scholarly journals Endocytosis of a Glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored Protein via Clathrin-coated Vesicles, Sorting by Default in Endosomes, and Exocytosis via RAB11-positive Carriers

2003 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 2029-2040 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph G. Grünfelder ◽  
Markus Engstler ◽  
Frank Weise ◽  
Heinz Schwarz ◽  
York-Dieter Stierhof ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Cell Surface ◽  
Trypanosoma Brucei ◽  
Coated Vesicles ◽  
Surface Glycoprotein ◽  
Variant Surface Glycoprotein ◽  
Flagellar Pocket ◽  
Protozoan Parasites ◽  
Basic Features ◽  
Membrane Concentration

Recently, proteins linked to glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) residues have received considerable attention both for their association with lipid microdomains and for their specific transport between cellular membranes. Basic features of trafficking of GPI-anchored proteins or glycolipids may be explored in flagellated protozoan parasites, which offer the advantage that their surface is dominated by these components. In Trypanosoma brucei, the GPI-anchored variant surface glycoprotein (VSG) is efficiently sorted at multiple intracellular levels, leading to a 50-fold higher membrane concentration at the cell surface compared with the endoplasmic reticulum. We have studied the membrane and VSG flow at an invagination of the plasma membrane, the flagellar pocket, the sole region for endo- and exocytosis in this organism. VSG enters trypanosomes in large clathrin-coated vesicles (135 nm in diameter), which deliver their cargo to endosomes. In the lumen of cisternal endosomes, VSG is concentrated by default, because a distinct class of small clathrin-coated vesicles (50–60 nm in diameter) budding from the cisternae is depleted in VSG. TbRAB11-positive cisternal endosomes, containing VSG, fragment by an unknown process giving rise to intensely TbRAB11- as well as VSG-positive, disk-like carriers (154 nm in diameter, 34 nm in thickness), which are shown to fuse with the flagellar pocket membrane, thereby recycling VSG back to the cell surface.

scholarly journals Trypanosoma brucei FKBP12 Differentially Controls Motility and Cytokinesis in Procyclic and Bloodstream Forms

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 168-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anaïs Brasseur ◽  
Brice Rotureau ◽  
Marjorie Vermeersch ◽  
Thierry Blisnick ◽  
Didier Salmon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rna Interference ◽  
Trypanosoma Brucei ◽  
Normal Cell ◽  
Surface Glycoprotein ◽  
Variant Surface Glycoprotein ◽  
Flagellar Pocket ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Procyclic Form ◽  
Specific Localization ◽  
Inside Out

ABSTRACT FKBP12 proteins are able to inhibit TOR kinases or calcineurin phosphatases upon binding of rapamycin or FK506 drugs, respectively. The Trypanosoma brucei FKBP12 homologue (TbFKBP12) was found to be a cytoskeleton-associated protein with specific localization in the flagellar pocket area of the bloodstream form. In the insect procyclic form, RNA interference-mediated knockdown of TbFKBP12 affected motility. In bloodstream cells, depletion of TbFKBP12 affected cytokinesis and cytoskeleton architecture. These last effects were associated with the presence of internal translucent cavities limited by an inside-out configuration of the normal cell surface, with a luminal variant surface glycoprotein coat lined up by microtubules. These cavities, which recreated the streamlined shape of the normal trypanosome cytoskeleton, might represent unsuccessful attempts for cell abscission. We propose that TbFKBP12 differentially affects stage-specific processes through association with the cytoskeleton.

scholarly journals Life Stage-Specific Cargo Receptors Facilitate Glycosylphosphatidylinositol-Anchored Surface Coat Protein Transport in Trypanosoma brucei

mSphere ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilia K. Kruzel ◽  
George P. Zimmett ◽  
James D. Bangs
Keyword(s):  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Virulence Factor ◽  
Secretory Pathway ◽  
Surface Glycoprotein ◽  
Variant Surface Glycoprotein ◽  
Host Immune System ◽  
Protozoan Parasites ◽  
Gpi Anchor ◽  
African Trypanosomes ◽  
Membrane Bound

ABSTRACT African trypanosomes are protozoan parasites that cause African sleeping sickness. Critical to the success of the parasite is the variant surface glycoprotein (VSG), which covers the parasite cell surface and which is essential for evasion of the host immune system. VSG is membrane bound by a glycolipid (GPI) anchor that is attached in the earliest compartment of the secretory pathway, the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). We have previously shown that the anchor acts as a positive forward trafficking signal for ER exit, implying a cognate receptor mechanism for GPI recognition and loading in coated cargo vesicles leaving the ER. Here, we characterize a family of small transmembrane proteins that act at adaptors for this process. This work adds to our understanding of general GPI function in eukaryotic cells and specifically in the synthesis and transport of the critical virulence factor of pathogenic African trypanosomes. The critical virulence factor of bloodstream-form Trypanosoma brucei is the glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored variant surface glycoprotein (VSG). Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) exit of VSG is GPI dependent and relies on a discrete subset of COPII machinery (TbSec23.2/TbSec24.1). In other systems, p24 transmembrane adaptor proteins selectively recruit GPI-anchored cargo into nascent COPII vesicles. Trypanosomes have eight putative p24s (TbERP1 to TbERP8) that are constitutively expressed at the mRNA level. However, only four TbERP proteins (TbERP1, -2, -3, and -8) are detectable in bloodstream-form parasites. All four colocalize to ER exit sites, are required for efficient GPI-dependent ER exit, and are interdependent for steady-state stability. These results suggest shared function as an oligomeric ER GPI-cargo receptor. This cohort also mediates rapid forward trafficking of the soluble lysosomal hydrolase TbCatL. Procyclic insect-stage trypanosomes have a distinct surface protein, procyclin, bearing a different GPI anchor structure. A separate cohort of TbERP proteins (TbERP1, -2, -4, and -8) are expressed in procyclic parasites and also function in GPI-dependent ER exit. Collectively, these results suggest developmentally regulated TbERP cohorts, likely in obligate assemblies, that may recognize stage-specific GPI anchors to facilitate GPI-cargo trafficking throughout the parasite life cycle. IMPORTANCE African trypanosomes are protozoan parasites that cause African sleeping sickness. Critical to the success of the parasite is the variant surface glycoprotein (VSG), which covers the parasite cell surface and which is essential for evasion of the host immune system. VSG is membrane bound by a glycolipid (GPI) anchor that is attached in the earliest compartment of the secretory pathway, the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). We have previously shown that the anchor acts as a positive forward trafficking signal for ER exit, implying a cognate receptor mechanism for GPI recognition and loading in coated cargo vesicles leaving the ER. Here, we characterize a family of small transmembrane proteins that act at adaptors for this process. This work adds to our understanding of general GPI function in eukaryotic cells and specifically in the synthesis and transport of the critical virulence factor of pathogenic African trypanosomes.

scholarly journals To the Surface and Back: Exo- and Endocytic Pathways in Trypanosoma brucei

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabian Link ◽  
Alyssa R. Borges ◽  
Nicola G. Jones ◽  
Markus Engstler
Keyword(s):  
Cell Surface ◽  
Trypanosoma Brucei ◽  
Immune Evasion ◽  
Antigenic Variation ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Surface Glycoprotein ◽  
Immune Recognition ◽  
Flagellar Pocket ◽  
Novel Technologies ◽  
Near Future

Trypanosoma brucei is one of only a few unicellular pathogens that thrives extracellularly in the vertebrate host. Consequently, the cell surface plays a critical role in both immune recognition and immune evasion. The variant surface glycoprotein (VSG) coats the entire surface of the parasite and acts as a flexible shield to protect invariant proteins against immune recognition. Antigenic variation of the VSG coat is the major virulence mechanism of trypanosomes. In addition, incessant motility of the parasite contributes to its immune evasion, as the resulting fluid flow on the cell surface drags immunocomplexes toward the flagellar pocket, where they are internalized. The flagellar pocket is the sole site of endo- and exocytosis in this organism. After internalization, VSG is rapidly recycled back to the surface, whereas host antibodies are thought to be transported to the lysosome for degradation. For this essential step to work, effective machineries for both sorting and recycling of VSGs must have evolved in trypanosomes. Our understanding of the mechanisms behind VSG recycling and VSG secretion, is by far not complete. This review provides an overview of the trypanosome secretory and endosomal pathways. Longstanding questions are pinpointed that, with the advent of novel technologies, might be answered in the near future.

scholarly journals Synchronous expression of individual metacyclic variant surface glycoprotein genes in Trypanosoma brucei

2015 ◽  
Vol 200 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 1-4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kiantra Ramey-Butler ◽  
Elisabetta Ullu ◽  
Nikolay G. Kolev ◽  
Christian Tschudi
Keyword(s):  
Trypanosoma Brucei ◽  
Surface Glycoprotein ◽  
Variant Surface Glycoprotein

Depletion of 14-3-3 proteins in bloodstream-form Trypanosoma brucei inhibits variant surface glycoprotein recycling

2010 ◽  
Vol 40 (5) ◽  
pp. 629-634 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corinna Benz ◽  
Markus Engstler ◽  
Stefan Hillmer ◽  
Christine Clayton
Keyword(s):  
Trypanosoma Brucei ◽  
Bloodstream Form ◽  
Surface Glycoprotein ◽  
Variant Surface Glycoprotein

scholarly journals Characterization of a cDNA encoding a cysteine-rich cell surface protein located in the flagellar pocket of the protozoan Trypanosoma brucei.

1990 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 4506-4517 ◽  
Author(s):  
M G Lee ◽  
B E Bihain ◽  
D G Russell ◽  
R J Deckelbaum ◽  
L H Van der Ploeg
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Cell Surface ◽  
Trypanosoma Brucei ◽  
Transmembrane Domain ◽  
Density Lipoprotein ◽  
Surface Protein ◽  
Integral Membrane Protein ◽  
Cell Surface Receptor ◽  
Flagellar Pocket ◽  
Cytoplasmic Extension

We have characterized a cDNA encoding a cysteine-rich, acidic integral membrane protein (CRAM) of the parasitic protozoa Trypanosoma brucei and Trypanosoma equiperdum. Unlike other membrane proteins of T. brucei, which are distributed throughout the cell surface, CRAM is concentrated in the flagellar pocket, an invagination of the cell surface of the trypanosome where endocytosis has been documented. Accordingly, CRAM also locates to vesicles located underneath the pocket, providing evidence of its internalization. CRAM has a predicted molecular mass of 130 kilodaltons and has a signal peptide, a transmembrane domain, and a 41-amino-acid cytoplasmic extension. A characteristic feature of CRAM is a large extracellular domain with a roughly 66-fold acidic, cysteine-rich 12-amino-acid repeat. CRAM is conserved among different protozoan species, including Trypanosoma cruzi, and CRAM has structural similarities with eucaryotic cell surface receptors. The most striking homology of CRAM is to the human low-density-lipoprotein receptor. We propose that CRAM functions as a cell surface receptor of different trypanosome species.

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