 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2020.00025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2019] [Accepted: 01/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Glycosomes are peroxisome-related organelles that have been identified in kinetoplastids and diplonemids. The hallmark of glycosomes is their harboring of the majority of the glycolytic enzymes. Our biochemical studies and proteome analysis of Trypanosoma cruzi glycosomes have located, in addition to enzymes of the glycolytic pathway, enzymes of several other metabolic processes in the organelles. These analyses revealed many aspects in common with glycosomes from other trypanosomatids as well as features that seem specific for T. cruzi. Their enzyme content indicates that T. cruzi glycosomes are multifunctional organelles, involved in both several catabolic processes such as glycolysis and anabolic ones. Specifically discussed in this minireview are the cross-talk between glycosomal metabolism and metabolic processes occurring in other cell compartments, and the importance of metabolite translocation systems in the glycosomal membrane to enable the coordination between the spatially separated processes. Possible mechanisms for metabolite translocation across the membrane are suggested by proteins identified in the organelle's membrane-homologs of the ABC and MCF transporter families-and the presence of channels as inferred previously from the detection of channel-forming proteins in glycosomal membrane preparations from the related parasite T. brucei. Together, these data provide insight in the way in which different parts of T. cruzi metabolism, although uniquely distributed over different compartments, are integrated and regulated. Moreover, this information reveals opportunities for the development of drugs against Chagas disease caused by these parasites and for which currently no adequate treatment is available.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wilfredo Quiñones
- Laboratorio de Enzimología de Parásitos, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela
| | - Héctor Acosta
- Laboratorio de Enzimología de Parásitos, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela
| | - Camila Silva Gonçalves
- Laboratório de Ultraestrutura Celular Hertha Meyer, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal Do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Maria Cristina M Motta
- Laboratório de Ultraestrutura Celular Hertha Meyer, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal Do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Melisa Gualdrón-López
- Instituto Salud Global, Hospital Clinic-Universitat de Barcelona, and Institute for Health Sciences Trias i Pujol, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Paul A M Michels
- Centre for Immunity, Infection and Evolution and Centre for Translational and Chemical Biology, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
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Szöőr B, Silvester E, Matthews KR. A Leap Into the Unknown - Early Events in African Trypanosome Transmission. Trends Parasitol 2020; 36:266-278. [PMID: 32014419 DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2019.12.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2019] [Revised: 11/19/2019] [Accepted: 12/25/2019] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
African trypanosomes are mainly transmitted by tsetse flies. In recent years there has been good progress in understanding how the parasites prepare for transmission, detect their changed environment through the perception of different environmental cues, and respond by changing their developmental gene expression. In this review, we discuss the different signals and signaling mechanisms used by the parasites to carry out the early events necessary for their establishment in the fly. We also compare Trypanosoma brucei and Trypanosoma congolense, parasites that share a common pathway in the early stages of fly colonization but apparently use different mechanisms to achieve this.
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Affiliation(s)
- Balázs Szöőr
- Institute for Immunology and Infection Research, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Charlotte Auerbach Road, Edinburgh EH9 3FL, UK.
| | - Eleanor Silvester
- Institute for Immunology and Infection Research, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Charlotte Auerbach Road, Edinburgh EH9 3FL, UK
| | - Keith R Matthews
- Institute for Immunology and Infection Research, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Charlotte Auerbach Road, Edinburgh EH9 3FL, UK.
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Cestari I. Phosphoinositide signaling and regulation in Trypanosoma brucei: Specialized functions in a protozoan pathogen. PLoS Pathog 2020; 16:e1008167. [PMID: 31895930 PMCID: PMC6939900 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1008167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Igor Cestari
- Institute of Parasitology, McGill University, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Québec, Canada
- * E-mail:
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26
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Liu B, Kamanyi Marucha K, Clayton C. The zinc finger proteins ZC3H20 and ZC3H21 stabilise mRNAs encoding membrane proteins and mitochondrial proteins in insect-form Trypanosoma brucei. Mol Microbiol 2019; 113:430-451. [PMID: 31743541 DOI: 10.1111/mmi.14429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2019] [Revised: 10/24/2019] [Accepted: 11/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
ZC3H20 and ZC3H21 are related trypanosome proteins with two C(x)8 C(x)5 C(x)3 H zinc finger motifs. ZC3H20 is present at a low level in replicating mammalian-infective bloodstream forms, but becomes more abundant when they undergo growth arrest at high density; ZC3H21 appears only in the procyclic form of the parasite, which infects Tsetse flies. Each protein binds to several hundred mRNAs, with overlapping but not identical specificities. Both increase expression of bound mRNAs, probably through recruitment of the MKT1-PBP1 complex. At least 28 of the bound mRNAs decrease after depletion of ZC3H20, or of ZC3H20 and ZC3H21 together; their products include procyclic-specific proteins of the plasma membrane and energy metabolism. Simultaneous depletion of ZC3H20 and ZC3H21 causes procyclic forms to shrink and stop growing; in addition to decreases in target mRNAs, there are other changes suggestive of loss of developmental regulation. The bloodstream-form-specific protein RBP10 controls ZC3H20 and ZC3H21 expression. Interestingly, some ZC3H20/21 target mRNAs also bind to and are repressed by RBP10, allowing for dynamic regulation as RBP10 decreases and ZC3H20 and ZC3H21 increase during differentiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bin Liu
- Center for Molecular Biology of Heidelberg University (ZMBH), DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Kevin Kamanyi Marucha
- Center for Molecular Biology of Heidelberg University (ZMBH), DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Christine Clayton
- Center for Molecular Biology of Heidelberg University (ZMBH), DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg, Germany
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27
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Tripathi A, Singha UK, Paromov V, Hill S, Pratap S, Rose K, Chaudhuri M. The Cross Talk between TbTim50 and PIP39, Two Aspartate-Based Protein Phosphatases, Maintains Cellular Homeostasis in Trypanosoma brucei. mSphere 2019; 4:e00353-19. [PMID: 31391278 PMCID: PMC6686227 DOI: 10.1128/msphere.00353-19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2019] [Accepted: 07/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Trypanosoma brucei, the infectious agent of a deadly disease known as African trypanosomiasis, undergoes various stresses during its digenetic life cycle. We previously showed that downregulation of T. brucei mitochondrial inner membrane protein translocase 50 (TbTim50), an aspartate-based protein phosphatase and a component of the translocase of the mitochondrial inner membrane (TIM), increased the tolerance of procyclic cells to oxidative stress. Using comparative proteomics analysis and further validating the proteomics results by immunoblotting, here we discovered that TbTim50 downregulation caused an approximately 5-fold increase in the levels of PIP39, which is also an aspartate-based protein phosphatase and is primarily localized in glycosomes. A moderate upregulation of a number of glycosomal enzymes was also noticed due to TbTim50 knockdown. We found that the rate of mitochondrial ATP production by oxidative phosphorylation decreased and that substrate-level phosphorylation increased due to depletion of TbTim50. These results were correlated with relative increases in the levels of trypanosome alternative oxidase and hexokinase and a reduced-growth phenotype in low-glucose medium. The levels and activity of the mitochondrial superoxide dismutase and glutaredoxin levels were increased due to TbTim50 knockdown. Furthermore, we show that TbTim50 downregulation increased the cellular AMP/ATP ratio, and as a consequence, phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) was increased. Knocking down both TbTim50 and TbPIP39 reduced PIP39 levels as well as AMPK phosphorylation and reduced T. brucei tolerance to oxidative stress. These results suggest that TbTim50 and PIP39, two protein phosphatases in mitochondria and glycosomes, respectively, cross talk via the AMPK pathway to maintain cellular homeostasis in the procyclic form of T. bruceiIMPORTANCETrypanosoma brucei, the infectious agent of African trypanosomiasis, must adapt to strikingly different host environments during its digenetic life cycle. Developmental regulation of mitochondrial activities is an essential part of these processes. We have shown previously that mitochondrial inner membrane protein translocase 50 in T. brucei (TbTim50) possesses a dually specific phosphatase activity and plays a role in the cellular stress response pathway. Using proteomics analysis, here we have elucidated a novel connection between TbTim50 and a protein phosphatase of the same family, PIP39, which is also a differentiation-related protein localized in glycosomes. We found that these two protein phosphatases cross talk via the AMPK pathway and modulate cellular metabolic activities under stress. Together, our results indicate the importance of a TbTim50 and PIP39 cascade for communication between mitochondria and other cellular parts in regulation of cell homeostasis in T. brucei.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anuj Tripathi
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Physiology, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Ujjal K Singha
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Physiology, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Victor Paromov
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Physiology, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Salisha Hill
- Department of Biochemistry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Siddharth Pratap
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Physiology, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Kristie Rose
- Department of Biochemistry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Minu Chaudhuri
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Physiology, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
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Srivastava A, Badjatia N, Lee JH, Hao B, Günzl A. An RNA polymerase II-associated TFIIF-like complex is indispensable for SL RNA gene transcription in Trypanosoma brucei. Nucleic Acids Res 2019; 46:1695-1709. [PMID: 29186511 PMCID: PMC5829719 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkx1198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2017] [Accepted: 11/17/2017] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Trypanosomes are protistan parasites that diverged early in evolution from most eukaryotes. Their streamlined genomes are packed with arrays of tandemly linked genes that are transcribed polycistronically by RNA polymerase (pol) II. Individual mRNAs are processed from pre-mRNA by spliced leader (SL) trans splicing and polyadenylation. While there is no strong evidence that general transcription factors are needed for transcription initiation at these gene arrays, a RNA pol II transcription pre-initiation complex (PIC) is formed on promoters of SLRNA genes, which encode the small nuclear SL RNA, the SL donor in trans splicing. The factors that form the PIC are extremely divergent orthologues of the small nuclear RNA-activating complex, TBP, TFIIA, TFIIB, TFIIH, TFIIE and Mediator. Here, we functionally characterized a heterodimeric complex of unannotated, nuclear proteins that interacts with RNA pol II and is essential for PIC formation, SL RNA synthesis in vivo, SLRNA transcription in vitro, and parasite viability. These functional attributes suggest that the factor represents TFIIF although the amino acid sequences are too divergent to firmly make this conclusion. This work strongly indicates that early-diverged trypanosomes have orthologues of each and every general transcription factor, requiring them for the synthesis of SL RNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ankita Srivastava
- Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences, UConn Health, 400 Farmington Avenue, Farmington, CT 06030-6403, USA
| | - Nitika Badjatia
- Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences, UConn Health, 400 Farmington Avenue, Farmington, CT 06030-6403, USA
| | - Ju Huck Lee
- Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences, UConn Health, 400 Farmington Avenue, Farmington, CT 06030-6403, USA
| | - Bing Hao
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biophysics, UConn Health, 263 Farmington Avenue, Farmington, CT 06030-3305, USA
| | - Arthur Günzl
- Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences, UConn Health, 400 Farmington Avenue, Farmington, CT 06030-6403, USA
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Positional Dynamics and Glycosomal Recruitment of Developmental Regulators during Trypanosome Differentiation. mBio 2019; 10:mBio.00875-19. [PMID: 31289175 PMCID: PMC6747725 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.00875-19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
African trypanosomes are parasites of sub-Saharan Africa responsible for both human and animal disease. The parasites are transmitted by tsetse flies, and completion of their life cycle involves progression through several development steps. The initiation of differentiation between blood and tsetse fly forms is signaled by a phosphatase cascade, ultimately trafficked into peroxisome-related organelles called glycosomes that are unique to this group of organisms. Glycosomes undergo substantial remodeling of their composition and function during the differentiation step, but how this is regulated is not understood. Here we identify a cytological site where the signaling molecules controlling differentiation converge before the dispersal of one of them into glycosomes. In combination, the study provides the first insight into the spatial coordination of signaling pathway components in trypanosomes as they undergo cell-type differentiation. Glycosomes are peroxisome-related organelles that compartmentalize the glycolytic enzymes in kinetoplastid parasites. These organelles are developmentally regulated in their number and composition, allowing metabolic adaptation to the parasite’s needs in the blood of mammalian hosts or within their arthropod vector. A protein phosphatase cascade regulates differentiation between parasite developmental forms, comprising a tyrosine phosphatase, Trypanosoma brucei PTP1 (TbPTP1), which dephosphorylates and inhibits a serine threonine phosphatase, TbPIP39, which promotes differentiation. When TbPTP1 is inactivated, TbPIP39 is activated and during differentiation becomes located in glycosomes. Here we have tracked TbPIP39 recruitment to glycosomes during differentiation from bloodstream “stumpy” forms to procyclic forms. Detailed microscopy and live-cell imaging during the synchronous transition between life cycle stages revealed that in stumpy forms, TbPIP39 is located at a periflagellar pocket site closely associated with TbVAP, which defines the flagellar pocket endoplasmic reticulum. TbPTP1 is also located at the same site in stumpy forms, as is REG9.1, a regulator of stumpy-enriched mRNAs. This site provides a molecular node for the interaction between TbPTP1 and TbPIP39. Within 30 min of the initiation of differentiation, TbPIP39 relocates to glycosomes, whereas TbPTP1 disperses to the cytosol. Overall, the study identifies a “stumpy regulatory nexus” (STuRN) that coordinates the molecular components of life cycle signaling and glycosomal development during transmission of Trypanosoma brucei.
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30
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Acosta H, Burchmore R, Naula C, Gualdrón-López M, Quintero-Troconis E, Cáceres AJ, Michels PAM, Concepción JL, Quiñones W. Proteomic analysis of glycosomes from Trypanosoma cruzi epimastigotes. Mol Biochem Parasitol 2019; 229:62-74. [PMID: 30831156 PMCID: PMC7082770 DOI: 10.1016/j.molbiopara.2019.02.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2018] [Revised: 02/25/2019] [Accepted: 02/27/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
In Trypanosoma cruzi, the causal agent of Chagas disease, the first seven steps of glycolysis are compartmentalized in glycosomes, which are authentic but specialized peroxisomes. Besides glycolysis, activity of enzymes of other metabolic processes have been reported to be present in glycosomes, such as β-oxidation of fatty acids, purine salvage, pentose-phosphate pathway, gluconeogenesis and biosynthesis of ether-lipids, isoprenoids, sterols and pyrimidines. In this study, we have purified glycosomes from T. cruzi epimastigotes, collected the soluble and membrane fractions of these organelles, and separated peripheral and integral membrane proteins by Na2CO3 treatment and osmotic shock. Proteomic analysis was performed on each of these fractions, allowing us to confirm the presence of enzymes involved in various metabolic pathways as well as identify new components of this parasite's glycosomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Héctor Acosta
- Laboratorio de Enzimología de Parásitos, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, 5101, Venezuela
| | - Richard Burchmore
- Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK
| | - Christina Naula
- Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK
| | - Melisa Gualdrón-López
- Instituto Salud Global, Hospital Clinic-Universitat de Barcelona, and Institute for Health Sciences Trias i Pujol, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ender Quintero-Troconis
- Laboratorio de Enzimología de Parásitos, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, 5101, Venezuela
| | - Ana J Cáceres
- Laboratorio de Enzimología de Parásitos, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, 5101, Venezuela
| | - Paul A M Michels
- Centre for Immunity, Infection and Evolution and Centre for Translational and Chemical Biology, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3FL, UK
| | - Juan Luis Concepción
- Laboratorio de Enzimología de Parásitos, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, 5101, Venezuela
| | - Wilfredo Quiñones
- Laboratorio de Enzimología de Parásitos, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, 5101, Venezuela.
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Qiu Y, Milanes JE, Jones JA, Noorai RE, Shankar V, Morris JC. Glucose Signaling Is Important for Nutrient Adaptation during Differentiation of Pleomorphic African Trypanosomes. mSphere 2018; 3:e00366-18. [PMID: 30381351 PMCID: PMC6211221 DOI: 10.1128/msphere.00366-18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2018] [Accepted: 09/05/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The African trypanosome has evolved mechanisms to adapt to changes in nutrient availability that occur during its life cycle. During transition from mammalian blood to insect vector gut, parasites experience a rapid reduction in environmental glucose. Here we describe how pleomorphic parasites respond to glucose depletion with a focus on parasite changes in energy metabolism and growth. Long slender bloodstream form parasites were rapidly killed as glucose concentrations fell, while short stumpy bloodstream form parasites persisted to differentiate into the insect-stage procyclic form parasite. The rate of differentiation was lower than that triggered by other cues but reached physiological rates when combined with cold shock. Both differentiation and growth of resulting procyclic form parasites were inhibited by glucose and nonmetabolizable glucose analogs, and these parasites were found to have upregulated amino acid metabolic pathway component gene expression. In summary, glucose transitions from the primary metabolite of the blood-stage infection to a negative regulator of cell development and growth in the insect vector, suggesting that the hexose is not only a key metabolic agent but also an important signaling molecule.IMPORTANCE As the African trypanosome Trypanosoma brucei completes its life cycle, it encounters many different environments. Adaptation to these environments includes modulation of metabolic pathways to parallel the availability of nutrients. Here, we describe how the blood-dwelling life cycle stages of the African trypanosome, which consume glucose to meet their nutritional needs, respond differently to culture in the near absence of glucose. The proliferative long slender parasites rapidly die, while the nondividing short stumpy parasite remains viable and undergoes differentiation to the next life cycle stage, the procyclic form parasite. Interestingly, a sugar analog that cannot be used as an energy source inhibited the process. Furthermore, the growth of procyclic form parasite that resulted from the event was inhibited by glucose, a behavior that is similar to that of parasites isolated from tsetse flies. Our findings suggest that glucose sensing serves as an important modulator of nutrient adaptation in the parasite.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yijian Qiu
- Department of Genetics and Biochemistry, Eukaryotic Pathogens Innovation Center, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, USA
| | - Jillian E Milanes
- Department of Genetics and Biochemistry, Eukaryotic Pathogens Innovation Center, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, USA
| | - Jessica A Jones
- Department of Genetics and Biochemistry, Eukaryotic Pathogens Innovation Center, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, USA
| | - Rooksana E Noorai
- Clemson University Genomics & Computational Biology Laboratory, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, USA
| | - Vijay Shankar
- Clemson University Genomics & Computational Biology Laboratory, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, USA
| | - James C Morris
- Department of Genetics and Biochemistry, Eukaryotic Pathogens Innovation Center, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, USA
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Silvester E, Ivens A, Matthews KR. A gene expression comparison of Trypanosoma brucei and Trypanosoma congolense in the bloodstream of the mammalian host reveals species-specific adaptations to density-dependent development. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2018; 12:e0006863. [PMID: 30307943 PMCID: PMC6199001 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006863] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2018] [Revised: 10/23/2018] [Accepted: 09/21/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
In the bloodstream of mammalian hosts Trypanosoma brucei undergoes well-characterised density-dependent growth control and developmental adaptation for transmission. This involves the differentiation from proliferative, morphologically ‘slender’ forms to quiescent ‘stumpy’ forms that preferentially infect the tsetse fly vector. Another important livestock trypanosome, Trypanosoma congolense, also undergoes density-dependent cell-cycle arrest although this is not linked to obvious morphological transformation. Here we have compared the gene expression profile of T. brucei and T. congolense during the ascending phase of the parasitaemia and at peak parasitaemia in mice, analysing species and developmental differences between proliferating and cell-cycle arrested forms. Despite underlying conservation of their quorum sensing signalling pathway, each species exhibits distinct profiles of gene regulation when analysed by orthogroup and cell surface phylome profiling. This analysis of peak parasitaemia T. congolense provides the first molecular signatures of potential developmental competence, assisting life cycle developmental studies in these important livestock parasites. Furthermore, comparison with T. brucei identifies candidate molecules from each species that may be important for their survival in the mammalian host, transmission or distinct tropism in the tsetse vector. Animal African trypanosomiases are important diseases of livestock in sub-Saharan Africa. Two of the responsible parasite species are Trypanosoma brucei and Trypanosoma congolense, both being blood-borne parasites transmitted by tsetse flies. In T. brucei there is a well-characterised developmental event in the bloodstream that prepares the parasite for tsetse transmission—the generation of morphologically stumpy forms. In contrast, Trypanosoma congolense does not undergo the same obvious morphological event, but does respond to parasite density in the mammalian bloodstream by accumulating as a cell cycle arrested form. This prompted us to explore the adaptations of T. congolense in response to cell density in blood and to compare this with T. brucei. The datasets generated, and their analysis, represent a first detailed transcriptional profile for T. congolense and also a new high-resolution analysis of the developmental forms of T. brucei in a mammalian host. Critically, the analysis also carefully characterised the biological material used for RNA-seq analysis with respect to cell cycle status, morphology and the expression (in the case of T. brucei) of PAD1 –a molecular marker for stumpy forms. The manuscript highlights clear differences in the developmental adaptation of each parasite species, with T. congolense showing less extreme adaptation at peak parasitaemia than T. brucei. Nonetheless, several predicted surface protein families in T. congolense are strongly upregulated at high parasite density in the bloodstream, which may represent adaptations for their transmission or survival.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleanor Silvester
- Institute for Immunology and Infection Research, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Alasdair Ivens
- Institute for Immunology and Infection Research, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Keith R. Matthews
- Institute for Immunology and Infection Research, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
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Norris-Mullins B, Krivda JS, Smith KL, Ferrell MJ, Morales MA. Leishmania phosphatase PP5 is a regulator of HSP83 phosphorylation and essential for parasite pathogenicity. Parasitol Res 2018; 117:2971-2985. [PMID: 29982859 DOI: 10.1007/s00436-018-5994-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2018] [Accepted: 06/28/2018] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Leishmania parasites are responsible for important neglected diseases in humans and animals, ranging from self-healing cutaneous lesions to fatal visceral manifestations. During the infectious cycle, Leishmania differentiates from the extracellular flagellated promastigote to the intracellular pathogenic amastigote. Parasite differentiation is triggered by changes in environmental cues, mainly pH and temperature. In general, extracellular signals are translated into stage-specific gene expression by a cascade of reversible protein phosphorylation regulated by protein kinases and phosphatases. Though protein kinases have been actively studied as potential anti-parasitic drug targets, our understanding of the biology of protein phosphatases in Leishmania is poor. We have previously reported the principal analysis of a novel protein phosphatase 5 (PP5) in Leishmania species. Here, we assessed the role of PP5 in parasite pathogenicity, where we uncovered, using transgenic PP5 over-expressing and PP5 null-mutant parasites, its importance in metacyclogeneisis, maintaining HSP83 phosphorylation homeostasis and virulence. All together, our results indicate the importance of PP5 in regulating parasite stress and adaptation during differentiation, making this protein an attractive potential target for therapeutic intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brianna Norris-Mullins
- Eck Institute for Global Health, Department of Biological Sciences, 278 Galvin Life Science, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA
| | - Joseph S Krivda
- Eck Institute for Global Health, Department of Biological Sciences, 278 Galvin Life Science, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA
| | - Kathryn L Smith
- Eck Institute for Global Health, Department of Biological Sciences, 278 Galvin Life Science, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA
| | - Micah J Ferrell
- Eck Institute for Global Health, Department of Biological Sciences, 278 Galvin Life Science, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA
| | - Miguel A Morales
- Eck Institute for Global Health, Department of Biological Sciences, 278 Galvin Life Science, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA.
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Kelly S, Ivens A, Mott GA, O'Neill E, Emms D, Macleod O, Voorheis P, Tyler K, Clark M, Matthews J, Matthews K, Carrington M. An Alternative Strategy for Trypanosome Survival in the Mammalian Bloodstream Revealed through Genome and Transcriptome Analysis of the Ubiquitous Bovine Parasite Trypanosoma (Megatrypanum) theileri. Genome Biol Evol 2018; 9:2093-2109. [PMID: 28903536 PMCID: PMC5737535 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evx152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/12/2017] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
There are hundreds of Trypanosoma species that live in the blood and tissue spaces of their vertebrate hosts. The vast majority of these do not have the ornate system of antigenic variation that has evolved in the small number of African trypanosome species, but can still maintain long-term infections in the face of the vertebrate adaptive immune system. Trypanosoma theileri is a typical example, has a restricted host range of cattle and other Bovinae, and is only occasionally reported to cause patent disease although no systematic survey of the effect of infection on agricultural productivity has been performed. Here, a detailed genome sequence and a transcriptome analysis of gene expression in bloodstream form T. theileri have been performed. Analysis of the genome sequence and expression showed that T. theileri has a typical kinetoplastid genome structure and allowed a prediction that it is capable of meiotic exchange, gene silencing via RNA interference and, potentially, density-dependent growth control. In particular, the transcriptome analysis has allowed a comparison of two distinct trypanosome cell surfaces, T. brucei and T. theileri, that have each evolved to enable the maintenance of a long-term extracellular infection in cattle. The T. theileri cell surface can be modeled to contain a mixture of proteins encoded by four novel large and divergent gene families and by members of a major surface protease gene family. This surface composition is distinct from the uniform variant surface glycoprotein coat on African trypanosomes providing an insight into a second mechanism used by trypanosome species that proliferate in an extracellular milieu in vertebrate hosts to avoid the adaptive immune response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven Kelly
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Alasdair Ivens
- Centre for Immunity, Infection and Evolution and Institute for Immunology and Infection Research, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - G Adam Mott
- Centre for Immunity, Infection and Evolution and Institute for Immunology and Infection Research, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Ellis O'Neill
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - David Emms
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Olivia Macleod
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Paul Voorheis
- School of Biochemistry and Immunology, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Kevin Tyler
- Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, Norfolk, United Kingdom
| | - Matthew Clark
- Earlham Institute, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, Norfolk, United Kingdom
| | - Jacqueline Matthews
- Moredun Research Institute, Pentlands Science Park, Bush Loan, Penicuik, Midlothian, United Kingdom
| | - Keith Matthews
- Centre for Immunity, Infection and Evolution and Institute for Immunology and Infection Research, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Mark Carrington
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
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Cestari I, Anupama A, Stuart K. Inositol polyphosphate multikinase regulation of Trypanosoma brucei life stage development. Mol Biol Cell 2018. [PMID: 29514930 PMCID: PMC5921579 DOI: 10.1091/mbc.e17-08-0515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The regulation of Trypanosoma brucei life stage development remains unclear. Inositol polyphosphate multikinase regulates the development of mammalian bloodforms to insect stages that normally develop in flies. Specific inositol phosphates, perhaps as second messengers, interact with proteins of the regulatory network that controls development. Many cellular processes change during the Trypanosoma brucei life cycle as this parasite alternates between the mammalian host and tsetse fly vector. We show that the inositol phosphate pathway helps regulate these developmental changes. Knockdown of inositol polyphosphate multikinase (IPMK), which phosphorylates Ins(1,4,5)P3 and Ins(1,3,4,5)P4, resulted in changes in bloodstream forms that are characteristic of insect stage procyclic forms. These changes include expression of the procyclic surface coat, up-regulation of RNA-binding proteins that we show to regulate stage-specific transcripts, and activation of oxidative phosphorylation with increased ATP production in bloodstream forms. These changes were accompanied by development of procyclic morphology, which also occurred by the expression of a catalytically inactive IPMK, implying that regulation of these processes entails IPMK activity. Proteins involved in signaling, protein synthesis and turnover, and metabolism were affinity-enriched with the IPMK substrate or product. Developmental changes associated with IPMK knockdown or catalytic inactivation reflected processes that are enriched with inositol phosphates, and chemical and genetic perturbation of these processes affected T. brucei development. Hence, IPMK helps regulate T. brucei development, perhaps by affecting inositol phosphate interactions with proteins of the regulatory network that controls energy metabolism and development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor Cestari
- Center for Infectious Disease Research, Seattle, WA 98109
| | - Atashi Anupama
- Center for Infectious Disease Research, Seattle, WA 98109
| | - Kenneth Stuart
- Center for Infectious Disease Research, Seattle, WA 98109.,Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195
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36
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Mulindwa J, Leiss K, Ibberson D, Kamanyi Marucha K, Helbig C, Melo do Nascimento L, Silvester E, Matthews K, Matovu E, Enyaru J, Clayton C. Transcriptomes of Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense from sleeping sickness patients, rodents and culture: Effects of strain, growth conditions and RNA preparation methods. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2018; 12:e0006280. [PMID: 29474390 PMCID: PMC5842037 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2016] [Revised: 03/07/2018] [Accepted: 01/29/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
All of our current knowledge of African trypanosome metabolism is based on results from trypanosomes grown in culture or in rodents. Drugs against sleeping sickness must however treat trypanosomes in humans. We here compare the transcriptomes of Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense from the blood and cerebrospinal fluid of human patients with those of trypanosomes from culture and rodents. The data were aligned and analysed using new user-friendly applications designed for Kinetoplastid RNA-Seq data. The transcriptomes of trypanosomes from human blood and cerebrospinal fluid did not predict major metabolic differences that might affect drug susceptibility. Usefully, there were relatively few differences between the transcriptomes of trypanosomes from patients and those of similar trypanosomes grown in rats. Transcriptomes of monomorphic laboratory-adapted parasites grown in in vitro culture closely resembled those of the human parasites, but some differences were seen. In poly(A)-selected mRNA transcriptomes, mRNAs encoding some protein kinases and RNA-binding proteins were under-represented relative to mRNA that had not been poly(A) selected; further investigation revealed that the selection tends to result in loss of longer mRNAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julius Mulindwa
- Centre for Molecular Biology of Heidelberg University (ZMBH), DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Im Neuenheimer Feld 282, Heidelberg, Germany
- Department of Biochemistry and Sports Science, College of Natural Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Kevin Leiss
- Centre for Molecular Biology of Heidelberg University (ZMBH), DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Im Neuenheimer Feld 282, Heidelberg, Germany
| | | | - Kevin Kamanyi Marucha
- Centre for Molecular Biology of Heidelberg University (ZMBH), DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Im Neuenheimer Feld 282, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Claudia Helbig
- Centre for Molecular Biology of Heidelberg University (ZMBH), DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Im Neuenheimer Feld 282, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Larissa Melo do Nascimento
- Centre for Molecular Biology of Heidelberg University (ZMBH), DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Im Neuenheimer Feld 282, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Eleanor Silvester
- Institute for Immunology and Infection Research, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Keith Matthews
- Institute for Immunology and Infection Research, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Enock Matovu
- Department of Biotechnology and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary medicine, Animal resources and Biosecurity, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
| | - John Enyaru
- Department of Biochemistry and Sports Science, College of Natural Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Christine Clayton
- Centre for Molecular Biology of Heidelberg University (ZMBH), DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Im Neuenheimer Feld 282, Heidelberg, Germany
- * E-mail:
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37
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Rojas DA, Urbina F, Moreira-Ramos S, Castillo C, Kemmerling U, Lapier M, Maya JD, Solari A, Maldonado E. Endogenous overexpression of an active phosphorylated form of DNA polymerase β under oxidative stress in Trypanosoma cruzi. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2018; 12:e0006220. [PMID: 29432450 PMCID: PMC5825160 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2017] [Revised: 02/23/2018] [Accepted: 01/08/2018] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Trypanosoma cruzi is exposed during its life to exogenous and endogenous oxidative stress, leading to damage of several macromolecules such as DNA. There are many DNA repair pathways in the nucleus and mitochondria (kinetoplast), where specific protein complexes detect and eliminate damage to DNA. One group of these proteins is the DNA polymerases. In particular, Tc DNA polymerase β participates in kinetoplast DNA replication and repair. However, the mechanisms which control its expression under oxidative stress are still unknown. Here we describe the effect of oxidative stress on the expression and function of Tc DNA polymerase β To this end parasite cells (epimastigotes and trypomastigotes) were exposed to peroxide during short periods of time. Tc DNA polymerase β which was associated physically with kinetoplast DNA, showed increased protein levels in response to peroxide damage in both parasite forms analyzed. Two forms of DNA polymerase β were identified and overexpressed after peroxide treatment. One of them was phosphorylated and active in DNA synthesis after renaturation on polyacrylamide electrophoresis gel. This phosphorylated form showed 3-4-fold increase in both parasite forms. Our findings indicate that these increments in protein levels are not under transcriptional control because the level of Tc DNA polymerase β mRNA is maintained or slightly decreased during the exposure to oxidative stress. We propose a mechanism where a DNA repair pathway activates a cascade leading to the increment of expression and phosphorylation of Tc DNA polymerase β in response to oxidative damage, which is discussed in the context of what is known in other trypanosomes which lack transcriptional control. Exposure of Trypanosome cruzi to oxidative stress leads to damage of several macromolecules such as DNA. DNA polymerases play a very important role in DNA repair after oxidative damage. One of them is Tc DNA polymerase β. In this work, two form of this DNA polymerase were identified and overexpressed in T. cruzi cells after hydrogen peroxide treatment been one of them a phosphorylated and highly active form. The increment of Tc DNA polymerase β was not correlated with changes in mRNA levels, indicating absence of transcriptional control. We propose a mechanism where hydrogen peroxide treatment activates a pathway leading to expression and phosphorylation of Tc DNA polymerase β in response to oxidative damage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego A. Rojas
- Microbiology and Micology Program, ICBM, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Fabiola Urbina
- Cellular and Molecular Biology Program, ICBM, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Sandra Moreira-Ramos
- Cellular and Molecular Biology Program, ICBM, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Christian Castillo
- Anatomy and Developmental Biology Program, ICBM, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Ulrike Kemmerling
- Anatomy and Developmental Biology Program, ICBM, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Michel Lapier
- Molecular and Clinical Pharmacology Program, ICBM, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Juan Diego Maya
- Molecular and Clinical Pharmacology Program, ICBM, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Aldo Solari
- Cellular and Molecular Biology Program, ICBM, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Edio Maldonado
- Cellular and Molecular Biology Program, ICBM, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile
- * E-mail:
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38
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Soulat D, Bogdan C. Function of Macrophage and Parasite Phosphatases in Leishmaniasis. Front Immunol 2017; 8:1838. [PMID: 29312331 PMCID: PMC5743797 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2017.01838] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2017] [Accepted: 12/05/2017] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
The kinetoplastid protozoan parasites belonging to the genus Leishmania are the causative agents of different clinical forms of leishmaniasis, a vector-borne infectious disease with worldwide prevalence. The protective host immune response against Leishmania parasites relies on myeloid cells such as dendritic cells and macrophages in which upon stimulation by cytokines (e.g., interferon-γ) a complex network of signaling pathways is switched on leading to strong antimicrobial activities directed against the intracellular parasite stage. The regulation of these pathways classically depends on post-translational modifications of proteins, with phosphorylation events playing a cardinal role. Leishmania parasites deactivate their phagocytic host cells by inducing specific mammalian phosphatases that are capable to impede signaling. On the other hand, there is now also evidence that Leishmania spp. themselves express phosphatases that might target host cell molecules and thereby facilitate the intracellular survival of the parasite. This review will present an overview on the modulation of host phosphatases by Leishmania parasites as well as on the known families of Leishmania phosphatases and their possible function as virulence factors. A more detailed understanding of the role of phosphatases in Leishmania–host cell interactions might open new avenues for the treatment of non-healing, progressive forms of leishmaniasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Didier Soulat
- Mikrobiologisches Institut - Klinische Mikrobiologie, Immunologie und Hygiene, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität (FAU) Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany.,Medical Immunology Campus Erlangen, Interdisciplinary Center of the FAU, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Christian Bogdan
- Mikrobiologisches Institut - Klinische Mikrobiologie, Immunologie und Hygiene, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität (FAU) Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany.,Medical Immunology Campus Erlangen, Interdisciplinary Center of the FAU, Erlangen, Germany
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39
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Rojas-Pirela M, Rigden DJ, Michels PA, Cáceres AJ, Concepción JL, Quiñones W. Structure and function of Per-ARNT-Sim domains and their possible role in the life-cycle biology of Trypanosoma cruzi. Mol Biochem Parasitol 2017; 219:52-66. [PMID: 29133150 DOI: 10.1016/j.molbiopara.2017.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2017] [Revised: 10/12/2017] [Accepted: 11/02/2017] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Per-ARNT-Sim (PAS) domains of proteins play important roles as modules for signalling and cellular regulation processes in widely diverse organisms such as Archaea, Bacteria, protists, plants, yeasts, insects and vertebrates. These domains are present in many proteins where they are used as sensors of stimuli and modules for protein interactions. Characteristically, they can bind a broad spectrum of molecules. Such binding causes the domain to trigger a specific cellular response or to make the protein containing the domain susceptible to responding to additional physical or chemical signals. Different PAS proteins have the ability to sense redox potential, light, oxygen, energy levels, carboxylic acids, fatty acids and several other stimuli. Such proteins have been found to be involved in cellular processes such as development, virulence, sporulation, adaptation to hypoxia, circadian cycle, metabolism and gene regulation and expression. Our analysis of the genome of different kinetoplastid species revealed the presence of PAS domains also in different predicted kinases from these protists. Open-reading frames coding for these PAS-kinases are unusually large. In addition, the products of these genes appear to contain in their structure combinations of domains uncommon in other eukaryotes. The physiological significance of PAS domains in these parasites, specifically in Trypanosoma cruzi, is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maura Rojas-Pirela
- Laboratorio de Enzimología de Parásitos, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida 5101, Venezuela
| | - Daniel J Rigden
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 7ZB, United Kingdom
| | - Paul A Michels
- Centre for Immunity, Infection and Evolution and Centre for Translational and Chemical Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, The King's Buildings, Edinburgh EH9 3FL, Scotland, United Kingdom
| | - Ana J Cáceres
- Laboratorio de Enzimología de Parásitos, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida 5101, Venezuela
| | - Juan Luis Concepción
- Laboratorio de Enzimología de Parásitos, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida 5101, Venezuela
| | - Wilfredo Quiñones
- Laboratorio de Enzimología de Parásitos, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida 5101, Venezuela.
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40
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Aoki JI, Muxel SM, Zampieri RA, Acuña SM, Fernandes JCR, Vanderlinde RH, Sales MCODP, Floeter-Winter LM. L-arginine availability and arginase activity: Characterization of amino acid permease 3 in Leishmania amazonensis. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2017; 11:e0006025. [PMID: 29073150 PMCID: PMC5693463 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2017] [Revised: 11/17/2017] [Accepted: 10/09/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Leishmania uses the amino acid L-arginine as a substrate for arginase, enzyme that produces urea and ornithine, last precursor of polyamine pathway. This pathway is used by the parasite to replicate and it is essential to establish the infection in the mammalian host. L-arginine is not synthesized by the parasite, so its uptake occurs through the amino acid permease 3 (AAP3). AAP3 is codified by two copies genes (5.1 and 4.7 copies), organized in tandem in the parasite genome. One copy presents the expression regulated by L-arginine availability. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS RNA-seq data revealed 14 amino acid transporters differentially expressed in the comparison of La-WT vs. La-arg- promastigotes and axenic amastigotes. The 5.1 and 4.7 aap3 transcripts were down-regulated in La-WT promastigotes vs. axenic amastigotes, and in La-WT vs. La-arg- promastigotes. In contrast, transcripts of other transporters were up-regulated in the same comparisons. The amount of 5.1 and 4.7 aap3 mRNA of intracellular amastigotes was also determined in sample preparations from macrophages, obtained from BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice and the human THP-1 lineage infected with La-WT or La-arg-, revealing that the genetic host background is also important. We also determined the aap3 mRNA and AAP3 protein amounts of promastigotes and axenic amastigotes in different environmental growth conditions, varying pH, temperature and L-arginine availability. Interestingly, the increase of temperature increased the AAP3 level in plasma membrane and consequently the L-arginine uptake, independently of pH and L-arginine availability. In addition, we demonstrated that besides the plasma membrane localization, AAP3 was also localized in the glycosome of L. amazonensis promastigotes and axenic amastigotes. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE In this report, we described the differential transcriptional profiling of amino acids transporters from La-WT and La-arg- promastigotes and axenic amastigotes. We also showed the increased AAP3 levels under amino acid starvation or its decrease in L-arginine supplementation. The differential AAP3 expression was determined in the differentiation of promastigotes to amastigotes conditions, as well as the detection of AAP3 in the plasma membrane reflecting in the L-arginine uptake. Our data suggest that depending on the amino acid pool and arginase activity, Leishmania senses and could use an alternative route for the amino acid transport in response to stress signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliana Ide Aoki
- Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
- * E-mail: (JIA); (LMFW)
| | - Sandra Marcia Muxel
- Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Ricardo Andrade Zampieri
- Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Stephanie Maia Acuña
- Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | | | | | | | - Lucile Maria Floeter-Winter
- Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
- * E-mail: (JIA); (LMFW)
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41
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Expression of the RNA-binding protein RBP10 promotes the bloodstream-form differentiation state in Trypanosoma brucei. PLoS Pathog 2017; 13:e1006560. [PMID: 28800584 PMCID: PMC5568443 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1006560] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2017] [Revised: 08/23/2017] [Accepted: 07/29/2017] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
In nearly all eukaryotes, cellular differentiation is governed by changes in transcription, and stabilized by chromatin and DNA modification. Gene expression control in the pathogen Trypanosoma brucei, in contrast, relies almost exclusively on post-transcriptional mechanisms, so RNA binding proteins must assume the burden that is usually borne by transcription factors. T. brucei multiply in the blood of mammals as bloodstream forms, and in the midgut of Tsetse flies as procyclic forms. We show here that a single RNA-binding protein, RBP10, promotes the bloodstream-form trypanosome differentiation state. Depletion of RBP10 from bloodstream-form trypanosomes gives cells that can grow only as procyclic forms; conversely, expression of RBP10 in procyclic forms converts them to bloodstream forms. RBP10 binds to procyclic-specific mRNAs containing an UAUUUUUU motif, targeting them for translation repression and destruction. Products of RBP10 target mRNAs include not only the major procyclic surface protein and enzymes of energy metabolism, but also protein kinases and stage-specific RNA-binding proteins: this suggests that alterations in RBP10 trigger a regulatory cascade.
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42
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Balogun EO, Inaoka DK, Shiba T, Tokuoka SM, Tokumasu F, Sakamoto K, Kido Y, Michels PAM, Watanabe YI, Harada S, Kita K. Glycerol kinase of African trypanosomes possesses an intrinsic phosphatase activity. Biochim Biophys Acta Gen Subj 2017; 1861:2830-2842. [PMID: 28778484 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbagen.2017.07.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2017] [Revised: 07/28/2017] [Accepted: 07/29/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND In general, glycerol kinases (GKs) are transferases that catalyze phospho group transfer from ATP to glycerol, and the mechanism was suggested to be random bi-bi. The reverse reaction i.e. phospho transfer from glycerol 3-phosphate (G3P) to ADP is only physiologically feasible by the African trypanosome GK. In contrast to other GKs the mechanism of Trypanosoma brucei gambiense glycerol kinase (TbgGK) was shown to be in an ordered fashion, and proceeding via autophosphorylation. From the unique reaction mechanism of TbgGK, we envisaged its potential to possess phosphatase activity in addition to being a kinase. METHODS Our hypothesis was tested by spectrophotometric and LC-MS/MS analyses using paranitrophenyl phosphate (pNPP) and TbgGK's natural substrate, G3P respectively. Furthermore, protein X-ray crystallography and site-directed mutagenesis were performed to examine pNPP binding, catalytic residues, and the possible reaction mechanism. RESULTS In addition to its widely known and expected phosphotransferase (class II) activity, TbgGK can efficiently facilitate the hydrolytic cleavage of phosphoric anhydride bonds (a class III property). This phosphatase activity followed the classical Michaelis-Menten pattern and was competitively inhibited by ADP and G3P, suggesting a common catalytic site for both activities (phosphatase and kinase). The structure of the TGK-pNPP complex, and structure-guided mutagenesis implicated T276 to be important for the catalysis. Remarkably, we captured a crystallographic molecular snapshot of the phosphorylated T276 reaction intermediate. CONCLUSION We conclude that TbgGK has both kinase and phosphatase activities. GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE This is the first report on a bifunctional kinase/phosphatase enzyme among members of the sugar kinase family.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emmanuel Oluwadare Balogun
- Department of Biomedical Chemistry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan; Department of Biochemistry, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria 2222, Nigeria.
| | - Daniel Ken Inaoka
- Department of Biomedical Chemistry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan; School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nagasaki University 1-12-4, Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan
| | - Tomoo Shiba
- Department of Applied Biology, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8585, Japan
| | - Suzumi M Tokuoka
- Department of Lipidomics, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Hongo 7-3-1, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Fuyuki Tokumasu
- Department of Lipidomics, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Hongo 7-3-1, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kimitoshi Sakamoto
- Faculty of Agriculture and Life Science, Hirosaki University, Hirosaki 036-8561, Japan
| | - Yasutoshi Kido
- Department of Biomedical Chemistry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
| | - Paul A M Michels
- Centre for Immunity, Infection and Evolution and Centre for Translational and Chemical Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, King's Buildings, Charlotte Auerbach Road, Edinburgh EH9 3FL, UK
| | - Yoh-Ichi Watanabe
- Department of Biomedical Chemistry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
| | - Shigeharu Harada
- Department of Applied Biology, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8585, Japan
| | - Kiyoshi Kita
- Department of Biomedical Chemistry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan; School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nagasaki University 1-12-4, Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan.
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43
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Silvester E, McWilliam KR, Matthews KR. The Cytological Events and Molecular Control of Life Cycle Development of Trypanosoma brucei in the Mammalian Bloodstream. Pathogens 2017; 6:pathogens6030029. [PMID: 28657594 PMCID: PMC5617986 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens6030029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2017] [Revised: 06/21/2017] [Accepted: 06/22/2017] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
African trypanosomes cause devastating disease in sub-Saharan Africa in humans and livestock. The parasite lives extracellularly within the bloodstream of mammalian hosts and is transmitted by blood-feeding tsetse flies. In the blood, trypanosomes exhibit two developmental forms: the slender form and the stumpy form. The slender form proliferates in the bloodstream, establishes the parasite numbers and avoids host immunity through antigenic variation. The stumpy form, in contrast, is non-proliferative and is adapted for transmission. Here, we overview the features of slender and stumpy form parasites in terms of their cytological and molecular characteristics and discuss how these contribute to their distinct biological functions. Thereafter, we describe the technical developments that have enabled recent discoveries that uncover how the slender to stumpy transition is enacted in molecular terms. Finally, we highlight new understanding of how control of the balance between slender and stumpy form parasites interfaces with other components of the infection dynamic of trypanosomes in their mammalian hosts. This interplay between the host environment and the parasite’s developmental biology may expose new vulnerabilities to therapeutic attack or reveal where drug control may be thwarted by the biological complexity of the parasite’s lifestyle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleanor Silvester
- Institute for Immunology and Infection Research, Centre for Immunity, Infection and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, King's Buildings, University of Edinburgh, Charlotte Auerbach Road, Edinburgh EH9 3FL, UK.
| | - Kirsty R McWilliam
- Institute for Immunology and Infection Research, Centre for Immunity, Infection and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, King's Buildings, University of Edinburgh, Charlotte Auerbach Road, Edinburgh EH9 3FL, UK.
| | - Keith R Matthews
- Institute for Immunology and Infection Research, Centre for Immunity, Infection and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, King's Buildings, University of Edinburgh, Charlotte Auerbach Road, Edinburgh EH9 3FL, UK.
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44
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Ravinder R, Goyal N. Cloning, characterization and subcellular localization of Nuclear LIM interactor interacting factor gene from Leishmania donovani. Gene 2017; 611:1-8. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gene.2017.02.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2016] [Revised: 02/04/2017] [Accepted: 02/06/2017] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
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Zimmermann H, Subota I, Batram C, Kramer S, Janzen CJ, Jones NG, Engstler M. A quorum sensing-independent path to stumpy development in Trypanosoma brucei. PLoS Pathog 2017; 13:e1006324. [PMID: 28394929 PMCID: PMC5398725 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1006324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2016] [Revised: 04/20/2017] [Accepted: 03/29/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
For persistent infections of the mammalian host, African trypanosomes limit their population size by quorum sensing of the parasite-excreted stumpy induction factor (SIF), which induces development to the tsetse-infective stumpy stage. We found that besides this cell density-dependent mechanism, there exists a second path to the stumpy stage that is linked to antigenic variation, the main instrument of parasite virulence. The expression of a second variant surface glycoprotein (VSG) leads to transcriptional attenuation of the VSG expression site (ES) and immediate development to tsetse fly infective stumpy parasites. This path is independent of SIF and solely controlled by the transcriptional status of the ES. In pleomorphic trypanosomes varying degrees of ES-attenuation result in phenotypic plasticity. While full ES-attenuation causes irreversible stumpy development, milder attenuation may open a time window for rescuing an unsuccessful antigenic switch, a scenario that so far has not been considered as important for parasite survival.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henriette Zimmermann
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Ines Subota
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Christopher Batram
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Susanne Kramer
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Christian J. Janzen
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Nicola G. Jones
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Markus Engstler
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
- * E-mail:
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46
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Deb R, Nagotu S. Versatility of peroxisomes: An evolving concept. Tissue Cell 2017; 49:209-226. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tice.2017.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2017] [Revised: 03/05/2017] [Accepted: 03/06/2017] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
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47
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Allmann S, Bringaud F. Glycosomes: A comprehensive view of their metabolic roles in T. brucei. Int J Biochem Cell Biol 2017; 85:85-90. [PMID: 28179189 DOI: 10.1016/j.biocel.2017.01.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2016] [Revised: 01/27/2017] [Accepted: 01/29/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Peroxisomes are single-membrane cellular organelles, present in most eukaryotic cells and organisms from human to yeast, fulfilling essential metabolic functions in lipid metabolism, free radical detoxification, differentiation, development, morphogenesis, etc. Interestingly, the protozoan parasite species Trypanosoma contains peroxisome-like organelles named glycosomes, which lack hallmark peroxisomal pathways and enzymes, such as catalase. Glycosomes are the only peroxisome-like organelles containing most enzymatic steps of the glycolytic pathway as well as enzymes of pyrimidine biosynthesis, purine salvage and biosynthesis of nucleotide sugars. We present here an overview of the glycosomal metabolic peculiarities together with the current view of the raison d'être of this unique metabolic peroxisomal sequestration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Allmann
- Laboratoire de Microbiologie Fondamentale et Pathogénicité (MFP), Université de Bordeaux, CNRS UMR-5234, Bordeaux, France
| | - Frédéric Bringaud
- Laboratoire de Microbiologie Fondamentale et Pathogénicité (MFP), Université de Bordeaux, CNRS UMR-5234, Bordeaux, France.
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48
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Savage AF, Kolev NG, Franklin JB, Vigneron A, Aksoy S, Tschudi C. Transcriptome Profiling of Trypanosoma brucei Development in the Tsetse Fly Vector Glossina morsitans. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0168877. [PMID: 28002435 PMCID: PMC5176191 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0168877] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2016] [Accepted: 12/07/2016] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
African trypanosomes, the causative agents of sleeping sickness in humans and nagana in animals, have a complex digenetic life cycle between a mammalian host and an insect vector, the blood-feeding tsetse fly. Although the importance of the insect vector to transmit the disease was first realized over a century ago, many aspects of trypanosome development in tsetse have not progressed beyond a morphological analysis, mainly due to considerable challenges to obtain sufficient material for molecular studies. Here, we used high-throughput RNA-Sequencing (RNA-Seq) to profile Trypanosoma brucei transcript levels in three distinct tissues of the tsetse fly, namely the midgut, proventriculus and salivary glands. Consistent with current knowledge and providing a proof of principle, transcripts coding for procyclin isoforms and several components of the cytochrome oxidase complex were highly up-regulated in the midgut transcriptome, whereas transcripts encoding metacyclic VSGs (mVSGs) and the surface coat protein brucei alanine rich protein or BARP were extremely up-regulated in the salivary gland transcriptome. Gene ontology analysis also supported the up-regulation of biological processes such as DNA metabolism and DNA replication in the proventriculus transcriptome and major changes in signal transduction and cyclic nucleotide metabolism in the salivary gland transcriptome. Our data highlight a small repertoire of expressed mVSGs and potential signaling pathways involving receptor-type adenylate cyclases and members of a surface carboxylate transporter family, called PADs (Proteins Associated with Differentiation), to cope with the changing environment, as well as RNA-binding proteins as a possible global regulators of gene expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy F. Savage
- Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Nikolay G. Kolev
- Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Joseph B. Franklin
- Department of Cell Biology, School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Aurelien Vigneron
- Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Serap Aksoy
- Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- * E-mail: (SA); (CT)
| | - Christian Tschudi
- Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- * E-mail: (SA); (CT)
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Minia I, Merce C, Terrao M, Clayton C. Translation Regulation and RNA Granule Formation after Heat Shock of Procyclic Form Trypanosoma brucei: Many Heat-Induced mRNAs Are also Increased during Differentiation to Mammalian-Infective Forms. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2016; 10:e0004982. [PMID: 27606618 PMCID: PMC5015846 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0004982] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2016] [Accepted: 08/16/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
African trypanosome procyclic forms multiply in the midgut of tsetse flies, and are routinely cultured at 27°C. Heat shocks of 37°C and above result in general inhibition of translation, and severe heat shock (41°C) results in sequestration of mRNA in granules. The mRNAs that are bound by the zinc-finger protein ZC3H11, including those encoding refolding chaperones, escape heat-induced translation inhibition. At 27°C, ZC3H11 mRNA is predominantly present as an untranslated cytosolic messenger ribonucleoprotein particle, but after heat shocks of 37°C—41°C, the ZC3H11 mRNA moves into the polysomal fraction. To investigate the scope and specificities of heat-shock translational regulation and granule formation, we analysed the distributions of mRNAs on polysomes at 27°C and after 1 hour at 39°C, and the mRNA content of 41°C heat shock granules. We found that mRNAs that bind to ZC3H11 remained in polysomes at 39°C and were protected from sequestration in granules at 41°C. As previously seen for starvation stress granules, the mRNAs that encode ribosomal proteins were excluded from heat-shock granules. 70 mRNAs moved towards the polysomal fraction after the 39°C heat shock, and 260 increased in relative abundance. Surprisingly, many of these mRNAs are also increased when trypanosomes migrate to the tsetse salivary glands. It therefore seems possible that in the wild, temperature changes due to diurnal variations and periodic intake of warm blood might influence the efficiency with which procyclic forms develop into mammalian-infective forms. When trypanosomes are inside tsetse flies, they have to cope with temperature variations from below 20°C up to 37°C, due to diurnal variations and periodic intake of warm blood. In the laboratory, procyclic forms (the form that multiplies in the midgut), are routinely cultured at 27°C. When procyclic forms are heated to temperatures of 37°C and above, they decrease protein production, and at 41°C, mRNAs aggregate into granules. We show here that quite a large number of mRNAs are not included in granules and continue to be used for making proteins. Some of the proteins that continue to be made are needed in order to defend the cells against the effects of heat shock. Interestingly, however, a moderate heat shock stimulates expression of genes needed for the parasites to develop further into forms that can colonise the salivary glands. It thus seems possible that in the field, temperature variations might influence the efficiency with which of trypanosomes in tsetse flies become infective for mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor Minia
- Zentrum für Molekulare Biologie der Universität Heidelberg, DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Clementine Merce
- Zentrum für Molekulare Biologie der Universität Heidelberg, DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Monica Terrao
- Zentrum für Molekulare Biologie der Universität Heidelberg, DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Christine Clayton
- Zentrum für Molekulare Biologie der Universität Heidelberg, DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg, Germany
- * E-mail:
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50
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Environmental sensing by African trypanosomes. Curr Opin Microbiol 2016; 32:26-30. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2016.04.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2016] [Accepted: 04/12/2016] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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