scholarly journals Secondary Structure and X-ray Crystallographic Analysis of the Glideosome-Associated Connector (GAC) from Toxoplasma gondii

Crystals ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 110
Author(s):  
Amit Kumar ◽  
Xu Zhang ◽  
Oscar Vadas ◽  
Fisentzos A. Stylianou ◽  
Nicolas Dos Santos Pacheco ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Toxoplasma Gondii ◽  
Structural Information ◽  
Crystallographic Analysis ◽  
Force Transmission ◽  
Filamentous Actin ◽  
Cell Dimensions ◽  
Basal Pole ◽  
Motor Operation ◽  
Surface Adhesins

A model for parasitic motility has been proposed in which parasite filamentous actin (F-actin) is attached to surface adhesins by a large component of the glideosome, known as the glideosome-associated connector protein (GAC). This large 286 kDa protein interacts at the cytoplasmic face of the plasma membrane with the phosphatidic acid-enriched inner leaflet and cytosolic tails of surface adhesins to connect them to the parasite actomyosin system. GAC is observed initially to the conoid at the apical pole and re-localised with the glideosome to the basal pole in gliding parasite. GAC presumably functions in force transmission to surface adhesins in the plasma membrane and not in force generation. Proper connection between F-actin and the adhesins is as important for motility and invasion as motor operation itself. This notion highlights the need for new structural information on GAC interactions, which has eluded the field since its discovery. We have obtained crystals that diffracted to 2.6–2.9 Å for full-length GAC from Toxoplasma gondii in native and selenomethionine-labelled forms. These crystals belong to space group P212121; cell dimensions are roughly a = 119 Å, b = 123 Å, c = 221 Å, α = 90°, β = 90° and γ = 90° with 1 molecule per asymmetric unit, suggesting a more compact conformation than previously proposed

scholarly journals Secondary Structure and X-Ray Crystallographic Analysis of the Glideosome-Associated Connector (GAC) from Toxoplasma gondii

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amit Kumar ◽  
Xu Zhang ◽  
Oscar Vadas ◽  
Fisentzos Stylianou ◽  
Nicolas Dos Santos Pacheco ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Toxoplasma Gondii ◽  
Structural Information ◽  
Crystallographic Analysis ◽  
Force Transmission ◽  
Filamentous Actin ◽  
Cell Dimensions ◽  
Basal Pole ◽  
Motor Operation ◽  
Surface Adhesins

A model for parasitic motility has been proposed in which parasite filamentous actin (F-actin) is attached to surface adhesins by a large component of the glideosome, known as the glideosome-associated connector protein (GAC). This large 286 kDa protein interacts at the cytoplasmic face of the plasma membrane with the phosphatidic acid-enriched inner leaflet and cytosolic tails of surface adhesins to connect them to the parasite actomyosin system. GAC is observed initially to the conoid at the apical pole and re-localised with the glideosome to the basal pole in gliding parasite. GAC presumably functions in force transmission to surface adhesins in the plasma membrane and not in force generation. Proper connection between F-actin and the adhesins is as important for motility and invasion as motor operation itself. This notion highlights the need for new structural information on GAC interactions, which has eluded the field since its discovery. We have obtained crystals that diffracted to 2.6-2.9 Å for full-length GAC from Toxoplasma gondii in native and selenomethionine-labelled forms. These crystals belong to space group P212121, cell dimensions are roughly a=119 Å, b=123Å, c=221Å, α=90, β=90, γ=90 with 1 molecule per asymmetric unit, suggesting a more compact conformation than previously proposed.

scholarly journals Vacuolar-type H+-ATPase regulates cytoplasmic pH in Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites

1998 ◽  
Vol 330 (2) ◽  
pp. 853-860 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. J. Silvia MORENO ◽  
Li ZHONG ◽  
Hong-Gang LU ◽  
Wanderley DE SOUZA ◽  
Marlene BENCHIMOL
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Toxoplasma Gondii ◽  
Laser Scanning ◽  
Membrane Surface ◽  
Surface Proteins ◽  
Laser Scanning Microscopy ◽  
Confocal Laser ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Cytoplasmic Ph ◽  
Bafilomycin A1

Cytoplasmic pH (pHi) regulation was studied in Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites by using the fluorescent dye 2ʹ,7ʹ-bis-(2-carboxyethyl)-5(6)-carboxyfluorescein. Their mean baseline pHi (7.07±0.06; n = 5) was not significantly affected in the absence of extracellular Na+, K+ or HCO3- but was significantly decreased in a dose-dependent manner by low concentrations of N,Nʹ-dicyclohexylcarbodi-imide (DCCD), N-ethylmaleimide (NEM) or bafilomycin A1. Bafilomycin A1 also inhibited the recovery of tachyzoite pHi after an acid load with sodium propionate. Similar concentrations of DCCD, NEM and bafilomycin A1 produced depolarization of the plasma membrane potential as measured with bis-(1,3-diethylthiobarbituric)trimethineoxonol (bisoxonol), and DCCD prevented the hyperpolarization that accompanies acid extrusion after the addition of propionate, in agreement with the electrogenic nature of this pump. Confocal laser scanning microscopy indicated that, in addition to being located in cytoplasmic vacuoles, the vacuolar (V)-H+-ATPase of T. gondii tachyzoites is also located in the plasma membrane. Surface localization of the V-H+-ATPase was confirmed by experiments using biotinylation of cell surface proteins and immunoprecipitation with antibodies against V-H+-ATPases. Taken together, the results are consistent with the presence of a functional V-H+-ATPase in the plasma membrane of these intracellular parasites and with an important role of this enzyme in the regulation of pHi homoeostasis in these cells.

Actomyosin motor in the merozoite of the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum: implications for red cell invasion

1998 ◽  
Vol 111 (13) ◽  
pp. 1831-1839 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.C. Pinder ◽  
R.E. Fowler ◽  
A.R. Dluzewski ◽  
L.H. Bannister ◽  
F.M. Lavin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plasmodium Falciparum ◽  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Toxoplasma Gondii ◽  
Malaria Parasite ◽  
Cellular Protein ◽  
Red Cell ◽  
Parasite Protein ◽  
Ionic Detergent ◽  
Parasite Plasmodium ◽  
Parasite Plasmodium Falciparum

The genome of the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, contains a myosin gene sequence, which bears a close homology to one of the myosin genes found in another apicomplexan parasite, Toxoplasma gondii. A polyclonal antibody was generated against an expressed polypeptide of molecular mass 27,000, based on part of the deduced sequence of this myosin. The antibody reacted with the cognate antigen and with a component of the total parasite protein on immunoblots, but not with vertebrate striated or smooth muscle myosins. It did, however, recognise two components in the cellular protein of Toxoplasma gondii. The antibody was used to investigate stage-specificity of expression of the myosin (here designated Pf-myo1) in P. falciparum. The results showed that the protein is synthesised in mature schizonts and is present in merozoites, but vanishes after the parasite enters the red cell. Pf-myo1 was found to be largely, though not entirely, associated with the particulate parasite cell fraction and is thus presumably mainly membrane bound. It was not solubilised by media that would be expected to dissociate actomyosin or myosin filaments, or by non-ionic detergent. Immunofluorescence revealed that in the merozoite and mature schizont Pf-myo1 is predominantly located around the periphery of the cell. Immuno-gold electron microscopy also showed the presence of the myosin around almost the entire parasite periphery, and especially in the region surrounding the apical prominence. Labelling was concentrated under the plasma membrane but was not seen in the apical prominence itself. This suggests that Pf-myo1 is associated with the plasma membrane or with the outer membrane of the subplasmalemmal cisterna, which forms a lining to the plasma membrane, with a gap at the apical prominence. The results lead to a conjectural model of the invasion mechanism.

scholarly journals Three F-actin assembly centers regulate organelle inheritance, cell-cell communication and motility in Toxoplasma gondii

eLife ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolò Tosetti ◽  
Nicolas Dos Santos Pacheco ◽  
Dominique Soldati-Favre ◽  
Damien Jacot
Keyword(s):  
Protein Kinase ◽  
Toxoplasma Gondii ◽  
Actin Polymerization ◽  
Cell Communication ◽  
Residual Body ◽  
Filamentous Actin ◽  
Calcium Dependent ◽  
Actin Regulatory Proteins ◽  
Parasite Motility ◽  
Cell Cell

Toxoplasma gondii possesses a limited set of actin-regulatory proteins and relies on only three formins (FRMs) to nucleate and polymerize actin. We combined filamentous actin (F-actin) chromobodies with gene disruption to assign specific populations of actin filaments to individual formins. FRM2 localizes to the apical juxtanuclear region and participates in apicoplast inheritance. Restricted to the residual body, FRM3 maintains the intravacuolar cell-cell communication. Conoidal FRM1 initiates a flux of F-actin crucial for motility, invasion and egress. This flux depends on myosins A and H and is controlled by phosphorylation via PKG (protein kinase G) and CDPK1 (calcium-dependent protein kinase 1) and by methylation via AKMT (apical lysine methyltransferase). This flux is independent of microneme secretion and persists in the absence of the glideosome-associated connector (GAC). This study offers a coherent model of the key players controlling actin polymerization, stressing the importance of well-timed post-translational modifications to power parasite motility.

scholarly journals YopT domain of the PfhB2 toxin from Pasteurella multocida: protein expression, characterization, crystallization and crystallographic analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 128-134
Author(s):  
Sanjeev Kumar ◽  
Victoria Hedrick ◽  
Seema Mattoo
Keyword(s):  
Pasteurella Multocida ◽  
Opportunistic Infections ◽  
Structural Information ◽  
Sequence Similarity ◽  
Catalytic Triad ◽  
Crystallographic Analysis ◽  
High Sequence Similarity ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Cell Parameters ◽  
Tract Infections

Pasteurella multocida causes respiratory-tract infections in a broad range of animals, as well as opportunistic infections in humans. P. multocida secretes a multidomain toxin called PfhB2, which contains a YopT-like cysteine protease domain at its C-terminus. The YopT domain of PfhB2 contains a well conserved Cys–His–Asp catalytic triad that defines YopT family members, and shares high sequence similarity with the prototype YopT from Yersinia sp. To date, only one crystal structure of a YopT family member has been reported; however, additional structural information is needed to help characterize the varied substrate specificity and enzymatic action of this large protease family. Here, a catalytically inactive C3733S mutant of PfhB2 YopT that provides enhanced protein stability was used with the aim of gaining structural insight into the diversity within the YopT protein family. To this end, the C3733S mutant of PfhB2 YopT has been successfully cloned, overexpressed, purified and crystallized. Diffraction data sets were collected from native crystals to 3.5 Å resolution and a single-wavelength anomalous data set was collected from an iodide-derivative crystal to 3.2 Å resolution. Data pertaining to crystals belonging to space group P31, with unit-cell parameters a = 136.9, b = 136.9, c = 74.7 Å for the native crystals and a = 139.2, b = 139.2, c = 74.7 Å for the iodide-derivative crystals, are discussed.

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray crystallographic analysis of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa cyclohexadienyl dehydratase

1999 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 539-541
Author(s):  
Palangpon Kongsaeree ◽  
Jun Liang ◽  
Roy A. Jensen ◽  
Jon Clardy
Keyword(s):  
Pseudomonas Aeruginosa ◽  
Crystal Form ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Crystallographic Analysis ◽  
Unit Cell ◽  
Space Group ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Cell Dimensions ◽  
Unit Cell Dimensions

The title protein has been crystallized in a new crystal form. The crystals belong to the cubic space group P4132 (or P4332) with unit-cell dimensions a = b = c = 126.1 Å at 100 K and typically diffract beyond 1.6 Å at the Cornell High Energy Synchotron Source (CHESS) A1 beamline.

scholarly journals MYADM controls endothelial barrier function through ERM-dependent regulation of ICAM-1 expression

2013 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 483-494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan F. Aranda ◽  
Natalia Reglero-Real ◽  
Beatriz Marcos-Ramiro ◽  
Ana Ruiz-Sáenz ◽  
Laura Fernández-Martín ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Endothelial Cells ◽  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Inflammatory Response ◽  
Barrier Function ◽  
Leukocyte Adhesion ◽  
Cell Junctions ◽  
Membrane Domains ◽  
Filamentous Actin ◽  
Cytokine Tumor Necrosis Factor ◽  
Factor Α

The endothelium maintains a barrier between blood and tissue that becomes more permeable during inflammation. Membrane rafts are ordered assemblies of cholesterol, glycolipids, and proteins that modulate proinflammatory cell signaling and barrier function. In epithelial cells, the MAL family members MAL, MAL2, and myeloid-associated differentiation marker (MYADM) regulate the function and dynamics of ordered membrane domains. We analyzed the expression of these three proteins in human endothelial cells and found that only MYADM is expressed. MYADM was confined in ordered domains at the plasma membrane, where it partially colocalized with filamentous actin and cell–cell junctions. Small interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated MYADM knockdown increased permeability, ICAM-1 expression, and leukocyte adhesion, all of which are features of an inflammatory response. Barrier function decrease in MYADM-silenced cells was dependent on ICAM-1 expression. Membrane domains and the underlying actin cytoskeleton can regulate each other and are connected by ezrin, radixin, and moesin (ERM) proteins. In endothelial cells, MYADM knockdown induced ERM activation. Triple-ERM knockdown partially inhibited ICAM-1 increase induced by MYADM siRNA. Importantly, ERM knockdown also reduced ICAM-1 expression in response to the proinflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor-α. MYADM therefore regulates the connection between the plasma membrane and the cortical cytoskeleton and so can control the endothelial inflammatory response.

scholarly journals Dense granule trafficking in Toxoplasma gondii requires a unique class 27 myosin and actin filaments

2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (13) ◽  
pp. 2080-2089 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aoife T. Heaslip ◽  
Shane R. Nelson ◽  
David M. Warshaw
Keyword(s):  
Toxoplasma Gondii ◽  
Molecular Motors ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Molecular Motor ◽  
Structural Similarity ◽  
Dense Granule ◽  
Lytic Cycle ◽  
Secretory Vesicles ◽  
Filamentous Actin

The survival of Toxoplasma gondii within its host cell requires protein release from secretory vesicles, called dense granules, to maintain the parasite’s intracellular replicative niche. Despite the importance of DGs, nothing is known about the mechanisms underlying their transport. In higher eukaryotes, secretory vesicles are transported to the plasma membrane by molecular motors moving on their respective cytoskeletal tracks (i.e., microtubules and actin). Because the organization of these cytoskeletal structures differs substantially in T. gondii, the molecular motor dependence of DG trafficking is far from certain. By imaging the motions of green fluorescent protein–tagged DGs in intracellular parasites with high temporal and spatial resolution, we show through a combination of molecular genetics and chemical perturbations that directed DG transport is independent of microtubules and presumably their kinesin/dynein motors. However, directed DG transport is dependent on filamentous actin and a unique class 27 myosin, TgMyoF, which has structural similarity to myosin V, the prototypical cargo transporter. Actomyosin DG transport was unexpected, since filamentous parasite actin has yet to be visualized in vivo due in part to the prevailing model that parasite actin forms short, unstable filaments. Thus our data uncover new critical roles for these essential proteins in the lytic cycle of this devastating pathogen.

Molecular mechanism of secretory vesicle docking

2010 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 192-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidi de Wit
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Cell Model ◽  
Secretory Vesicle ◽  
Model Systems ◽  
Secretory Vesicles ◽  
Filamentous Actin ◽  
Embryonic Mouse ◽  
Vesicle Docking ◽  
Bovine Chromaffin Cell ◽  
Stable Association

Docking, the stable association of secretory vesicles with the plasma membrane, is considered to be the necessary first step before vesicles gain fusion-competence, but it is unclear how vesicles dock. In adrenal medullary chromaffin cells, access of secretory vesicles to docking sites is controlled by dense F-actin (filamentous actin) beneath the plasma membrane. Recently, we found that, in the absence of Munc18-1, the number of docked vesicles and the thickness of cortical F-actin are affected. In the present paper, I discuss the possible mechanism by which Munc18-1 modulates cortical F-actin and how it orchestrates the docking machinery via an interaction with syntaxin-1. Finally, a comparison of Munc18's role in embryonic mouse and adult bovine chromaffin cell model systems will be made to clarify observed differences in cortical F-actin as well as docking phenotypes.

scholarly journals Cloning, expression, crystallization and preliminary X-ray crystallographic analysis of a human condensin SMC2 hinge domain with short coiled coils

2010 ◽  
Vol 66 (9) ◽  
pp. 1067-1070 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazuki Kawahara ◽  
Shota Nakamura ◽  
Yasuhiro Katsu ◽  
Daisuke Motooka ◽  
Yuki Hosokawa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Structural Information ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Crystallographic Analysis ◽  
Coiled Coils ◽  
Orthorhombic Space Group ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
Space Group ◽  
Cell Parameters ◽  
Microscopic Studies ◽  
Hinge Domain

In higher eukaryotes, the condensin complex, which mainly consists of two structural maintenance of chromosomes (SMC) subunits, SMC2 (CAP-E) and SMC4 (CAP-C), plays a critical role in the formation of higher order chromosome structures during mitosis. Biochemical and electron-microscopic studies have revealed that the SMC2 and SMC4 subunits dimerize through the interaction of their hinge domains, forming a characteristic V-shaped heterodimer. However, the details of their function are still not fully understood owing to a lack of structural information at the atomic level. In this study, the human SMC2 hinge domain with short coiled coils was cloned, expressed, purified and crystallized in the orthorhombic space groupC222 in native and SeMet-derivatized forms. Because of the poor diffraction properties of these crystals, the mutant Leu68→SeMet was designed and crystallized in order to obtain the experimental phases. The SeMet-derivatized crystals of the mutant belonged to space groupP3212, with unit-cell parametersa=b= 128.8,c = 91.4 Å. The diffraction data obtained from a crystal that diffracted to 2.4 Å resolution were suitable for SAD phasing.

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