scholarly journals Substrate-mediated regulation of the arginine transporter ofToxoplasma gondii

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esther Rajendran ◽  
Morgan Clark ◽  
Cibelly Goulart ◽  
Birte Steinhöfel ◽  
Erick T. Tjhin ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTIntracellular parasites, such as the apicomplexanToxoplasma gondii, are adept at scavenging nutrients from their host. However, there is little understanding of how parasites sense and respond to the changing nutrient environments they encounter during an infection.TgApiAT1, a member of the apicomplexan ApiAT family of amino acid transporters, is the major uptake route for the essential amino acid L-arginine (Arg) inT. gondii. Here, we show that the abundance ofTgApiAT1, and hence the rate of uptake of Arg, is regulated by the availability of Arg in the parasite’s external environment, increasing in response to decreased [Arg]. Using a luciferase-based ‘biosensor’ strain ofT. gondii, we demonstrate that parasites vary the expression ofTgApiAT1 in different organs within their host, indicating that parasites are able to modulateTgApiAT1-dependent uptake of Arg as they encounter different nutrient environmentsin vivo. Finally, we show that Arg-dependent regulation ofTgApiAT1 expression is post-transcriptional, mediated by an upstream open reading frame (uORF) in theTgApiAT1 transcript, and we provide evidence that the peptide encoded by this uORF is critical for mediating regulation. Together, our data reveal the mechanism by which an apicomplexan parasite responds to changes in the availability of a key nutrient.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (8) ◽  
pp. e1009816
Author(s):  
Esther Rajendran ◽  
Morgan Clark ◽  
Cibelly Goulart ◽  
Birte Steinhöfel ◽  
Erick T. Tjhin ◽  
...  

Intracellular parasites, such as the apicomplexan Toxoplasma gondii, are adept at scavenging nutrients from their host. However, there is little understanding of how parasites sense and respond to the changing nutrient environments they encounter during an infection. TgApiAT1, a member of the apicomplexan ApiAT family of amino acid transporters, is the major uptake route for the essential amino acid L-arginine (Arg) in T. gondii. Here, we show that the abundance of TgApiAT1, and hence the rate of uptake of Arg, is regulated by the availability of Arg in the parasite’s external environment, increasing in response to decreased [Arg]. Using a luciferase-based ‘biosensor’ strain of T. gondii, we demonstrate that the expression of TgApiAT1 varies between different organs within the host, indicating that parasites are able to modulate TgApiAT1-dependent uptake of Arg as they encounter different nutrient environments in vivo. Finally, we show that Arg-dependent regulation of TgApiAT1 expression is post-transcriptional, mediated by an upstream open reading frame (uORF) in the TgApiAT1 transcript, and we provide evidence that the peptide encoded by this uORF is critical for mediating regulation. Together, our data reveal the mechanism by which an apicomplexan parasite responds to changes in the availability of a key nutrient.



Pharmacology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 101 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 64-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tetsuhiro Horie ◽  
Kazuya Fukasawa ◽  
Takashi Iezaki ◽  
Gyujin Park ◽  
Yuki Onishi ◽  
...  

The availability of amino acid in the brown adipose tissue (BAT) has been shown to be altered under various conditions; however, little is known about the possible expression and pivotal role of amino acid transporters in BAT under physiological and pathological conditions. The present study comprehensively investigated whether amino acid transporters are regulated by obesogenic conditions in BAT in vivo. Moreover, we investigated the mechanism underlying the regulation of the expression of amino acid transporters by various stressors in brown adipocytes in vitro. The expression of solute carrier family 38 member 1 (Slc38a1; gene encoding sodium-coupled neutral amino acid transporter 1) was preferentially upregulated in the BAT of both genetic and acquired obesity mice in vivo. Moreover, the expression of Slc38a1 was induced by hypoxic stress through hypoxia-inducible factor-1α, which is a master transcription factor of the adaptive response to hypoxic stress, in brown adipocytes in vitro. These results indicate that Slc38a1 is an obesity-associated gene in BAT and a hypoxia-responsive gene in brown adipocytes.



1998 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 1167-1173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Zhang ◽  
Annemarie L. Douglas ◽  
Thomas P. Hatch

ABSTRACT The EUO gene (for early upstream open reading frame) ofChlamydia psittaci was previously found to be transcribed better at 1 than at 24 h postinfection. We found that the EUO gene encodes a minor protein that is expressed within 1 h of infection of host cells with C. psittaci 6BC but that protein quantity peaks during the logarithmic growth phase of reticulate bodies (RBs), declines late in the infection (after 20 h) when RBs reorganize into elementary bodies (EBs), and is absent in infectious EBs. EUO protein lacks homology to known proteins but does contain a putative helix-turn-helix motif. We found that recombinant EUO binds to DNA in vitro with a relatively broad specificity. Using the bp −200 to +67 promoter region of the cysteine-rich envelope protein (crp) operon as a model, we show that EUO protein preferentially binds to AT-rich sequences and protects crpDNA from DNase I from approximately bp −60 to −9. We also found that native EUO protein in extracts of RBs binds to the promoter region of the crp operon, demonstrating that the DNA binding property of EUO protein is not an artifact of recombinant methods. Although EUO protein appears to bind to the crp operon with high affinity in vitro (Kd of about 15 nM), it is not known whether the protein binds the crp DNA in vivo.



2018 ◽  
Vol 367 (2) ◽  
pp. 292-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong-Xin Li ◽  
Jia-Ying Yang ◽  
Miguel Alcantara ◽  
Grigor Abelian ◽  
Ashutosh Kulkarni ◽  
...  


2011 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 1247-1253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claus Jacob

Research conducted during the last two decades has provided evidence for the existence of an extensive intracellular redox signalling, control and feedback network based on different cysteine-containing proteins and enzymes. Together, these proteins enable the living cell to sense and respond towards external and internal redox changes in a measured, gradual, appropriate and mostly reversible manner. The (bio)chemical basis of this regulatory ‘thiolstat’ is provided by the complex redox chemistry of the amino acid cysteine, which occurs in vivo in various sulfur chemotypes and is able to participate in different redox processes. Although our knowledge of the biological redox behaviour of sulfur (i.e. cysteine or methionine) is expanding, numerous questions still remain. Future research will need to focus on the individual proteins involved in this redox system, their particular properties and specific roles in cellular defence and survival. Once it is more fully understood, the cellular thiolstat and its individual components are likely to form prominent targets for drug design.





2009 ◽  
Vol 191 (17) ◽  
pp. 5553-5562 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominik Schilling ◽  
Ulrike Gerischer

ABSTRACT In gammaproteobacteria the Hfq protein shows a great variation in size, especially in its C-terminal part. Extremely large Hfq proteins consisting of almost 200 amino acid residues and more are found within the gammaproteobacterial family Moraxellaceae. The difference in size compared to other Hfq proteins is due to a glycine-rich domain near the C-terminal end of the protein. Acinetobacter baylyi, a nonpathogenic soil bacterium and member of the Moraxellaceae encodes a large 174-amino-acid Hfq homologue containing the unique and repetitive amino acid pattern GGGFGGQ within the glycine-rich domain. Despite the presence of the C-terminal extension, A. baylyi Hfq complemented an Escherichia coli hfq mutant in vivo. By using polyclonal anti-Hfq antibodies, we detected the large A. baylyi Hfq that corresponds to its annotated size indicating the expression and stability of the full protein. Deletion of the complete A. baylyi hfq open reading frame resulted in severe reduction of growth. In addition, a deletion or overexpression of Hfq was accompanied by the loss of cell chain assembly. The glycine-rich domain was not responsible for growth and cell phenotypes. hfq gene localization in A. baylyi is strictly conserved within the mutL-miaA-hfq operon, and we show that hfq expression starts within the preceding miaA gene or further upstream.



2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley Kidwell ◽  
Shiv Pratap Singh Yadav ◽  
Bernhard Maier ◽  
Amy Zollman ◽  
Kevin Ni ◽  
...  

The eIF2 initiation complex is central to maintaining a functional translation machinery. Extreme stress such as life-threatening sepsis exposes vulnerabilities in this tightly regulated system, resulting in an imbalance between the opposing actions of kinases and phosphatases on the main regulatory subunit eIF2α. Here, we report that translation shutdown is a hallmark of established sepsis-induced kidney injury brought about by excessive eIF2α phosphorylation and sustained by blunted expression of the counterregulatory phosphatase subunit Ppp1r15a. We determined that the blunted Ppp1r15a expression persists because of the presence of an upstream open reading frame (uORF). Overcoming this barrier with genetic approaches enabled the derepression of Ppp1r15a, salvaged translation and improved kidney function in an endotoxemia model. We also found that the loss of this uORF has broad effects on the composition and phosphorylation status of the immunopeptidome that extended beyond the eIF2α axis. Collectively, our findings define the breath and potency of the highly conserved Ppp1r15a uORF and provide a paradigm for the design of uORF-based translation rheostat strategies. The ability to accurately control the dynamics of translation during sepsis will open new paths for the development of therapies at codon level precision.



2013 ◽  
Vol 210 (1) ◽  
pp. 173-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Etienne Boulter ◽  
Soline Estrach ◽  
Aurélia Errante ◽  
Catherine Pons ◽  
Laurence Cailleteau ◽  
...  

Skin aging is linked to reduced epidermal proliferation and general extracellular matrix atrophy. This involves factors such as the cell adhesion receptors integrins and amino acid transporters. CD98hc (SLC3A2), a heterodimeric amino acid transporter, modulates integrin signaling in vitro. We unravel CD98hc functions in vivo in skin. We report that CD98hc invalidation has no appreciable effect on cell adhesion, clearly showing that CD98hc disruption phenocopies neither CD98hc knockdown in cultured keratinocytes nor epidermal β1 integrin loss in vivo. Instead, we show that CD98hc deletion in murine epidermis results in improper skin homeostasis and epidermal wound healing. These defects resemble aged skin alterations and correlate with reduction of CD98hc expression observed in elderly mice. We also demonstrate that CD98hc absence in vivo induces defects as early as integrin-dependent Src activation. We decipher the molecular mechanisms involved in vivo by revealing a crucial role of the CD98hc/integrins/Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) leukemia-associated RhoGEF (LARG)/RhoA pathway in skin homeostasis. Finally, we demonstrate that the deregulation of RhoA activation in the absence of CD98hc is also a result of impaired CD98hc-dependent amino acid transports.



2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (16) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryo Murakami ◽  
Chingakham Ranjit Singh ◽  
Jacob Morris ◽  
Leiming Tang ◽  
Ian Harmon ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTRibosomal stalk proteins recruit translation elongation GTPases to the factor-binding center of the ribosome. Initiation factor 5B (eIF5B in eukaryotes and aIF5B in archaea) is a universally conserved GTPase that promotes the joining of the large and small ribosomal subunits during translation initiation. Here we show that aIF5B binds to the C-terminal tail of the stalk protein. In the cocrystal structure, the interaction occurs between the hydrophobic amino acids of the stalk C-terminal tail and a small hydrophobic pocket on the surface of the GTP-binding domain (domain I) of aIF5B. A substitution mutation altering the hydrophobic pocket of yeast eIF5B resulted in a marked reduction in ribosome-dependent eIF5B GTPase activityin vitro. In yeast cells, the eIF5B mutation affected growth and impairedGCN4expression during amino acid starvation via a defect in start site selection for the first upstream open reading frame inGCN4mRNA, as observed with the eIF5B deletion mutant. The deletion of two of the four stalk proteins diminished polyribosome levels (indicating defective translation initiation) and starvation-inducedGCN4expression, both of which were suppressible by eIF5B overexpression. Thus, the mutual interaction between a/eIF5B and the ribosomal stalk plays an important role in subunit joining during translation initiationin vivo.



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