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Abdullah SJ, Ali SA. Molecular Detection of a Pathogenic Entamoeba among Symptomatic Children in Eastern Kurdistan of Iraq. Pol J Microbiol 2024; 73:99-105. [PMID: 38437467 PMCID: PMC10911696 DOI: 10.33073/pjm-2024-010] [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: 09/25/2023] [Accepted: 01/27/2024] [Indexed: 03/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Entamoeba histolytica infects the large intestine of humans, causing a spectrum of clinical appearances ranging from asymptomatic colonization to severe intestinal and extra-intestinal disease. The parasite is identical microscopically to commensal nonpathogenic amoeba. To detect the pathogenic Entamoeba and estimate the precise prevalence of the parasite among the symptomatic pediatric population using molecular techniques. 323 fecal samples were collected from symptomatic children admitted to Sulaimani Pediatric Teaching Hospital, Sulaimaniyah Province, Iraq, from June to October 2021. A structured, validated questionnaire was prepared and used to report participants' gender, residency, and drinking water source. Then, stool samples were microscopically examined, and the positive samples were submitted to molecular analysis by amplifying the 18s rRNA gene using nested PCR to differentiate E. histolytica from other nonpathogenic Entamoeba. Finally, gene sequences were done to confirm the species. Microscopically, 58 positive samples represented Entamoeba species infection rate of 18% among symptomatic patients. However, only 18 samples were positive for E. histolytica based on molecular methods, which accounts for 31% of the positive by microscopy and 5.6% among the 323 symptomatic populations. NCBI, available in their database, gives the gene sequence and accession number. Patients' sociodemographic data and water sources were directly related to the infection rate. Classical microscopic examination provides a misleading profile about the prevalence of E. histolytica in an endemic region that might lead to unnecessary treatments and a lack of appropriate management for patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sham Jamil Abdullah
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Sulaimani, Sulaimaniyah, Iraq
| | - Shahnaz Abdulkader Ali
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Sulaimani, Sulaimaniyah, Iraq
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2
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Jeelani G, Balogun EO, Husain A, Nozaki T. Glycerol biosynthetic pathway plays an essential role in proliferation and antioxidative defense in the human enteric protozoan parasite Entamoeba histolytica. Sci Rep 2023; 13:14596. [PMID: 37669981 PMCID: PMC10480196 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-40670-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2023] [Accepted: 08/16/2023] [Indexed: 09/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Amebiasis is caused by the protozoan parasite Entamoeba histolytica. Treatment options other than metronidazole and its derivatives are few, and their low efficacy against asymptomatic cyst carriers, and experimental evidence of resistance in vitro justify the discovery/repurposing campaign for new drugs against amebiasis. Global metabolic responses to oxidative stress and cysteine deprivation by E. histolytica revealed glycerol metabolism may represent a rational target for drug development. In this study using 14C-labelled glucose, only 11% of the total glucose taken up by E. histolytica trophozoites is incorporated to lipids. To better understand the role of glycerol metabolism in this parasite, we focused on characterizing two important enzymes, glycerol kinase (GK) and glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (G3PDH). Recombinant GK was biochemically characterized in detail, while G3PDH was not due to failure of protein expression and purification. GK revealed novel characteristics and unprecedented kinetic properties in reverse reaction. Gene silencing revealed that GK is essential for optimum growth, whereas G3PDH is not. Gene silencing of G3PDH caused upregulated GK expression, while that of GK resulted in upregulation of antioxidant enzymes as shown by RNA-seq analysis. Although the precise molecular link between GK and the upregulation of antioxidant enzymes was not demonstrated, the observed increase in antioxidant enzyme expression upon GK gene silencing suggests a potential connection between GK and the cellular response to oxidative stress. Together, these results provide the first direct evidence of the biological importance and coordinated regulation of the glycerol metabolic pathways for proliferation and antioxidative defense in E. histolytica, justifying the exploitation of these enzymes as future drug targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ghulam Jeelani
- Department of Biomedical Chemistry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan
| | - 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, Nigeria
| | - Afzal Husain
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Life Sciences, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India
| | - Tomoyoshi Nozaki
- Department of Biomedical Chemistry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan.
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3
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Morán P, Serrano-Vázquez A, Rojas-Velázquez L, González E, Pérez-Juárez H, Hernández EG, Padilla MDLA, Zaragoza ME, Portillo-Bobadilla T, Ramiro M, Ximénez C. Amoebiasis: Advances in Diagnosis, Treatment, Immunology Features and the Interaction with the Intestinal Ecosystem. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:11755. [PMID: 37511519 PMCID: PMC10380210 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241411755] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2023] [Revised: 07/12/2023] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
This review of human amoebiasis is based on the most current knowledge of pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment, and Entamoeba/microbiota interactions. The most relevant findings during this last decade about the Entamoeba parasite and the disease are related to the possibility of culturing trophozoites of different isolates from infected individuals that allowed the characterization of the multiple pathogenic mechanisms of the parasite and the understanding of the host-parasite relationship in the human. Second, the considerable advances in molecular biology and genetics help us to analyze the genome of Entamoeba, their genetic diversity, and the association of specific genotypes with the different amoebic forms of human amoebiasis. Based on this knowledge, culture and/or molecular diagnostic strategies are now available to determine the Entamoeba species and genotype responsible for invasive intestinal or extraintestinal amoebiasis cases. Likewise, the extensive knowledge of the immune response in amoebiasis with the appearance of new technologies made it possible to design diagnostic tools now available worldwide. Finally, the understanding of the interaction between the Entamoeba species and the intestinal microbiota aids the understanding of the ecology of this parasite in the human environment. These relevant findings will be discussed in this review.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia Morán
- Laboratorio de Inmunología, Unidad de Investigación en Medicina Experimental, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Ciudad de México 06726, Mexico
| | - Angélica Serrano-Vázquez
- Laboratorio de Inmunología, Unidad de Investigación en Medicina Experimental, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Ciudad de México 06726, Mexico
| | - Liliana Rojas-Velázquez
- Laboratorio de Inmunología, Unidad de Investigación en Medicina Experimental, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Ciudad de México 06726, Mexico
| | - Enrique González
- Laboratorio de Inmunología, Unidad de Investigación en Medicina Experimental, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Ciudad de México 06726, Mexico
| | - Horacio Pérez-Juárez
- Laboratorio de Inmunología, Unidad de Investigación en Medicina Experimental, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Ciudad de México 06726, Mexico
| | - Eric G Hernández
- Laboratorio de Inmunología, Unidad de Investigación en Medicina Experimental, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Ciudad de México 06726, Mexico
| | - Maria de Los Angeles Padilla
- Laboratorio de Inmunología, Unidad de Investigación en Medicina Experimental, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Ciudad de México 06726, Mexico
| | - Martha E Zaragoza
- Laboratorio de Inmunología, Unidad de Investigación en Medicina Experimental, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Ciudad de México 06726, Mexico
| | - Tobías Portillo-Bobadilla
- Unidad de Bioinformática, Bioestadística y Biología Computacional, Red de Apoyo a la Investigación, Coordinación de la Investigación Científica, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)-Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Ciudad de México 14080, Mexico
| | - Manuel Ramiro
- División de Estudios de Posgrado, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Ciudad de México 04510, Mexico
| | - Cecilia Ximénez
- Laboratorio de Inmunología, Unidad de Investigación en Medicina Experimental, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Ciudad de México 06726, Mexico
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4
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Bhattacharya S. Episomal and chromosomal DNA replication and recombination in Entamoeba histolytica. Front Mol Biosci 2023; 10:1212082. [PMID: 37363402 PMCID: PMC10285105 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2023.1212082] [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: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 05/26/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Entamoeba histolytica is the causative agent of amoebiasis. DNA replication studies in E. histolytica first started with the ribosomal RNA genes located on episomal circles. Unlike most plasmids, Entamoeba histolytica rDNA circles lacked a fixed origin. Replication initiated from multiple sites on the episome, and these were preferentially used under different growth conditions. In synchronized cells the early origins mapped within the rDNA transcription unit, while at later times an origin in the promoter-proximal upstream intergenic spacer was activated. This is reminiscent of eukaryotic chromosomal replication where multiple potential origins are used. Biochemical studies on replication and recombination proteins in Entamoeba histolytica picked up momentum once the genome sequence was available. Sequence search revealed homologs of DNA replication and recombination proteins, including meiotic genes. The replicative DNA polymerases identified included the α, δ, ε of polymerase family B; lesion repair polymerases Rev1 and Rev3; a translesion repair polymerase of family A, and five families of polymerases related to family B2. Biochemical analysis of EhDNApolA confirmed its polymerase activity with expected kinetic constants. It could perform strand displacement, and translesion synthesis. The purified EhDNApolB2 had polymerase and exonuclease activities, and could efficiently bypass some types of DNA lesions. The single DNA ligase (EhDNAligI) was similar to eukaryotic DNA ligase I. It was a high-fidelity DNA ligase, likely involved in both replication and repair. Its interaction with EhPCNA was also demonstrated. The recombination-related proteins biochemically characterized were EhRad51 and EhDmc1. Both shared the canonical properties of a recombinase and could catalyse strand exchange over long DNA stretches. Presence of Dmc1 indicates the likelihood of meiosis in this parasite. Direct evidence of recombination in Entamoeba histolytica was provided by use of inverted repeat sequences located on plasmids or chromosomes. In response to a variety of stress conditions, and during encystation in Entamoeba invadens, recombination-related genes were upregulated and homologous recombination was enhanced. These data suggest that homologous recombination could have critical roles in trophozoite growth and stage conversion. Availability of biochemically characterized replication and recombination proteins is an important resource for exploration of novel anti-amoebic drug targets.
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Yanagawa Y, Singh U. Diversity and Plasticity of Virulent Characteristics of Entamoeba histolytica. Trop Med Infect Dis 2023; 8:tropicalmed8050255. [PMID: 37235303 DOI: 10.3390/tropicalmed8050255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2023] [Revised: 04/27/2023] [Accepted: 04/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The complexity of clinical syndromes of amebiasis, caused by the parasite Entamoeba histolytica, stems from the intricate interplay between the host immune system, the virulence of the invading parasite, and the surrounding environment. Although there is still a relative paucity of information about the precise relationship between virulence factors and the pathogenesis of Entamoeba histolytica, by accumulating data from clinical and basic research, researchers have identified essential pathogenic factors that play a critical role in the pathogenesis of amebiasis, providing important insights into disease development through animal models. Moreover, the parasite's genetic variability has been associated with differences in virulence and disease outcomes, making it important to fully understand the epidemiology and pathogenesis of amebiasis. Deciphering the true mechanism of disease progression in humans caused by this parasite is made more difficult through its ability to demonstrate both genomic and pathological plasticity. The objective of this article is to underscore the heterogeneous nature of disease states and the malleable virulence characteristics in experimental models, while also identifying persistent scientific issues that need to be addressed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yasuaki Yanagawa
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Upinder Singh
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
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6
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Galán-Vásquez E, Gómez-García MDC, Pérez-Rueda E. A landscape of gene regulation in the parasitic amoebozoa Entamoeba spp. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0271640. [PMID: 35913975 PMCID: PMC9342746 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0271640] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2022] [Accepted: 07/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Entamoeba are amoeboid extracellular parasites that represent an important group of organisms for which the regulatory networks must be examined to better understand how genes and functional processes are interrelated. In this work, we inferred the gene regulatory networks (GRNs) in four Entamoeba species, E. histolytica, E. dispar, E. nuttalli, and E. invadens, and the GRN topological properties and the corresponding biological functions were evaluated. From these analyses, we determined that transcription factors (TFs) of E. histolytica, E. dispar, and E. nuttalli are associated mainly with the LIM family, while the TFs in E. invadens are associated with the RRM_1 family. In addition, we identified that EHI_044890 regulates 121 genes in E. histolytica, EDI_297980 regulates 284 genes in E. dispar, ENU1_120230 regulates 195 genes in E. nuttalli, and EIN_249270 regulates 257 genes in E. invadens. Finally, we identified that three types of processes, Macromolecule metabolic process, Cellular macromolecule metabolic process, and Cellular nitrogen compound metabolic process, are the main biological processes for each network. The results described in this work can be used as a basis for the study of gene regulation in these organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edgardo Galán-Vásquez
- Departamento de Ingeniería de Sistemas Computacionales y Automatización, Instituto de Investigaciones en Matemáticas Aplicadas y en Sistemas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Ciudad de México, México
- * E-mail: (EG-V); (EP-R)
| | - María del Consuelo Gómez-García
- Laboratorio de Biomedicina Molecular, Escuela Nacional de Medicina y Homeopatía, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Ciudad de México, México
| | - Ernesto Pérez-Rueda
- Unidad Académica Yucatán, Instituto de Investigaciones en Matemáticas Aplicadas y en Sistemas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mérida, Yucatán, México
- * E-mail: (EG-V); (EP-R)
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7
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RNA Sequencing Reveals Widespread Transcription of Natural Antisense RNAs in Entamoeba Species. Microorganisms 2022; 10:microorganisms10020396. [PMID: 35208849 PMCID: PMC8874941 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms10020396] [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: 12/07/2021] [Revised: 01/26/2022] [Accepted: 02/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Entamoeba is a genus of Amoebozoa that includes the intestine-colonizing pathogenic species Entamoeba histolytica. To understand the basis of gene regulation in E. histolytica from an evolutionary perspective, we have profiled the transcriptomes of its closely related species E. dispar, E. moshkovskii and E. invadens. Genome-wide identification of transcription start sites (TSS) and polyadenylation sites (PAS) revealed the similarities and differences of their gene regulatory sequences. In particular, we found the widespread initiation of antisense transcription from within the gene coding sequences is a common feature among all Entamoeba species. Interestingly, we observed the enrichment of antisense transcription in genes involved in several processes that are common to species infecting the human intestine, e.g., the metabolism of phospholipids. These results suggest a potentially conserved and compact gene regulatory system in Entamoeba.
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8
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Abstract
Entamoeba histolytica is a parasitic protozoan and the causative agent of amoebiasis in humans. Amoebiasis has a high incidence of disease, resulting in ∼67,900 deaths per year, and it poses a tremendous burden of morbidity and mortality in children. Despite its importance, E. histolytica is an understudied parasite. These protocols describe the in vitro growth, maintenance, cryopreservation, genetic manipulation, and cloning of axenic E. histolytica trophozoites. There has been significant progress in genetic manipulation of this organism over the past decade, and these protocols outline the ways in which these advances can be implemented. © 2022 Wiley Periodicals LLC. Basic Protocol 1: Culturing E. histolytica trophozoites Support Protocol 1: Preparation of TYI-S-33 medium Support Protocol 2: Lot testing of Biosate peptone and adult bovine serum for TYI-S-33 medium Basic Protocol 2: Cryopreservation of E. histolytica trophozoites Support Protocol 3: Preparation of cryoprotectant solutions Basic Protocol 3: Transfection of E. histolytica trophozoites with Attractene reagent Basic Protocol 4: Creating clonal lines using limiting dilution Basic Protocol 5: Knockdown of one to two genes with trigger-induced RNA interference Support Protocol 4: Evaluation of RNA interference knockdown with reverse transcriptase PCR Basic Protocol 6: E. histolytica growth curves.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rene L. Suleiman
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Davis, USA
| | - Katherine S. Ralston
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Davis, USA
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9
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Porfírio-Sousa AL, Tice AK, Brown MW, J. G. Lahr D. Phylogenetic reconstruction and evolution of the Rab GTPase gene family in Amoebozoa. Small GTPases 2022; 13:100-113. [PMID: 33779495 PMCID: PMC9707542 DOI: 10.1080/21541248.2021.1903794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Rab GTPase is a paralog-rich gene family that controls the maintenance of the eukaryotic cell compartmentalization system. Diverse eukaryotes have varying numbers of Rab paralogs. Currently, little is known about the evolutionary pattern of Rab GTPase in most major eukaryotic 'supergroups'. Here, we present a comprehensive phylogenetic reconstruction of the Rab GTPase gene family in the eukaryotic 'supergroup' Amoebozoa, a diverse lineage represented by unicellular and multicellular organisms. We demonstrate that Amoebozoa conserved 20 of the 23 ancestral Rab GTPases predicted to be present in the last eukaryotic common ancestor and massively expanded several 'novel' in-paralogs. Due to these 'novel' in-paralogs, the Rab family composition dramatically varies between the members of Amoebozoa; as a consequence, 'supergroup'-based studies may significantly change our current understanding of the evolution and diversity of this gene family. The high diversity of the Rab GTPase gene family in Amoebozoa makes this 'supergroup' a key lineage to study and advance our knowledge of the evolution of Rab in Eukaryotes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alexander K. Tice
- Department of Biological Sciences, Mississippi State University, Starkville, Mississippi, USA,Institute for Genomics, Biocomputing and Biotechnology, Mississippi State University, Starkville, Mississippi, USA
| | - Matthew W. Brown
- Department of Biological Sciences, Mississippi State University, Starkville, Mississippi, USA,Institute for Genomics, Biocomputing and Biotechnology, Mississippi State University, Starkville, Mississippi, USA,Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Daniel J. G. Lahr
- Department of Zoology, Institute of Biosciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil,CONTACT Daniel J. G. Lahr Department of Zoology, Institute of Biosciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
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Silveira GO, Coelho HS, Amaral MS, Verjovski-Almeida S. Long non-coding RNAs as possible therapeutic targets in protozoa, and in Schistosoma and other helminths. Parasitol Res 2021; 121:1091-1115. [PMID: 34859292 DOI: 10.1007/s00436-021-07384-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2021] [Accepted: 11/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) emerged in the past 20 years due to massive amounts of scientific data regarding transcriptomic analyses. They have been implicated in a plethora of cellular processes in higher eukaryotes. However, little is known about lncRNA possible involvement in parasitic diseases, with most studies only detecting their presence in parasites of human medical importance. Here, we review the progress on lncRNA studies and their functions in protozoans and helminths. In addition, we show an example of knockdown of one lncRNA in Schistosoma mansoni, SmLINC156349, which led to in vitro parasite adhesion, motility, and pairing impairment, with a 20% decrease in parasite viability and 33% reduction in female oviposition. Other observed phenotypes were a decrease in the proliferation rate of both male and female worms and their gonads, and reduced female lipid and vitelline droplets that are markers for well-developed vitellaria. Impairment of female worms' vitellaria in SmLINC156349-silenced worms led to egg development deficiency. All those results demonstrate the great potential of the tools and methods to characterize lncRNAs as potential new therapeutic targets. Further, we discuss the challenges and limitations of current methods for studying lncRNAs in parasites and possible solutions to overcome them, and we highlight the future directions of this exciting field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gilbert O Silveira
- Laboratório de Parasitologia, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, SP, 05503-900, Brazil.,Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Química, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, 05508-900, Brazil
| | - Helena S Coelho
- Laboratório de Parasitologia, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, SP, 05503-900, Brazil
| | - Murilo S Amaral
- Laboratório de Parasitologia, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, SP, 05503-900, Brazil.
| | - Sergio Verjovski-Almeida
- Laboratório de Parasitologia, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, SP, 05503-900, Brazil. .,Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Química, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, 05508-900, Brazil.
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11
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Bettadapur A, Hunter SS, Suleiman RL, Ruyechan MC, Huang W, Barbieri CG, Miller HW, Tam TSY, Settles ML, Ralston KS. Establishment of quantitative RNAi-based forward genetics in Entamoeba histolytica and identification of genes required for growth. PLoS Pathog 2021; 17:e1010088. [PMID: 34843592 PMCID: PMC8716031 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010088] [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: 08/24/2021] [Revised: 12/29/2021] [Accepted: 11/03/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
While Entamoeba histolytica remains a globally important pathogen, it is dramatically understudied. The tractability of E. histolytica has historically been limited, which is largely due to challenging features of its genome. To enable forward genetics, we constructed and validated the first genome-wide E. histolytica RNAi knockdown mutant library. This library allows for Illumina deep sequencing analysis for quantitative identification of mutants that are enriched or depleted after selection. We developed a novel analysis pipeline to precisely define and quantify gene fragments. We used the library to perform the first RNAi screen in E. histolytica and identified slow growth (SG) mutants. Among genes targeted in SG mutants, many had annotated functions consistent with roles in cellular growth or metabolic pathways. Some targeted genes were annotated as hypothetical or lacked annotated domains, supporting the power of forward genetics in uncovering functional information that cannot be gleaned from databases. While the localization of neither of the proteins targeted in SG1 nor SG2 mutants could be predicted by sequence analysis, we showed experimentally that SG1 localized to the cytoplasm and cell surface, while SG2 localized to the cytoplasm. Overexpression of SG1 led to increased growth, while expression of a truncation mutant did not lead to increased growth, and thus aided in defining functional domains in this protein. Finally, in addition to establishing forward genetics, we uncovered new details of the unusual E. histolytica RNAi pathway. These studies dramatically improve the tractability of E. histolytica and open up the possibility of applying genetics to improve understanding of this important pathogen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akhila Bettadapur
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America
| | - Samuel S. Hunter
- Genome Center, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America
| | - Rene L. Suleiman
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America
| | - Maura C. Ruyechan
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America
| | - Wesley Huang
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America
| | | | - Hannah W. Miller
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America
| | - Tammie S. Y. Tam
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America
| | - Matthew L. Settles
- Genome Center, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America
| | - Katherine S. Ralston
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America
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12
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Liu S, Huckaby AC, Brown AC, Moore CC, Burbulis I, McConnell MJ, Güler JL. Single-cell sequencing of the small and AT-skewed genome of malaria parasites. Genome Med 2021; 13:75. [PMID: 33947449 PMCID: PMC8094492 DOI: 10.1186/s13073-021-00889-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2020] [Accepted: 04/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Single-cell genomics is a rapidly advancing field; however, most techniques are designed for mammalian cells. We present a single-cell sequencing pipeline for an intracellular parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, with a small genome of extreme base content. Through optimization of a quasi-linear amplification method, we target the parasite genome over contaminants and generate coverage levels allowing detection of minor genetic variants. This work, as well as efforts that build on these findings, will enable detection of parasite heterogeneity contributing to P. falciparum adaptation. Furthermore, this study provides a framework for optimizing single-cell amplification and variant analysis in challenging genomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shiwei Liu
- Department of Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Adam C Huckaby
- Department of Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Audrey C Brown
- Department of Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Christopher C Moore
- Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Ian Burbulis
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA, USA
- Escuela de Medicina, Universidad San Sebastian, Puerto Montt, Chile
| | - Michael J McConnell
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA, USA
- Current address: Lieber Institute for Brain Development, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Jennifer L Güler
- Department of Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
- Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
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Mornico D, Hon CC, Koutero M, Weber C, Coppee JY, Dillies MA, Guillen N. Genomic determinants for initiation and length of natural antisense transcripts in Entamoeba histolytica. Sci Rep 2020; 10:20190. [PMID: 33214622 PMCID: PMC7677554 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-77010-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2020] [Accepted: 11/02/2020] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Natural antisense transcripts (NAT) have been reported in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. While the functions of most reported NATs remain unknown, their potentials in regulating the transcription of their counterparts have been speculated. Entamoeba histolytica, which is a unicellular eukaryotic parasite, has a compact protein-coding genome with very short intronic and intergenic regions. The regulatory mechanisms of gene expression in this compact genome are under-described. In this study, by genome-wide mapping of RNA-Seq data in the genome of E. histolytica, we show that a substantial fraction of its protein-coding genes (28%) has significant transcription on their opposite strand (i.e. NAT). Intriguingly, we found the location of transcription start sites or polyadenylation sites of NAT are determined by the specific motifs encoded on the opposite strand of the gene coding sequences, thereby providing a compact regulatory system for gene transcription. Moreover, we demonstrated that NATs are globally up-regulated under various environmental conditions including temperature stress and pathogenicity. While NATs do not appear to be consequences of spurious transcription, they may play a role in regulating gene expression in E. histolytica, a hypothesis which needs to be tested.
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Affiliation(s)
- Damien Mornico
- Hub de Bioinformatique et Biostatistique - Département Biologie Computationnelle, CNRS USR 3756, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
| | - Chung-Chau Hon
- Unité Biologie Cellulaire du Parasitisme, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.,Institut National de La Santé Et de La Recherche Médicale, INSERM U786, Paris, France.,Laboratory for Genome Information Analysis, RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, 1-7-22 Suehiro-cho. Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama, 230-0045, Japan
| | - Mikael Koutero
- Plate-forme Transcriptome et Epigénome, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
| | - Christian Weber
- Unité Biologie Cellulaire du Parasitisme, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.,Institut National de La Santé Et de La Recherche Médicale, INSERM U786, Paris, France
| | - Jean-Yves Coppee
- Plate-forme Transcriptome et Epigénome, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
| | - Marie-Agnes Dillies
- Hub de Bioinformatique et Biostatistique - Département Biologie Computationnelle, CNRS USR 3756, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
| | - Nancy Guillen
- Unité Biologie Cellulaire du Parasitisme, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France. .,Institut National de La Santé Et de La Recherche Médicale, INSERM U786, Paris, France. .,Centre National de La Recherche Scientifique, CNRS ERL9195, Paris, France.
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14
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Marchat LA, Hernández-de la Cruz ON, Ramírez-Moreno E, Silva-Cázares MB, López-Camarillo C. Proteomics approaches to understand cell biology and virulence of Entamoeba histolytica protozoan parasite. J Proteomics 2020; 226:103897. [PMID: 32652218 DOI: 10.1016/j.jprot.2020.103897] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2020] [Revised: 06/09/2020] [Accepted: 07/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Entamoeba histolytica is the primitive eukaryotic parasite responsible of human amoebiasis, a disease characterized by bloody intestinal diarrhea and invasive extraintestinal illness. The knowledge of the complete genome sequence of virulent E. histolytica and related non-pathogenic species allowed the development of novel genome-wide methodological approaches including protein expression profiling and cellular proteomics in the so called post-genomic era. Proteomics studies have greatly increased our understanding of the cell biology of this ancient parasite. This review summarizes the current works concerning proteomics studies on cell biology, life cycle, virulence and pathogenesis, novel therapies, and protein expression regulation mechanisms in E. histolytica parasite. Also, we discuss the use of proteomics data for the development of novel therapies, the identification of potential disease biomarkers and differential diagnosis between species. SIGNIFICANCE: Entamoeba histolytica is the unicellular protozoan parasite responsible of human amoebiasis, a serious disease with worldwide distribution characterized by bloody intestinal diarrhea and invasive extraintestinal illness including peritonitis and liver, pulmonary and brain abscesses. The post-genomic era allowed the development of proteomic studies including protein expression profiling and cellular proteomics. These proteomics studies have greatly increased our understanding on cell biology, life cycle (cyst-trophozoite conversion), virulence, pathogenesis, novel therapies, and protein expression regulation mechanisms in E. histolytica. Importantly, proteomics has revealed the identity of proteins related to novel therapies, and the identification of potential disease biomarkers and proteins with use in diagnosis between species. Hopefully in the coming years, and through the use of more sophisticated omics tools, including deep proteomics, a more complete set of proteins involved in the aforementioned cellular processes can be obtained to understand the biology of this ancient eukaryote.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurence A Marchat
- Programa en Biomedicina Molecular y Red de Biotecnología, ENMH-Instituto Politécnico Nacional, CDMX, México.
| | | | - Esther Ramírez-Moreno
- Programa en Biomedicina Molecular y Red de Biotecnología, ENMH-Instituto Politécnico Nacional, CDMX, México
| | - Macrina B Silva-Cázares
- Doctorado Institucional en Ingeniería y Ciencias de Materiales, Coordinación Académica Región Altiplano, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, México
| | - César López-Camarillo
- Posgrado en Ciencias Genómicas, Universidad Autónoma de la Ciudad de México, CDMX, México.
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15
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The Absence of C-5 DNA Methylation in Leishmania donovani Allows DNA Enrichment from Complex Samples. Microorganisms 2020; 8:microorganisms8081252. [PMID: 32824654 PMCID: PMC7463849 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms8081252] [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: 07/11/2020] [Revised: 08/12/2020] [Accepted: 08/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Cytosine C5 methylation is an important epigenetic control mechanism in a wide array of eukaryotic organisms and generally carried out by proteins of the C-5 DNA methyltransferase family (DNMTs). In several protozoans, the status of this mechanism remains elusive, such as in Leishmania, the causative agent of the disease leishmaniasis in humans and a wide array of vertebrate animals. In this work, we showed that the Leishmania donovani genome contains a C-5 DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) from the DNMT6 subfamily, whose function is still unclear, and verified its expression at the RNA level. We created viable overexpressor and knock-out lines of this enzyme and characterized their genome-wide methylation patterns using whole-genome bisulfite sequencing, together with promastigote and amastigote control lines. Interestingly, despite the DNMT6 presence, we found that methylation levels were equal to or lower than 0.0003% at CpG sites, 0.0005% at CHG sites, and 0.0126% at CHH sites at the genomic scale. As none of the methylated sites were retained after manual verification, we conclude that there is no evidence for DNA methylation in this species. We demonstrated that this difference in DNA methylation between the parasite (no detectable DNA methylation) and the vertebrate host (DNA methylation) allowed enrichment of parasite vs. host DNA using methyl-CpG-binding domain columns, readily available in commercial kits. As such, we depleted methylated DNA from mixes of Leishmania promastigote and amastigote DNA with human DNA, resulting in average Leishmania:human enrichments from 62× up to 263×. These results open a promising avenue for unmethylated DNA enrichment as a pre-enrichment step before sequencing Leishmania clinical samples.
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16
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Hasni I, Andréani J, Colson P, La Scola B. Description of Virulent Factors and Horizontal Gene Transfers of Keratitis-Associated Amoeba Acanthamoeba Triangularis by Genome Analysis. Pathogens 2020; 9:pathogens9030217. [PMID: 32188120 PMCID: PMC7157575 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens9030217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2020] [Revised: 03/10/2020] [Accepted: 03/13/2020] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Acanthamoeba triangularis strain SH 621 is a free-living amoeba belonging to Acanthamoeba ribo-genotype T4. This ubiquitous protist is among the free-living amoebas responsible for Acanthamoeba keratitis, a severe infection of human cornea. Genome sequencing and genomic comparison were carried out to explore the biological functions and to better understand the virulence mechanism related to the pathogenicity of Acanthamoeba keratitis. The genome assembly harbored a length of 66.43 Mb encompassing 13,849 scaffolds. The analysis of predicted proteins reported the presence of 37,062 ORFs. A complete annotation revealed 33,168 and 16,605 genes that matched with NCBI non-redundant protein sequence (nr) and Cluster of Orthologous Group of proteins (COG) databases, respectively. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes Pathway (KEGG) annotation reported a great number of genes related to carbohydrate, amino acid and lipid metabolic pathways. The pangenome performed with 8 available amoeba genomes belonging to genus Acanthamoeba revealed a core genome containing 843 clusters of orthologous genes with a ratio core genome/pangenome of less than 0.02. We detected 48 genes related to virulent factors of Acanthamoeba keratitis. Best hit analyses in nr database identified 99 homologous genes shared with amoeba-resisting microorganisms. This study allows the deciphering the genome of a free-living amoeba with medical interest and provides genomic data to better understand virulence-related Acanthamoeba keratitis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Issam Hasni
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement IRD 198, Aix-Marseille Université UM63, Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Marseille (AP-HM), Microbes, Evolution, Phylogeny and Infection (MEΦI), Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire (IHU) - Méditerranée Infection, 13005 Marseille, France; (I.H.); (J.A.); (P.C.)
- R&D Department, Amoéba, 38 Avenue des Frères Montgolfier, 69680 Chassieu, France
| | - Julien Andréani
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement IRD 198, Aix-Marseille Université UM63, Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Marseille (AP-HM), Microbes, Evolution, Phylogeny and Infection (MEΦI), Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire (IHU) - Méditerranée Infection, 13005 Marseille, France; (I.H.); (J.A.); (P.C.)
| | - Philippe Colson
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement IRD 198, Aix-Marseille Université UM63, Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Marseille (AP-HM), Microbes, Evolution, Phylogeny and Infection (MEΦI), Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire (IHU) - Méditerranée Infection, 13005 Marseille, France; (I.H.); (J.A.); (P.C.)
| | - Bernard La Scola
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement IRD 198, Aix-Marseille Université UM63, Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Marseille (AP-HM), Microbes, Evolution, Phylogeny and Infection (MEΦI), Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire (IHU) - Méditerranée Infection, 13005 Marseille, France; (I.H.); (J.A.); (P.C.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +33-4-13-73-24-01; Fax: +33-4-13-73-24-02
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17
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Ospina-Villa JD, Tovar-Ayona BJ, López-Camarillo C, Soto-Sánchez J, Ramírez-Moreno E, Castañón-Sánchez CA, Marchat LA. mRNA Polyadenylation Machineries in Intestinal Protozoan Parasites. J Eukaryot Microbiol 2020; 67:306-320. [PMID: 31898347 DOI: 10.1111/jeu.12781] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2019] [Revised: 12/16/2019] [Accepted: 12/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
In humans, mRNA polyadenylation involves the participation of about 20 factors in four main complexes that recognize specific RNA sequences. Notably, CFIm25, CPSF73, and PAP have essential roles for poly(A) site selection, mRNA cleavage, and adenosine residues polymerization. Besides the relevance of polyadenylation for gene expression, information is scarce in intestinal protozoan parasites that threaten human health. To better understand polyadenylation in Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia lamblia, and Cryptosporidium parvum, which represent leading causes of diarrhea worldwide, genomes were screened for orthologs of human factors. Results showed that Entamoeba histolytica and C. parvum have 16 and 12 proteins out of the 19 human proteins used as queries, respectively, while G. lamblia seems to have the smallest polyadenylation machinery with only six factors. Remarkably, CPSF30, CPSF73, CstF77, PABP2, and PAP, which were found in all parasites, could represent the core polyadenylation machinery. Multiple genes were detected for several proteins in Entamoeba, while gene redundancy is lower in Giardia and Cryptosporidium. Congruently with their relevance in the polyadenylation process, CPSF73 and PAP are present in all parasites, and CFIm25 is only missing in Giardia. They conserve the functional domains and predicted folding of human proteins, suggesting they may have the same roles in polyadenylation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan David Ospina-Villa
- Independent Researcher, Transversal 27A Sur # 42-14, C.P. 055421, Envigado, Antioquia, Colombia
| | - Brisna Joana Tovar-Ayona
- Posgrados en Biomedicina Molecular y en Biotecnología, ENMH, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Av. Guillermo Massieu Helguera 239, Col. La Escalera, Gustavo A. Madero, C.P. 07320, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - César López-Camarillo
- Posgrado en Ciencias Genómicas, Universidad Autónoma de la Ciudad de México, San Lorenzo 290, Col. del Valle Sur, Benito Juárez, C.P. 03100, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Jacqueline Soto-Sánchez
- Posgrados en Biomedicina Molecular y en Biotecnología, ENMH, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Av. Guillermo Massieu Helguera 239, Col. La Escalera, Gustavo A. Madero, C.P. 07320, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Esther Ramírez-Moreno
- Posgrados en Biomedicina Molecular y en Biotecnología, ENMH, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Av. Guillermo Massieu Helguera 239, Col. La Escalera, Gustavo A. Madero, C.P. 07320, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Carlos A Castañón-Sánchez
- Hospital Regional de Alta Especialidad de Oaxaca, Aldama s/n, Col. Centro, C.P. 71256 San Bartolo Coyotepec, Oaxaca, Mexico
| | - Laurence A Marchat
- Posgrados en Biomedicina Molecular y en Biotecnología, ENMH, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Av. Guillermo Massieu Helguera 239, Col. La Escalera, Gustavo A. Madero, C.P. 07320, Ciudad de México, Mexico
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18
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Whole genome sequencing of Entamoeba nuttalli reveals mammalian host-related molecular signatures and a novel octapeptide-repeat surface protein. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2019; 13:e0007923. [PMID: 31805050 PMCID: PMC6917348 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0007923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2019] [Revised: 12/17/2019] [Accepted: 11/12/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The enteric protozoa Entamoeba histolytica is the causative agent of amebiasis, which is one of the most common parasitic diseases in developed and developing countries. Entamoeba nuttalli is the genetically closest species to E. histolytica in current phylogenetic analyses of Entamoeba species, and is prevalent in wild macaques. Therefore, E. nuttalli may be a key organism in which to investigate molecules required for infection of human or non-human primates. To explore the molecular signatures of host-parasite interactions, we conducted de novo assembly of the E. nuttalli genome, utilizing self-correction of PacBio long reads and polishing corrected reads using Illumina short reads, followed by comparative genomic analysis with two other mammalian and a reptilian Entamoeba species. The final draft assembly of E. nuttalli included 395 contigs with a total length of approximately 23 Mb, and 9,647 predicted genes, of which 6,940 were conserved with E. histolytica. In addition, we found an E. histolytica-specific repeat known as ERE2 in the E. nuttalli genome. GO-term enrichment analysis of mammalian host-related molecules indicated diversification of transmembrane proteins, including AIG1 family and BspA-like proteins that may be involved in the host-parasite interaction. Furthermore, we identified an E. nuttalli-specific protein that contained 42 repeats of an octapeptide ([G,E]KPTDTPS). This protein was shown to be localized on the cell surface using immunofluorescence. Since many repeat-containing proteins in parasites play important roles in interactions with host cells, this unique octapeptide repeat-containing protein may be involved in colonization of E. nuttalli in the intestine of macaques. Overall, our draft assembly provides a valuable resource for studying Entamoeba evolution and host-parasite selection.
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Hasni I, Chelkha N, Baptiste E, Mameri MR, Lachuer J, Plasson F, Colson P, La Scola B. Investigation of potential pathogenicity of Willaertia magna by investigating the transfer of bacteria pathogenicity genes into its genome. Sci Rep 2019; 9:18318. [PMID: 31797948 PMCID: PMC6892926 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-54580-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2019] [Accepted: 11/10/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Willaertia magna c2c maky is a thermophilic amoeba closely related to the genus Naegleria. This free-living amoeba has the ability to eliminate Legionella pneumophila, which is an amoeba-resisting bacterium living in an aquatic environment. To prevent the proliferation of L. pneumophila in cooling towers, the use of W. magna as natural biocide has been proposed. To provide a better understanding of the W. magna genome, whole-genome sequencing was performed through the study of virulence factors and lateral gene transfers. This amoeba harbors a genome of 36.5 megabases with 18,519 predicted genes. BLASTp analyses reported protein homology between 136 W. magna sequences and amoeba-resistant microorganisms. Horizontal gene transfers were observed based on the basis of the phylogenetic reconstruction hypothesis. We detected 15 homologs of N. fowleri genes related to virulence, although these latter were also found in the genome of N. gruberi, which is a non-pathogenic amoeba. Furthermore, the cytotoxicity test performed on human cells supports the hypothesis that the strain c2c maky is a non-pathogenic amoeba. This work explores the genomic repertory for the first draft genome of genus Willaertia and provides genomic data for further comparative studies on virulence of related pathogenic amoeba, N. fowleri.
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Affiliation(s)
- Issam Hasni
- Aix-Marseille Université UM63, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement IRD 198, Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Marseille (AP-HM), Microbes, Evolution, Phylogeny and Infection (MEΦI), Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire (IHU) - Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France.,Amoéba, Chassieu, France
| | - Nisrine Chelkha
- Aix-Marseille Université UM63, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement IRD 198, Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Marseille (AP-HM), Microbes, Evolution, Phylogeny and Infection (MEΦI), Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire (IHU) - Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
| | - Emeline Baptiste
- Aix-Marseille Université UM63, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement IRD 198, Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Marseille (AP-HM), Microbes, Evolution, Phylogeny and Infection (MEΦI), Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire (IHU) - Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
| | | | - Joel Lachuer
- ProfileXpert/Viroscan3D, UCBL UMS 3453 CNRS - US7 INSERM, Lyon, France.,Inserm U1052, CNRS UMR5286, Centre de Recherche en Cancérologie de Lyon, Lyon, France.,Université de Lyon, Lyon, France
| | | | - Philippe Colson
- Aix-Marseille Université UM63, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement IRD 198, Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Marseille (AP-HM), Microbes, Evolution, Phylogeny and Infection (MEΦI), Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire (IHU) - Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
| | - Bernard La Scola
- Aix-Marseille Université UM63, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement IRD 198, Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Marseille (AP-HM), Microbes, Evolution, Phylogeny and Infection (MEΦI), Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire (IHU) - Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France.
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20
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Cui Z, Li J, Chen Y, Zhang L. Molecular epidemiology, evolution, and phylogeny of Entamoeba spp. INFECTION GENETICS AND EVOLUTION 2019; 75:104018. [PMID: 31465857 DOI: 10.1016/j.meegid.2019.104018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2019] [Revised: 08/20/2019] [Accepted: 08/22/2019] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Entamoeba histolytica is a protozoan parasite and the causative agent of amoebiasis in humans. The estimations of the worldwide burden of amoebiasis by the WHO indicated that approximately 500 million people were infected with the parasite and 10% of these individuals had invasive amoebiasis. However, our understanding of the disease burden and epidemiology of human amebiasis has undergone dramatic changes over the last two decades based on molecular analyses. The development of Entamoeba genomics has also provided some interesting and valuable information on the evolution and population structure of this parasite. In addition, the use of a number of molecular markers has greatly expanded our understanding of Entamoeba host range and genetic diversity. In this review, we re-assessed Entamoeba prevalence and species in humans, non-human primates, other animals, and the environment in the context of molecular data. Some issues regarding the evolution and phylogeny of different Entamoeba species lineages are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhaohui Cui
- College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China; National International Joint Research Center for Veterinary Immunology, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Junqiang Li
- College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China; National International Joint Research Center for Veterinary Immunology, Zhengzhou, China; Scientific Research Experiment Center & Laboratory Animal Center, Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou 450046, China
| | - Yuancai Chen
- College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China; National International Joint Research Center for Veterinary Immunology, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Longxian Zhang
- College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China; National International Joint Research Center for Veterinary Immunology, Zhengzhou, China.
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21
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Naiyer S, Bhattacharya A, Bhattacharya S. Advances in Entamoeba histolytica Biology Through Transcriptomic Analysis. Front Microbiol 2019; 10:1921. [PMID: 31481949 PMCID: PMC6710346 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.01921] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2019] [Accepted: 08/05/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
A large number of transcriptome-level studies in Entamoeba histolytica, the protozoan parasite that causes amoebiasis, have investigated gene expression patterns to help understand the pathology and biology of the organism. They have compared virulent and avirulent strains in lab culture and after tissue invasion, cells grown under different stress conditions, response to anti-amoebic drug treatments, and gene expression changes during the process of encystation. These studies have revealed interesting molecules/pathways that will help increase our mechanistic understanding of differentially expressed genes during growth perturbations and tissue invasion. Some of the important insights obtained from transcriptome studies include the observations that regulation of carbohydrate metabolism may be an important determinant for tissue invasion, while the novel up-regulated genes during encystation include phospholipase D, and meiotic genes, suggesting the possibility of meiosis during the process. Classification of genes according to expression levels showed that amongst the highly transcribed genes in cultured E. histolytica trophozoites were some virulence factors, raising the question of the role of these factors in normal parasite growth. Promoter motifs associated with differential gene expression and regulation were identified. Some of these motifs associated with high gene expression were located downstream of start codon, and were required for efficient transcription. The listing of E. histolytica genes according to transcript expression levels will help us determine the scale of post-transcriptional regulation, and the possible roles of predicted promoter motifs. The small RNA transcriptome is a valuable resource for detailed structural and functional analysis of these molecules and their regulatory roles. These studies provide new drug targets and enhance our understanding of gene regulation in E. histolytica.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Naiyer
- School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
| | - Alok Bhattacharya
- School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
| | - Sudha Bhattacharya
- School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
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22
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Trasviña-Arenas CH, David SS, Delaye L, Azuara-Liceaga E, Brieba LG. Evolution of Base Excision Repair in Entamoeba histolytica is shaped by gene loss, gene duplication, and lateral gene transfer. DNA Repair (Amst) 2019; 76:76-88. [DOI: 10.1016/j.dnarep.2019.02.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2018] [Revised: 01/14/2019] [Accepted: 02/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
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23
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Fonseca Z, Uribe-Querol E, Díaz-Godínez C, Carrero JC, Rosales C. Pathogenic Entamoeba histolytica, but not Entamoeba dispar, induce neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation. J Leukoc Biol 2019; 105:1167-1181. [PMID: 30913315 DOI: 10.1002/jlb.ma0818-309rrr] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2018] [Revised: 03/08/2019] [Accepted: 03/11/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Amoebiasis is an infection of global importance, caused by the eukaryotic parasite Entamoeba histolytica. Pathogenic E. histolytica is associated worldwide with over a million cases of amoebic dysentery, colitis, and amoebic liver abscess. In contrast, the nonpathogenic Entamoeba dispar does not cause these diseases, although it is commonly found in the same areas as pathogenic amoeba. Entamoeba histolytica infection is usually associated with infiltrating neutrophils. These neutrophils appear to play a defensive role against this parasite, by mechanisms not completely understood. Recently, our group reported that neutrophil extracellular traps (NET) are produced in response to E. histolytica trophozoites. But, there is no information on whether nonpathogenic E. dispar can also induce NET formation. In this report, we explored the possibility that E. dispar leads to NET formation. Neutrophils were stimulated by E. histolytica trophozoites or by E. dispar trophozoites, and NET formation was assessed by video microscopy. NET induced by E. histolytica were important for trapping and killing amoebas. In contrast, E. dispar did not induce NET formation in any condition. Also E. dispar did not induce neutrophil degranulation or reactive oxygen species production. In addition, E. histolytica-induced NET formation required alive amoebas and it was inhibited by galactose, N-acetylgalactosamine, and lactose. These data show that only alive pathogenic E. histolytica activates neutrophils to produce NET, and suggest that recognition of the parasite involves a carbohydrate with an axial HO- group at carbon 4 of a hexose.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zayda Fonseca
- Departamento de Inmunología, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Eileen Uribe-Querol
- División de Estudios de Posgrado e Investigación, Facultad de Odontología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - César Díaz-Godínez
- Departamento de Inmunología, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Julio C Carrero
- Departamento de Inmunología, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Carlos Rosales
- Departamento de Inmunología, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
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24
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Naiyer S, Kaur D, Ahamad J, Singh SS, Singh YP, Thakur V, Bhattacharya A, Bhattacharya S. Transcriptomic analysis reveals novel downstream regulatory motifs and highly transcribed virulence factor genes of Entamoeba histolytica. BMC Genomics 2019; 20:206. [PMID: 30866809 PMCID: PMC6416950 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-019-5570-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2018] [Accepted: 02/27/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Promoter motifs in Entamoeba histolytica were earlier analysed using microarray data with lower dynamic range of gene expression. Additionally, previous transcriptomic studies did not provide information on the nature of highly transcribed genes, and downstream promoter motifs important for gene expression. To address these issues we generated RNA-Seq data and identified the high and low expressing genes, especially with respect to virulence potential. We analysed sequences both upstream and downstream of start site for important motifs. Results We used RNA-Seq data to classify genes according to expression levels, which ranged six orders of magnitude. Data were validated by reporter gene expression. Virulence-related genes (except AIG1) were amongst the highly expressed, while some kinases and BspA family genes were poorly expressed. We looked for conserved motifs in sequences upstream and downstream of the initiation codon. Following enrichment by AME we found seven motifs significantly enriched in high expression- and three in low expression-classes. Two of these motifs (M4 and M6) were located downstream of AUG, were exclusively enriched in high expression class, and were mostly found in ribosomal protein, and translation-related genes. Motif deletion resulted in drastic down regulation of reporter gene expression, showing functional relevance. Distribution of core promoter motifs (TATA, GAAC, and Inr) in all genes revealed that genes with downstream motifs were not preferentially associated with TATA-less promoters. We looked at gene expression changes in cells subjected to growth stress by serum starvation, and experimentally validated the data. Genes showing maximum up regulation belonged to the low or medium expression class, and included genes in signalling pathways, lipid metabolism, DNA repair, Myb transcription factors, BspA, and heat shock. Genes showing maximum down regulation belonged to the high or medium expression class. They included genes for signalling factors, actin, Ariel family, and ribosome biogenesis factors. Conclusion Our analysis has added important new information about the E. histolytica transcriptome. We report for the first time two downstream motifs required for gene expression, which could be used for over expression of E. histolytica genes. Most of the virulence-related genes in this parasite are highly expressed in culture. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12864-019-5570-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Naiyer
- School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
| | - Devinder Kaur
- School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
| | - Jamaluddin Ahamad
- School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
| | | | | | - Vivek Thakur
- Centre for Systems Biology, School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, India
| | - Alok Bhattacharya
- School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
| | - Sudha Bhattacharya
- School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India.
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25
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Avendaño-Borromeo B, Narayanasamy RK, García-Rivera G, Labra-Barrios ML, Lagunes-Guillén AE, Munguía-Chávez B, Castañón-Sánchez CA, Orozco E, Luna-Arias JP. Identification of the gene encoding the TATA box-binding protein-associated factor 1 (TAF1) and its putative role in the heat shock response in the protozoan parasite Entamoeba histolytica. Parasitol Res 2018; 118:517-538. [PMID: 30552577 DOI: 10.1007/s00436-018-6170-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2018] [Accepted: 11/29/2018] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Transcription factor IID (TFIID) is a cornerstone in the transcription initiation in eukaryotes. It is composed of TBP and approximately 14 different subunits named TBP-associated factors (TAFs). TFIID has a key role in transcription of many genes involved in cell proliferation, cell growth, cell cycle, cell cycle checkpoint, and various other processes as well. Entamoeba histolytica, the protozoan parasite responsible for human amoebiasis, represents a major global health concern. Our research group has previously reported the genes coding the TATA box-binding protein (EhTBP) and TBP-related factor 1 (EhTRF1), which displayed different mRNA levels in trophozoites under different stress conditions. In this work, we identified the TBP-associated factor 1 (Ehtaf1) gene in the E. histolytica genome, which possess a well-conserved DUF domain and a Bromo domain located in the middle and C-terminus of the protein, respectively. The EhTAF1-DUF domain tertiary structure is similar to the corresponding HsTAF1 DUF domain. RT-qPCR experiments with RNA isolated from trophozoites harvested at different time points of the growth curve and under different stress conditions revealed that the Ehtaf1 gene was found slightly upregulated in the death phase of growth curve, but under heat shock stress, it was found upregulated 10 times, suggesting that Ehtaf1 might have an important role in the heat shock stress response. We also found that EhTAF1 is expressed in the nucleus and cytoplasm at 37 °C, but under heat shock stress, it is overexpressed in both the nucleus and cytoplasm, and partially colocalized with EhHSP70 in cytoplasm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bartolo Avendaño-Borromeo
- Departamento de Biología Celular, Cinvestav-IPN, Av. IPN 2508, Col. San Pedro Zacatenco, 07360, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Ravi Kumar Narayanasamy
- Departamento de Biología Celular, Cinvestav-IPN, Av. IPN 2508, Col. San Pedro Zacatenco, 07360, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Guillermina García-Rivera
- Departamento de Infectómica y Patogénesis Molecular, Cinvestav-IPN, Av. IPN 2508, Col. San Pedro Zacatenco, 07360, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - María Luisa Labra-Barrios
- Departamento de Biología Celular, Cinvestav-IPN, Av. IPN 2508, Col. San Pedro Zacatenco, 07360, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Anel E Lagunes-Guillén
- Departamento de Infectómica y Patogénesis Molecular, Cinvestav-IPN, Av. IPN 2508, Col. San Pedro Zacatenco, 07360, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Bibiana Munguía-Chávez
- Departamento de Infectómica y Patogénesis Molecular, Cinvestav-IPN, Av. IPN 2508, Col. San Pedro Zacatenco, 07360, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Carlos Alberto Castañón-Sánchez
- Laboratorio de Investigación Biomédica, Subdirección de Enseñanza e Investigación, Hospital Regional de Alta Especialidad de Oaxaca, Aldama S/N, San Bartolo Coyotepec, 71256, Oaxaca, Mexico
| | - Esther Orozco
- Departamento de Infectómica y Patogénesis Molecular, Cinvestav-IPN, Av. IPN 2508, Col. San Pedro Zacatenco, 07360, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Juan Pedro Luna-Arias
- Departamento de Biología Celular, Cinvestav-IPN, Av. IPN 2508, Col. San Pedro Zacatenco, 07360, Ciudad de México, Mexico.
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26
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Rendón-Gandarilla FJ, Álvarez-Hernández V, Castañeda-Ortiz EJ, Cárdenas-Hernández H, Cárdenas-Guerra RE, Valdés J, Betanzos A, Chávez-Munguía B, Lagunes-Guillen A, Orozco E, López-Canovas L, Azuara-Liceaga E. Telomeric Repeat-Binding Factor Homologs in Entamoeba histolytica: New Clues for Telomeric Research. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2018; 8:341. [PMID: 30333961 PMCID: PMC6175992 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2018.00341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2018] [Accepted: 09/10/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Telomeric Repeat Binding Factors (TRFs) are architectural nuclear proteins with critical roles in telomere-length regulation, chromosome end protection and, fusion prevention, DNA damage detection, and senescence regulation. Entamoeba histolytica, the parasite responsible of human amoebiasis, harbors three homologs of human TRFs, based on sequence similarities to their Myb DNA binding domain. These proteins were dubbed EhTRF-like I, II and III. In this work, we revealed that EhTRF-like I and II share similarity with human TRF1, while EhTRF-like III shares similarity with human TRF2 by in silico approach. The analysis of ehtrf-like genes showed they are expressed differentially under basal culture conditions. We also studied the cellular localization of EhTRF-like I and III proteins using subcellular fractionation and western blot assays. EhTRF-like I and III proteins were enriched in the nuclear fraction, but they were also present in the cytoplasm. Indirect immunofluorescence showed that these proteins were located at the nuclear periphery co-localizing with Lamin B1 and trimethylated H4K20, which is a characteristic mark of heterochromatic regions and telomeres. We found by transmission electron microscopy that EhTRF-like III was located in regions of more condensed chromatin. Finally, EMSA assays showed that EhTRF-like III forms specific DNA-protein complexes with telomeric related sequences. Our data suggested that EhTRF-like proteins play a role in the maintenance of the chromosome ends in this parasite.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Víctor Álvarez-Hernández
- Posgrado en Ciencias Genómicas, Universidad Autónoma de la Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
| | | | | | | | - Jesús Valdés
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Abigail Betanzos
- Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología, Mexico City, Mexico.,Departamento de Infectómica y Patogénesis Molecular, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Bibiana Chávez-Munguía
- Departamento de Infectómica y Patogénesis Molecular, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Anel Lagunes-Guillen
- Departamento de Infectómica y Patogénesis Molecular, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Esther Orozco
- Departamento de Infectómica y Patogénesis Molecular, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Lilia López-Canovas
- Posgrado en Ciencias Genómicas, Universidad Autónoma de la Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Elisa Azuara-Liceaga
- Posgrado en Ciencias Genómicas, Universidad Autónoma de la Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
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Mendoza-Figueroa MS, Alfonso-Maqueira EE, Vélez C, Azuara-Liceaga EI, Zárate S, Villegas-Sepúlveda N, Saucedo-Cárdenas O, Valdés J. Postsplicing-Derived Full-Length Intron Circles in the Protozoan Parasite Entamoeba histolytica. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2018; 8:255. [PMID: 30123775 PMCID: PMC6085484 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2018.00255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2018] [Accepted: 07/04/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Noncoding circular RNAs are widespread in the tree of life. Particularly, intron-containing circular RNAs which apparently upregulate their parental gene expression. Entamoeba histolytica, the causative agent of dysentery and liver abscesses in humans, codes for several noncoding RNAs, including circular ribosomal RNAs, but no intron containing circular RNAs have been described to date. Divergent RT-PCR and diverse molecular approaches, allowed us to detect bona fide full-length intronic circular RNA (flicRNA) molecules. Self-splicing reactions, RNA polymerase II inhibition with Actinomycin D, and second step of splicing-inhibition with boric acid showed that the production of flicRX13 (one of the flicRNAs found in this work, and our test model) depends on mRNA synthesis and pre-mRNA processing instead of self-splicing. To explore the cues and factors involved in flicRX13 biogenesis in vivo, splicing assays were carried out in amoeba transformants where splicing factors and Dbr1 (intron lariat debranching enzyme 1) were silenced or overexpressed, or where Rabx13 wild-type and mutant 5'ss (splice site) and branch site minigene constructs were overexpressed. Whereas SF1 (splicing factor 1) is not involved, the U2 auxiliary splicing factor, Dbr1, and the GU-rich 5'ss are involved in postsplicing flicRX13 biogenesis, probably by Dbr1 stalling, in a similar fashion to the formation of ciRNAs (circular intronic RNAs), but with distinctive 5'-3'ss ligation points. Different from the reported functions of ciRNAs, the 5'ss GU-rich element of flicRX13 possibly interacts with transcription machinery to silence its own gene in cis. Furthermore, introns of E. histolytica virulence-related genes are also processed as flicRNAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- María S Mendoza-Figueroa
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Eddy E Alfonso-Maqueira
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Cristina Vélez
- Departamento de Biología Celular, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Elisa I Azuara-Liceaga
- Posgrado en Ciencias Genómicas, Universidad Autónoma de la Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Selene Zárate
- Posgrado en Ciencias Genómicas, Universidad Autónoma de la Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Nicolás Villegas-Sepúlveda
- Departamento de Biomedicina Molecular, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Odila Saucedo-Cárdenas
- Departamento de Histología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Monterrey, Mexico.,División de Genética, Centro de Investigación Biomédica del Noreste, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Monterrey, Mexico
| | - Jesús Valdés
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico
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28
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Narayanasamy RK, Castañón-Sanchez CA, Luna-Arias JP, García-Rivera G, Avendaño-Borromeo B, Labra-Barrios ML, Valdés J, Herrera-Aguirre ME, Orozco E. The Entamoeba histolytica TBP and TRF1 transcription factors are GAAC-box binding proteins, which display differential gene expression under different stress stimuli and during the interaction with mammalian cells. Parasit Vectors 2018. [PMID: 29514716 PMCID: PMC5842622 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-018-2698-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Entamoeba histolytica is the protozoan parasite responsible for human amebiasis. It causes up to 100,000 deaths worldwide each year. This parasite has two closely related basal transcription factors, the TATA-box binding protein (EhTBP) and the TBP-related factor 1 (EhTRF1). TBP binds to the canonical TATTTAAA-box, as well as to different TATA variants. TRF1 also binds to the TATTTAAA-box. However, their binding capacity to diverse core promoter elements, including the GAAC-element, and their role in gene regulation in this parasite remains unknown. METHODS EMSA experiments were performed to determine the binding capacity of recombinant TBP and TRF1 to TATA variants, GAAC and GAAC-like boxes. For the functional analysis under different stress stimuli (e.g. growth curve, serum depletion, heat-shock, and UV-irradiation) and during the interaction with mammalian cells (erythrocytes, MDCK cell monolayers, and hepatocytes of hamsters), RT-qPCR, and gene knockdown were performed. RESULTS Both transcription factors bound to the different TATA variants tested, as well as to the GAAC-boxes, suggesting that they are GAAC-box-binding proteins. The K D values determined for TBP and TRF1 for the different TATA variants and GAAC-box were in the range of 10-12 M to 10-11 M. During the death phase of growth or in serum depletion, Ehtbp mRNA levels significantly increased, whereas the mRNA level of Ehtrf1 did not change under these conditions. Ehtrf1 gene expression was negatively regulated by UV-irradiation and heat-shock stress, with no changes in Ehtbp gene expression. Moreover, Ehtrf1 gene also showed a negative regulation during erythrophagocytosis, liver abscess formation, and a transient expression level increase at the initial phase of MDCK cell destruction. Finally, the Ehtbp gene knockdown displayed a drastic decrease in the efficiency of erythrophagocytosis in G3 trophozoites. CONCLUSIONS To our knowledge, this study reveals that these basal transcription factors are able to bind multiple core promoter elements. However, their immediate change in gene expression level in response to different stimuli, as well as during the interaction with mammalian cells, and the diminishing of erythrophagocytosis by silencing the Ehtbp gene indicate the different physiological roles of these transcription factors in E. histolytica.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ravi Kumar Narayanasamy
- Departamento de Infectómica y Patogénesis Molecular, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (Cinvestav-IPN), Av. Instituto Politécnico Nacional 2508, Col. San Pedro Zacatenco, C.P, 07360, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Carlos Alberto Castañón-Sanchez
- Programa de Biomedicina Molecular, Escuela Nacional de Medicina y Homeopatía del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (ENMH-IPN), Guillermo Massieu Helguera 239, Col. La Escalera, C.P, 07320, Ciudad de México, Mexico.,Laboratorio de Investigación Biomédica, Subdirección de Enseñanza e Investigación, Hospital Regional de Alta Especialidad de Oaxaca, Aldama S/N, San Bartolo Coyotepec, C.P, 71256, Oaxaca, Mexico
| | - Juan Pedro Luna-Arias
- Departamento de Biología Celular, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (Cinvestav-IPN), Av. Instituto Politécnico Nacional 2508, Col. San Pedro Zacatenco, C.P, 07360, Ciudad de México, Mexico.
| | - Guillermina García-Rivera
- Departamento de Infectómica y Patogénesis Molecular, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (Cinvestav-IPN), Av. Instituto Politécnico Nacional 2508, Col. San Pedro Zacatenco, C.P, 07360, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Bartolo Avendaño-Borromeo
- Departamento de Biología Celular, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (Cinvestav-IPN), Av. Instituto Politécnico Nacional 2508, Col. San Pedro Zacatenco, C.P, 07360, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - María Luisa Labra-Barrios
- Departamento de Biología Celular, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (Cinvestav-IPN), Av. Instituto Politécnico Nacional 2508, Col. San Pedro Zacatenco, C.P, 07360, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Jesús Valdés
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (Cinvestav-IPN), Av. Instituto Politécnico Nacional 2508, Col. San Pedro Zacatenco, C.P, 07360, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - María Esther Herrera-Aguirre
- Departamento de Biología Celular, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (Cinvestav-IPN), Av. Instituto Politécnico Nacional 2508, Col. San Pedro Zacatenco, C.P, 07360, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Esther Orozco
- Departamento de Infectómica y Patogénesis Molecular, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (Cinvestav-IPN), Av. Instituto Politécnico Nacional 2508, Col. San Pedro Zacatenco, C.P, 07360, Ciudad de México, Mexico
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29
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Nakada-Tsukui K, Sekizuka T, Sato-Ebine E, Escueta-de Cadiz A, Ji DD, Tomii K, Kuroda M, Nozaki T. AIG1 affects in vitro and in vivo virulence in clinical isolates of Entamoeba histolytica. PLoS Pathog 2018; 14:e1006882. [PMID: 29554130 PMCID: PMC5884625 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1006882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2017] [Revised: 04/04/2018] [Accepted: 01/17/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The disease state of amebiasis, caused by Entamoeba histolytica, varies from asymptomatic to severe manifestations that include dysentery and extraintestinal abscesses. The virulence factors of the pathogen, and host defense mechanisms, contribute to the outcomes of infection; however, the underlying genetic factors, which affect clinical outcomes, remain to be fully elucidated. To identify these genetic factors in E. histolytica, we used Illumina next-generation sequencing to conduct a comparative genomic analysis of two clinical isolates obtained from diarrheal and asymptomatic patients (strains KU50 and KU27, respectively). By mapping KU50 and KU27 reads to the genome of a reference HM-1:IMSS strain, we identified two genes (EHI_089440 and EHI_176590) that were absent in strain KU27. In KU27, a single AIG1 (avrRpt2-induced gene 1) family gene (EHI_176590) was found to be deleted, from a tandem array of three AIG1 genes, by homologous recombination between the two flanking genes. Overexpression of the EHI_176590 gene, in strain HM-1:IMSS cl6, resulted in increased formation of cell-surface protrusions and enhanced adhesion to human erythrocytes. The EHI_176590 gene was detected by PCR in 56% of stool samples from symptomatic patients infected with E. histolytica, but only in 15% of stool samples from asymptomatic individuals. This suggests that the presence of the EHI_176590 gene is correlated with the outcomes of infection. Taken together, these data strongly indicate that the AIG1 family protein plays a pivotal role in E. histolytica virulence via regulation of host cell adhesion. Our in-vivo experiments, using a hamster liver abscess model, showed that overexpression or gene silencing of EHI_176590 reduced and increased liver abscess formation, respectively. This suggests that the AIG1 genes may have contrasting roles in virulence depending on the genetic background of the parasite and host environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kumiko Nakada-Tsukui
- Department of Parasitology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Tsuyoshi Sekizuka
- Laboratory of Bacterial Genomics, Pathogen Genomics Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Emi Sato-Ebine
- Department of Parasitology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan
| | | | - Dar-der Ji
- Center for Research and Diagnostics, Centers for Disease Control, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Kentaro Tomii
- Artificial Intelligence Research Center (AIRC) and Biotechnology Research Institute for Drug Discovery, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tokyo, Japan
| | - Makoto Kuroda
- Laboratory of Bacterial Genomics, Pathogen Genomics Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Tomoyoshi Nozaki
- Department of Parasitology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan
- Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
- Department of Biomedical Chemistry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
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30
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Shabardina V, Kischka T, Kmita H, Suzuki Y, Makałowski W. Environmental adaptation of Acanthamoeba castellanii and Entamoeba histolytica at genome level as seen by comparative genomic analysis. Int J Biol Sci 2018; 14:306-320. [PMID: 29559848 PMCID: PMC5859476 DOI: 10.7150/ijbs.23869] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2017] [Accepted: 12/30/2017] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Amoebozoans are in many aspects interesting research objects, as they combine features of single-cell organisms with complex signaling and defense systems, comparable to multicellular organisms. Acanthamoeba castellanii is a cosmopolitan species and developed diverged feeding abilities and strong anti-bacterial resistance; Entamoeba histolytica is a parasitic amoeba, who underwent massive gene loss and its genome is almost twice smaller than that of A. castellanii. Nevertheless, both species prosper, demonstrating fitness to their specific environments. Here we compare transcriptomes of A. castellanii and E. histolytica with application of orthologs' search and gene ontology to learn how different life strategies influence genome evolution and restructuring of physiology. A. castellanii demonstrates great metabolic activity and plasticity, while E. histolytica reveals several interesting features in its translational machinery, cytoskeleton, antioxidant protection, and nutritional behavior. In addition, we suggest new features in E. histolytica physiology that may explain its successful colonization of human colon and may facilitate medical research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoria Shabardina
- Institute of Bioinformatics, University Münster, Niels-Stensen Strasse 14, Münster 48149, Germany
| | - Tabea Kischka
- Institute of Bioinformatics, University Münster, Niels-Stensen Strasse 14, Münster 48149, Germany
| | - Hanna Kmita
- Laboratory of Bioenergetics, Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University
| | - Yutaka Suzuki
- Department of Computational Biology and Medical Sciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8562, Japan
| | - Wojciech Makałowski
- Institute of Bioinformatics, University Münster, Niels-Stensen Strasse 14, Münster 48149, Germany
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31
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Jeelani G, Sato D, Soga T, Nozaki T. Genetic, metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses of the de novo L-cysteine biosynthetic pathway in the enteric protozoan parasite Entamoeba histolytica. Sci Rep 2017; 7:15649. [PMID: 29142277 PMCID: PMC5688106 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-15923-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2017] [Accepted: 11/01/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The de novo L-cysteine biosynthetic pathway is critical for the growth, antioxidative stress defenses, and pathogenesis of bacterial and protozoan pathogens, such as Salmonella typhimurium and Entamoeba histolytica. This pathway involves two key enzymes, serine acetyltransferase (SAT) and cysteine synthase (CS), which are absent in mammals and therefore represent rational drug targets. The human parasite E. histolytica possesses three SAT and CS isozymes; however, the specific roles of individual isoforms and significance of such apparent redundancy remains unclear. In the present study, we generated E. histolytica cell lines in which CS and SAT expression was knocked down by transcriptional gene silencing. The strain in which CS1, 2 and 3 were simultaneously silenced and the SAT3 gene-silenced strain showed impaired growth when cultured in a cysteine lacking BI-S-33 medium, whereas silencing of SAT1 and SAT2 had no effects on growth. Combined transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses revealed that, CS and SAT3 are involved in S-methylcysteine/cysteine synthesis. Furthermore, silencing of the CS1-3 or SAT3 caused upregulation of various iron-sulfur flavoprotein genes. Taken together, these results provide the first direct evidence of the biological importance of SAT3 and CS isoforms in E. histolytica and justify the exploitation of these enzymes as potential drug targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ghulam Jeelani
- Department of Biomedical Chemistry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan
- Department of Parasitology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, 1-23-1 Toyama, Shinjuku, Tokyo, 162-8640, Japan
| | - Dan Sato
- Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Keio University, Tsuruoka, Yamagata, Japan
- Graduate School of Science and Technology, Department of Applied Biology, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Kyoto, 606-8585, Japan
| | - Tomoyoshi Soga
- Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Keio University, Tsuruoka, Yamagata, Japan
| | - Tomoyoshi Nozaki
- Department of Biomedical Chemistry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan.
- Department of Parasitology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, 1-23-1 Toyama, Shinjuku, Tokyo, 162-8640, Japan.
- Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8572, Japan.
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Grothen DC, Zach SJ, Davis PH. Detection of Intestinal Pathogens in River, Shore, and Drinking Water in Lima, Peru. J Genomics 2017; 5:4-11. [PMID: 28138344 PMCID: PMC5278651 DOI: 10.7150/jgen.18378] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Water quality management is an ongoing struggle for many locations worldwide. Current testing of water supplies can be time-consuming, expensive, and lack sensitivity. This study describes an alternative, easy-to-use, and inexpensive method to water sampling and testing at remote locations. This method was employed to detect a number of intestinal pathogens in various locations of Lima, Peru. A total of 34 PCR primer pairs were tested for specificity and high-yield amplification for 12 different pathogens using known DNA templates. Select primers for each pathogen were then tested for minimum detection limits of DNA. Water samples were collected from 22 locations. PCR was used to detect the presence of a pathogen, virulence factors, or differentiate between pathogenic species. In 22 water samples, cholera toxin gene was detected in 4.5% of samples, C. perfringens DNA was detected in 50% of samples, E. histolytica DNA was detected in 54.5% of samples, Giardia intestinalis DNA was detected in 4.5% of samples, Leptospira spp. DNA was detected in 29% of samples, and T. gondii DNA was detected in 31.8% of samples. DNA from three pathogens, C. perfringens, E. histolytica, and T. gondii, were found in residential samples, which accounted for 10 out of 22 samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- David C Grothen
- Department of Biology, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha NE 68182-0040
| | - Sydney J Zach
- Department of Biology, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha NE 68182-0040
| | - Paul H Davis
- Department of Biology, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha NE 68182-0040
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Abstract
The outcome of an Entamoeba histolytica infection is variable and the contribution of genetic diversity within E. histolytica to human disease is not fully understood. The information provided by the whole genome sequence of the E. histolytica reference laboratory strain (HM-1:IMSS) and thirteen additional laboratory strains have been made publically available. In this review theories on the source of the unexpected level of structural diversity found in E. histolytica will be discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carol A Gilchrist
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, United States of America
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Singh RS, Walia AK, Kanwar JR, Kennedy JF. Amoebiasis vaccine development: A snapshot on E. histolytica with emphasis on perspectives of Gal/GalNAc lectin. Int J Biol Macromol 2016; 91:258-68. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2016.05.043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2016] [Revised: 05/10/2016] [Accepted: 05/11/2016] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
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Barratt J, Gough R, Stark D, Ellis J. Bulky Trichomonad Genomes: Encoding a Swiss Army Knife. Trends Parasitol 2016; 32:783-797. [PMID: 27312283 DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2016.05.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2016] [Revised: 05/19/2016] [Accepted: 05/24/2016] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
The trichomonads are a remarkably successful lineage of ancient, predominantly parasitic protozoa. Recent molecular analyses have revealed extensive duplication of certain genetic loci in trichomonads. Consequently, their genomes are exceptionally large compared to other parasitic protozoa. Retention of these large gene expansions across different trichomonad families raises the question: do these duplications afford an advantage? Many duplicated genes are linked to the parasitic lifestyle and some are regulated differently to their paralogues, suggesting they have acquired new functions. It is proposed that these large genomes encode a Swiss army knife of sorts, packed with a multitude of tools for use in many different circumstances. This may have bestowed trichomonads with the extraordinary versatility that has undoubtedly contributed to their success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joel Barratt
- I3 Institute, University of Technology Sydney, Broadway, NSW, Australia; School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Broadway, NSW, Australia.
| | - Rory Gough
- I3 Institute, University of Technology Sydney, Broadway, NSW, Australia; School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Broadway, NSW, Australia
| | - Damien Stark
- Division of Microbiology, Sydpath, St Vincent's Hospital, Darlinghurst, NSW, Australia
| | - John Ellis
- School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Broadway, NSW, Australia
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Luna-Nácar M, Navarrete-Perea J, Moguel B, Bobes RJ, Laclette JP, Carrero JC. Proteomic Study of Entamoeba histolytica Trophozoites, Cysts, and Cyst-Like Structures. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0156018. [PMID: 27228164 PMCID: PMC4882050 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0156018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2015] [Accepted: 05/09/2016] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The cyst stage of Entamoeba histolytica is a promising therapeutic target against human amoebiasis. Our research team previously reported the production in vitro of Cyst-Like Structures (CLS) sharing structural features with cysts, including rounded shape, size reduction, multinucleation, and the formation of a chitin wall coupled to the overexpression of glucosamine 6-phosphate isomerase, the rate-limiting enzyme of the chitin synthesis pathway. A proteomic study of E. histolytica trophozoites, cysts, and in vitro-produced CLS is reported herein to determine the nature of CLS, widen our knowledge on the cyst stage, and identify possible proteins and pathways involved in the encystment process. Total protein extracts were obtained from E. histolytica trophozoites, CLS, and partially purified cysts recovered from the feces of amoebic human patients; extracts were trypsin-digested and analyzed by LC-MS/MS. In total, 1029 proteins were identified in trophozoites, 550 in CLS, and 411 in cysts, with 539, 299, and 84 proteins unique to each sample, respectively, and only 74 proteins shared by all three stages. About 70% of CLS proteins were shared with trophozoites, even though differences were observed in the relative protein abundance. While trophozoites showed a greater abundance of proteins associated to a metabolically active cell, CLS showed higher expression of proteins related to proteolysis, redox homeostasis, and stress response. In addition, the expression of genes encoding for the cyst wall proteins Jessie and Jacob was detected by RT-PCR and the Jacob protein identified by Western blotting and immunofluorescence in CLS. However, the proteomic profile of cysts as determined by LC-MS/MS was very dissimilar to that of trophozoites and CLS, with almost 40% of hypothetical proteins. Our global results suggest that CLS are more alike to trophozoites than to cysts, and they could be generated as a rapid survival response of trophozoites to a stressful condition, which allows the parasite to survive temporarily inside a chitin-like resistant cover containing Jacob protein. Our findings lead us to suggest that encystment and CLS formation could be distinct stress responses. In addition, we show that cysts express a high number of genes with unknown function, including four new, highly antigenic, possibly membrane-located proteins that could be targets of therapeutic and diagnostic usefulness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Milka Luna-Nácar
- Department of Immunology, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Tercer Circuito Exterior s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 04510, México D.F., México
| | - José Navarrete-Perea
- Department of Immunology, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Tercer Circuito Exterior s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 04510, México D.F., México
| | - Bárbara Moguel
- Department of Immunology, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Tercer Circuito Exterior s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 04510, México D.F., México
| | - Raúl J. Bobes
- Department of Immunology, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Tercer Circuito Exterior s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 04510, México D.F., México
| | - Juan P. Laclette
- Department of Immunology, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Tercer Circuito Exterior s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 04510, México D.F., México
| | - Julio C. Carrero
- Department of Immunology, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Tercer Circuito Exterior s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 04510, México D.F., México
- * E-mail:
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Molecular Diagnosis of Gastrointestinal Infections. Mol Microbiol 2016. [DOI: 10.1128/9781555819071.ch27] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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Leckenby A, Hall N. Genomic changes during evolution of animal parasitism in eukaryotes. Curr Opin Genet Dev 2015; 35:86-92. [PMID: 26637954 DOI: 10.1016/j.gde.2015.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2015] [Revised: 11/03/2015] [Accepted: 11/04/2015] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Understanding how pathogens have evolved to survive in close association with their hosts is an important step in unraveling the biology of host-pathogen interactions. Comparative genomics is a powerful tool to approach this problem as an increasing number of genomes of multiple pathogen species and strains become available. The ever-growing catalog of genome sequences makes comparison of organisms easier, but it also allows us to reconstitute the evolutionary processes occurring at the genomic level that may have led to the acquisition of pathogenic or parasitic mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amber Leckenby
- Department of Functional and Comparative Genomics, The University of Liverpool, Biosciences Building, Crown Street, Liverpool L69 7ZB, UK
| | - Neil Hall
- Department of Functional and Comparative Genomics, The University of Liverpool, Biosciences Building, Crown Street, Liverpool L69 7ZB, UK.
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Silvestre A, Plaze A, Berthon P, Thibeaux R, Guillen N, Labruyère E. In Entamoeba histolytica, a BspA family protein is required for chemotaxis toward tumour necrosis factor. MICROBIAL CELL (GRAZ, AUSTRIA) 2015; 2:235-246. [PMID: 28357299 PMCID: PMC5349171 DOI: 10.15698/mic2015.07.214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2015] [Accepted: 06/04/2015] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Entamoeba histolytica cell migration is essential for the development of human amoebiasis (an infectious disease characterized by tissue invasion and destruction). The tissue inflammation associated with tumour necrosis factor (TNF) secretion by host cells is a well-documented feature of amoebiasis. Tumour necrosis factor is a chemoattractant for E. histolytica, and the parasite may have a TNF receptor at its cell surface. METHODS confocal microscopy, RNA Sequencing, bioinformatics, RNA antisense techniques and histological analysis of human colon explants were used to characterize the interplay between TNF and E. histolytica. RESULTS an antibody against human TNF receptor 1 (TNFR1) stained the E. histolytica trophozoite surface and (on immunoblots) binds to a 150-kDa protein. Proteome screening with the TNFR1 sequence revealed a BspA family protein in E. histolytica that carries a TNFR signature domain and six leucine-rich repeats (named here as "cell surface protein", CSP, in view of its cellular location). Cell surface protein shares structural homologies with Toll-Like receptors, colocalizes with TNF and is internalized in TNF-containing vesicles. Reduction of cellular CSP levels abolished chemotaxis toward TNF and blocked parasite invasion of human colon. CONCLUSIONS there is a clear link between TNF chemotaxis, CSP and pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Silvestre
- Institut Pasteur, Unité Biologie Cellulaire du Parasitisme, F-75015 Paris, France
- INSERM U786, F-75015 Paris, France
- INRA, UMR1282 Infectiologie et Santé Publique, F-37380 Nouzilly, France
- Université de Tours, UMR1282 Infectiologie et Santé Publique, F-37000 Tours, France
| | - Aurélie Plaze
- Institut Pasteur, Unité Biologie Cellulaire du Parasitisme, F-75015 Paris, France
- INSERM U786, F-75015 Paris, France
| | - Patricia Berthon
- INRA, UMR1282 Infectiologie et Santé Publique, F-37380 Nouzilly, France
- Université de Tours, UMR1282 Infectiologie et Santé Publique, F-37000 Tours, France
| | - Roman Thibeaux
- Institut Pasteur, Unité Biologie Cellulaire du Parasitisme, F-75015 Paris, France
- INSERM U786, F-75015 Paris, France
| | - Nancy Guillen
- Institut Pasteur, Unité Biologie Cellulaire du Parasitisme, F-75015 Paris, France
- INSERM U786, F-75015 Paris, France
| | - Elisabeth Labruyère
- Institut Pasteur, Unité Biologie Cellulaire du Parasitisme, F-75015 Paris, France
- INSERM U786, F-75015 Paris, France
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Mass spectrometric analysis of L-cysteine metabolism: physiological role and fate of L-cysteine in the enteric protozoan parasite Entamoeba histolytica. mBio 2014; 5:e01995. [PMID: 25370494 PMCID: PMC4222106 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.01995-14] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
l-Cysteine is essential for virtually all living organisms, from bacteria to higher eukaryotes. Besides having a role in the synthesis of virtually all proteins and of taurine, cysteamine, glutathione, and other redox-regulating proteins, l-cysteine has important functions under anaerobic/microaerophilic conditions. In anaerobic or microaerophilic protozoan parasites, such as Entamoeba histolytica, l-cysteine has been implicated in growth, attachment, survival, and protection from oxidative stress. However, a specific role of this amino acid or related metabolic intermediates is not well understood. In this study, using stable-isotope-labeled l-cysteine and capillary electrophoresis-time of flight mass spectrometry, we investigated the metabolism of l-cysteine in E. histolytica. [U-13C3, 15N]l-cysteine was rapidly metabolized into three unknown metabolites, besides l-cystine and l-alanine. These metabolites were identified as thiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid (T4C), 2-methyl thiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid (MT4C), and 2-ethyl-thiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid (ET4C), the condensation products of l-cysteine with aldehydes. We demonstrated that these 2-(R)-thiazolidine-4-carboxylic acids serve for storage of l-cysteine. Liberation of l-cysteine occurred when T4C was incubated with amebic lysates, suggesting enzymatic degradation of these l-cysteine derivatives. Furthermore, T4C and MT4C significantly enhanced trophozoite growth and reduced intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels when it was added to cultures, suggesting that 2-(R)-thiazolidine-4-carboxylic acids are involved in the defense against oxidative stress. Amebiasis is a human parasitic disease caused by the protozoan parasite Entamoeba histolytica. In this parasite, l-cysteine is the principal low-molecular-weight thiol and is assumed to play a significant role in supplying the amino acid during trophozoite invasion, particularly when the parasites move from the anaerobic intestinal lumen to highly oxygenated tissues in the intestine and the liver. It is well known that E. histolytica needs a comparatively high concentration of l-cysteine for its axenic cultivation. However, the reason for and the metabolic fate of l-cysteine in this parasite are not well understood. Here, using a metabolomic and stable-isotope-labeled approach, we investigated the metabolic fate of this amino acid in these parasites. We found that l-cysteine inside the cell rapidly reacts with aldehydes to form 2-(R)-thiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid. We showed that these 2-(R)-thiazolidine-4-carboxylic derivatives serve as an l-cysteine source, promote growth, and protect cells against oxidative stress by scavenging aldehydes and reducing the ROS level. Our findings represent the first demonstration of 2-(R)-thiazolidine-4-carboxylic acids and their roles in protozoan parasites.
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Das K, Ganguly S. Evolutionary genomics and population structure of Entamoeba histolytica. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2014; 12:26-33. [PMID: 25505504 PMCID: PMC4262060 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2014.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2014] [Revised: 10/02/2014] [Accepted: 10/03/2014] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Amoebiasis caused by the gastrointestinal parasite Entamoeba histolytica has diverse disease outcomes. Study of genome and evolution of this fascinating parasite will help us to understand the basis of its virulence and explain why, when and how it causes diseases. In this review, we have summarized current knowledge regarding evolutionary genomics of E. histolytica and discussed their association with parasite phenotypes and its differential pathogenic behavior. How genetic diversity reveals parasite population structure has also been discussed. Queries concerning their evolution and population structure which were required to be addressed have also been highlighted. This significantly large amount of genomic data will improve our knowledge about this pathogenic species of Entamoeba.
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Affiliation(s)
- Koushik Das
- Division of Parasitology, National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, P-33, CIT Road, Scheme XM, Beliaghata, Kolkata 700010, India
| | - Sandipan Ganguly
- Division of Parasitology, National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, P-33, CIT Road, Scheme XM, Beliaghata, Kolkata 700010, India
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Grant JR, Katz LA. Phylogenomic study indicates widespread lateral gene transfer in Entamoeba and suggests a past intimate relationship with parabasalids. Genome Biol Evol 2014; 6:2350-60. [PMID: 25146649 PMCID: PMC4217692 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evu179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/14/2014] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Lateral gene transfer (LGT) has impacted the evolutionary history of eukaryotes, though to a lesser extent than in bacteria and archaea. Detecting LGT and distinguishing it from single gene tree artifacts is difficult, particularly when considering very ancient events (i.e., over hundreds of millions of years). Here, we use two independent lines of evidence--a taxon-rich phylogenetic approach and an assessment of the patterns of gene presence/absence--to evaluate the extent of LGT in the parasitic amoebozoan genus Entamoeba. Previous work has suggested that a number of genes in the genome of Entamoeba spp. were acquired by LGT. Our approach, using an automated phylogenomic pipeline to build taxon-rich gene trees, suggests that LGT is more extensive than previously thought. Our analyses reveal that genes have frequently entered the Entamoeba genome via nonvertical events, including at least 116 genes acquired directly from bacteria or archaea, plus an additional 22 genes in which Entamoeba plus one other eukaryote are nested among bacteria and/or archaea. These genes may make good candidates for novel therapeutics, as drugs targeting these genes are less likely to impact the human host. Although we recognize the challenges of inferring intradomain transfers given systematic errors in gene trees, we find 109 genes supporting LGT from a eukaryote to Entamoeba spp., and 178 genes unique to Entamoeba spp. and one other eukaryotic taxon (i.e., presence/absence data). Inspection of these intradomain LGTs provide evidence of a common sister relationship between genes of Entamoeba (Amoebozoa) and parabasalids (Excavata). We speculate that this indicates a past close relationship (e.g., symbiosis) between ancestors of these extant lineages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica R Grant
- Department of Biological Sciences, Smith College, Northampton, MA
| | - Laura A Katz
- Department of Biological Sciences, Smith College, Northampton, MA Program in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, University of Massachusetts
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Cuadrat RRC, da Serra Cruz SM, Tschoeke DA, Silva E, Tosta F, Jucá H, Jardim R, Campos MLM, Mattoso M, Dávila AMR. An orthology-based analysis of pathogenic protozoa impacting global health: an improved comparative genomics approach with prokaryotes and model eukaryote orthologs. OMICS-A JOURNAL OF INTEGRATIVE BIOLOGY 2014; 18:524-38. [PMID: 24960463 DOI: 10.1089/omi.2013.0172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
A key focus in 21(st) century integrative biology and drug discovery for neglected tropical and other diseases has been the use of BLAST-based computational methods for identification of orthologous groups in pathogenic organisms to discern orthologs, with a view to evaluate similarities and differences among species, and thus allow the transfer of annotation from known/curated proteins to new/non-annotated ones. We used here a profile-based sensitive methodology to identify distant homologs, coupled to the NCBI's COG (Unicellular orthologs) and KOG (Eukaryote orthologs), permitting us to perform comparative genomics analyses on five protozoan genomes. OrthoSearch was used in five protozoan proteomes showing that 3901 and 7473 orthologs can be identified by comparison with COG and KOG proteomes, respectively. The core protozoa proteome inferred was 418 Protozoa-COG orthologous groups and 704 Protozoa-KOG orthologous groups: (i) 31.58% (132/418) belongs to the category J (translation, ribosomal structure, and biogenesis), and 9.81% (41/418) to the category O (post-translational modification, protein turnover, chaperones) using COG; (ii) 21.45% (151/704) belongs to the categories J, and 13.92% (98/704) to the O using KOG. The phylogenomic analysis showed four well-supported clades for Eukarya, discriminating Multicellular [(i) human, fly, plant and worm] and Unicellular [(ii) yeast, (iii) fungi, and (iv) protozoa] species. These encouraging results attest to the usefulness of the profile-based methodology for comparative genomics to accelerate semi-automatic re-annotation, especially of the protozoan proteomes. This approach may also lend itself for applications in global health, for example, in the case of novel drug target discovery against pathogenic organisms previously considered difficult to research with traditional drug discovery tools.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rafael R C Cuadrat
- 1 Computational and Systems Biology Laboratory, Computational and Systems Biology Pole, Oswaldo Cruz Institute , Fiocruz, Brazil
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Jeelani G, Nozaki T. Metabolomic analysis of Entamoeba: applications and implications. Curr Opin Microbiol 2014; 20:118-24. [PMID: 24950028 DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2014.05.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2014] [Revised: 04/18/2014] [Accepted: 05/23/2014] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Entamoeba histolytica is an enteric protozoan parasite that causes hemorrhagic dysentery and extraintestinal abscesses in millions of inhabitants of endemic areas. The genome of E. histolytica has already been sequenced and used to predict the metabolic potential of the organism. Since nearly 56% of the E. histolytica genes remain unannotated, correlative 'omics' analyses of genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and biochemical metabolic profiling are essential in uncovering new, or poorly understood metabolic pathways. Metabolomics aims at understanding biology by comprehensive metabolite profiling. In this review, we discuss recent metabolomics approaches to elucidate unidentified metabolic systems of this pathogen and also discuss future applications of metabolomics to understand the biology and pathogenesis of E. histolytica.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ghulam Jeelani
- Department of Parasitology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, 1-23-1 Toyama, Shinjuku, Tokyo 162-8640, Japan
| | - Tomoyoshi Nozaki
- Department of Parasitology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, 1-23-1 Toyama, Shinjuku, Tokyo 162-8640, Japan; Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan.
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Vitulo N, Forcato C, Carpinelli EC, Telatin A, Campagna D, D'Angelo M, Zimbello R, Corso M, Vannozzi A, Bonghi C, Lucchin M, Valle G. A deep survey of alternative splicing in grape reveals changes in the splicing machinery related to tissue, stress condition and genotype. BMC PLANT BIOLOGY 2014; 14:99. [PMID: 24739459 PMCID: PMC4108029 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2229-14-99] [Citation(s) in RCA: 155] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2013] [Accepted: 04/07/2014] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Alternative splicing (AS) significantly enhances transcriptome complexity. It is differentially regulated in a wide variety of cell types and plays a role in several cellular processes. Here we describe a detailed survey of alternative splicing in grape based on 124 SOLiD RNAseq analyses from different tissues, stress conditions and genotypes. RESULTS We used the RNAseq data to update the existing grape gene prediction with 2,258 new coding genes and 3,336 putative long non-coding RNAs. Several gene structures have been improved and alternative splicing was described for about 30% of the genes. A link between AS and miRNAs was shown in 139 genes where we found that AS affects the miRNA target site. A quantitative analysis of the isoforms indicated that most of the spliced genes have one major isoform and tend to simultaneously co-express a low number of isoforms, typically two, with intron retention being the most frequent alternative splicing event. CONCLUSIONS As described in Arabidopsis, also grape displays a marked AS tissue-specificity, while stress conditions produce splicing changes to a minor extent. Surprisingly, some distinctive splicing features were also observed between genotypes. This was further supported by the observation that the panel of Serine/Arginine-rich splicing factors show a few, but very marked differences between genotypes. The finding that a part the splicing machinery can change in closely related organisms can lead to some interesting hypotheses for evolutionary adaptation, that could be particularly relevant in the response to sudden and strong selective pressures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicola Vitulo
- CRIBI Biotechnology Centre, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Claudio Forcato
- CRIBI Biotechnology Centre, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | | | - Andrea Telatin
- CRIBI Biotechnology Centre, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | | | | | | | - Massimiliano Corso
- Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural resources, Animals and Environment, DAFNAE, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Alessandro Vannozzi
- Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural resources, Animals and Environment, DAFNAE, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Claudio Bonghi
- Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural resources, Animals and Environment, DAFNAE, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Margherita Lucchin
- Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural resources, Animals and Environment, DAFNAE, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
- CIRVE, Centre for Research in Viticulture and Enology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Giorgio Valle
- CRIBI Biotechnology Centre, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
- Department of Biology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
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Fügi MA, Gunasekera K, Ochsenreiter T, Guan X, Wenk MR, Mäser P. Genome profiling of sterol synthesis shows convergent evolution in parasites and guides chemotherapeutic attack. J Lipid Res 2014; 55:929-38. [PMID: 24627128 DOI: 10.1194/jlr.m048017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Sterols are an essential class of lipids in eukaryotes, where they serve as structural components of membranes and play important roles as signaling molecules. Sterols are also of high pharmacological significance: cholesterol-lowering drugs are blockbusters in human health, and inhibitors of ergosterol biosynthesis are widely used as antifungals. Inhibitors of ergosterol synthesis are also being developed for Chagas's disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi. Here we develop an in silico pipeline to globally evaluate sterol metabolism and perform comparative genomics. We generate a library of hidden Markov model-based profiles for 42 sterol biosynthetic enzymes, which allows expressing the genomic makeup of a given species as a numerical vector. Hierarchical clustering of these vectors functionally groups eukaryote proteomes and reveals convergent evolution, in particular metabolic reduction in obligate endoparasites. We experimentally explore sterol metabolism by testing a set of sterol biosynthesis inhibitors against trypanosomatids, Plasmodium falciparum, Giardia, and mammalian cells, and by quantifying the expression levels of sterol biosynthetic genes during the different life stages of T. cruzi and Trypanosoma brucei. The phenotypic data correlate with genomic makeup for simvastatin, which showed activity against trypanosomatids. Other findings, such as the activity of terbinafine against Giardia, are not in agreement with the genotypic profile.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias A Fügi
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland
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Koushik AB, Welter BH, Rock ML, Temesvari LA. A genomewide overexpression screen identifies genes involved in the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase pathway in the human protozoan parasite Entamoeba histolytica. EUKARYOTIC CELL 2014; 13:401-11. [PMID: 24442890 PMCID: PMC3957588 DOI: 10.1128/ec.00329-13] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2013] [Accepted: 01/12/2014] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Entamoeba histolytica is a protozoan parasite that causes amoebic dysentery and liver abscess. E. histolytica relies on motility, phagocytosis, host cell adhesion, and proteolysis of extracellular matrix for virulence. In eukaryotic cells, these processes are mediated in part by phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) signaling. Thus, PI3K may be critical for virulence. We utilized a functional genomics approach to identify genes whose products may operate in the PI3K pathway in E. histolytica. We treated a population of trophozoites that were overexpressing genes from a cDNA library with a near-lethal dose of the PI3K inhibitor wortmannin. This screen was based on the rationale that survivors would be overexpressing gene products that directly or indirectly function in the PI3K pathway. We sequenced the overexpressed genes in survivors and identified a cDNA encoding a Rap GTPase, a protein previously shown to participate in the PI3K pathway. This supports the validity of our approach. Genes encoding a coactosin-like protein, EhCoactosin, and a serine-rich E. histolytica protein (SREHP) were also identified. Cells overexpressing EhCoactosin or SREHP were also less sensitive to a second PI3K inhibitor, LY294002. This corroborates the link between these proteins and PI3K. Finally, a mutant cell line with an increased level of phosphatidylinositol (3,4,5)-triphosphate, the product of PI3K activity, exhibited increased expression of SREHP and EhCoactosin. This further supports the functional connection between these proteins and PI3K in E. histolytica. To our knowledge, this is the first forward-genetics screen adapted to reveal genes participating in a signal transduction pathway in this pathogen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amrita B. Koushik
- Department of Genetics and Biochemistry, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, USA
- Eukaryotic Pathogens Innovation Center (EPIC), Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, USA
| | - Brenda H. Welter
- Department of Biological Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, USA
- Eukaryotic Pathogens Innovation Center (EPIC), Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, USA
| | - Michelle L. Rock
- Department of Biological Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, USA
- Eukaryotic Pathogens Innovation Center (EPIC), Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, USA
| | - Lesly A. Temesvari
- Department of Biological Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, USA
- Eukaryotic Pathogens Innovation Center (EPIC), Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, USA
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Jex AR, Koehler AV, Ansell BR, Baker L, Karunajeewa H, Gasser RB. Getting to the guts of the matter: The status and potential of ‘omics’ research of parasitic protists of the human gastrointestinal system. Int J Parasitol 2013; 43:971-82. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2013.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2013] [Revised: 06/07/2013] [Accepted: 06/07/2013] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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De Cádiz AE, Jeelani G, Nakada-Tsukui K, Caler E, Nozaki T. Transcriptome analysis of encystation in Entamoeba invadens. PLoS One 2013; 8:e74840. [PMID: 24040350 PMCID: PMC3770568 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0074840] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2012] [Accepted: 08/08/2013] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Encystation is an essential differentiation process for the completion of the life cycle of a group of intestinal protozoa including Entamoeba histolytica, the causative agent of intestinal and extraintestinal amebiasis. However, regulation of gene expression during encystation is poorly understood. To comprehensively understand the process at the molecular level, the transcriptomic profiles of E. invadens, which is a related reptilian species that causes an invasive disease similar to that of E. histolytica, was investigated during encystation. Using a custom-generated Affymetrix platform microarray, we performed time course (0.5, 2, 8, 24, 48, and 120 h) gene expression analysis of encysting E. invadens. ANOVA analysis revealed that a total of 1,528 genes showed ≥3 fold up-regulation at one or more time points, relative to the trophozoite stage. Of these modulated genes, 8% (116 genes) were up-regulated at the early time points (0.5, 2 and 8h), while 63% (962 genes) were up-regulated at the later time points (24, 48, and 120 h). Twenty nine percent (450 genes) are either up-regulated at 2 to 5 time points or constitutively up-regulated in both early and late stages. Among the up-regulated genes are the genes encoding transporters, cytoskeletal proteins, proteins involved in vesicular trafficking (small GTPases), Myb transcription factors, cysteine proteases, components of the proteasome, and enzymes for chitin biosynthesis. This study represents the first kinetic analysis of gene expression during differentiation from the invasive trophozoite to the dormant, infective cyst stage in Entamoeba. Functional analysis on individual genes and their encoded products that are modulated during encystation may lead to the discovery of targets for the development of new chemotherapeutics that interfere with stage conversion of the parasite.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleyla Escueta De Cádiz
- Department of Parasitology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan
- Department of Biological Science and Environmental Studies, College of Science and Mathematics, University of the Philippines Mindanao, Davao, Philippines
| | - Ghulam Jeelani
- Department of Parasitology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kumiko Nakada-Tsukui
- Department of Parasitology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Elisabet Caler
- J. Craig Venter Institute, Rockville, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Tomoyoshi Nozaki
- Department of Parasitology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan
- Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
- * E-mail:
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50
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Clarke M, Lohan AJ, Liu B, Lagkouvardos I, Roy S, Zafar N, Bertelli C, Schilde C, Kianianmomeni A, Bürglin TR, Frech C, Turcotte B, Kopec KO, Synnott JM, Choo C, Paponov I, Finkler A, Heng Tan CS, Hutchins AP, Weinmeier T, Rattei T, Chu JSC, Gimenez G, Irimia M, Rigden DJ, Fitzpatrick DA, Lorenzo-Morales J, Bateman A, Chiu CH, Tang P, Hegemann P, Fromm H, Raoult D, Greub G, Miranda-Saavedra D, Chen N, Nash P, Ginger ML, Horn M, Schaap P, Caler L, Loftus BJ. Genome of Acanthamoeba castellanii highlights extensive lateral gene transfer and early evolution of tyrosine kinase signaling. Genome Biol 2013; 14:R11. [PMID: 23375108 PMCID: PMC4053784 DOI: 10.1186/gb-2013-14-2-r11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 222] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2012] [Accepted: 02/01/2013] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The Amoebozoa constitute one of the primary divisions of eukaryotes, encompassing taxa of both biomedical and evolutionary importance, yet its genomic diversity remains largely unsampled. Here we present an analysis of a whole genome assembly of Acanthamoeba castellanii (Ac) the first representative from a solitary free-living amoebozoan. RESULTS Ac encodes 15,455 compact intron-rich genes, a significant number of which are predicted to have arisen through inter-kingdom lateral gene transfer (LGT). A majority of the LGT candidates have undergone a substantial degree of intronization and Ac appears to have incorporated them into established transcriptional programs. Ac manifests a complex signaling and cell communication repertoire, including a complete tyrosine kinase signaling toolkit and a comparable diversity of predicted extracellular receptors to that found in the facultatively multicellular dictyostelids. An important environmental host of a diverse range of bacteria and viruses, Ac utilizes a diverse repertoire of predicted pattern recognition receptors, many with predicted orthologous functions in the innate immune systems of higher organisms. CONCLUSIONS Our analysis highlights the important role of LGT in the biology of Ac and in the diversification of microbial eukaryotes. The early evolution of a key signaling facility implicated in the evolution of metazoan multicellularity strongly argues for its emergence early in the Unikont lineage. Overall, the availability of an Ac genome should aid in deciphering the biology of the Amoebozoa and facilitate functional genomic studies in this important model organism and environmental host.
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