scholarly journals Nicastrin-Like, a Novel Transmembrane Protein from Trypanosoma cruzi Associated to the Flagellar Pocket

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 1750
Author(s):  
Guilherme Curty Lechuga ◽  
Paloma Napoleão-Pêgo ◽  
Larissa Rodrigues Gomes ◽  
Andressa da Matta Durans ◽  
David William Provance ◽  
...  

Nicastrin (NICT) is a transmembrane protein physically associated with the polytypical aspartyl protease presenilin that plays a vital role in the correct localization and stabilization of presenilin to the membrane-bound γ-secretase complex. This complex is involved in the regulation of a wide range of cellular events, including cell signaling and the regulation of endocytosed membrane proteins for their trafficking and protein processing. Methods: In Trypanosoma cruzi, the causal agent of the Chagas disease, a NICT-like protein (Tc/NICT) was identified with a short C-terminus orthologous to the human protein, a large ectodomain (ECD) with numerous glycosylation sites and a single-core transmembrane domain containing a putative TM-domain (457GSVGA461) important for the γ-secretase complex activity. Results: Using the Spot-synthesis strategy with Chagasic patient sera, five extracellular epitopes were identified and synthetic forms were used to generate rabbit anti-Tc/NICT polyclonal serum that recognized a ~72-kDa molecule in immunoblots of T. cruzi epimastigote extracts. Confocal microscopy suggests that Tc/NICT is localized in the flagellar pocket, which is consistent with data from our previous studies with a T. cruzi presenilin-like protein. Phylogenetically, Tc/NICT was localized within a subgroup with the T. rangeli protein that is clearly detached from the other Trypanosomatidae, such as T. brucei. These results, together with a comparative analysis of the selected peptide sequence regions between the T. cruzi and mammalian proteins, suggest a divergence from the human NICT that might be relevant to Chagas disease pathology. As a whole, our data show that a NICT-like protein is expressed in the infective and replicative stages of T. cruzi and may be considered further evidence for a γ-secretase complex in trypanosomatids.

Author(s):  
Guilherme Curty Lechuga ◽  
Paloma Napoleão-Pêgo ◽  
Larissa Rodrigues Gomes ◽  
Andressa Matta Durans ◽  
David William Provance-Jr ◽  
...  

Nicastrin (NICT) is a transmembrane protein physically associated with the polytypical aspartyl protease presenilin that plays a vital role in the correct localization and stabilization of presenilin to the membrane-bound γ-secretase complex. This complex is involved in the regulation of a wide range of cellular events including cell signaling and the regulation of endocytosed membrane proteins for their trafficking and protein processing. Mehtods: In Trypanosoma cruzi, the causal agent of the Chagas disease, an NICT-like protein (Tc/NICT) was identified with a short C-terminus orthologous to the human protein, a large ectodomain (ECD) with numerous glycosylation sites and a single core transmembrane domain containing a putative TM-domain (457GSVGA461) important for the γ-secretase complex activity. Results: Using the Spot-synthesis strategy with Chagasic patient sera, five extracellular epitopes were identified and synthetic forms were used to generate rabbit anti-Tc/NICT polyclonal serum that recognized a ~72-kDa molecule in immunoblots of T. cruzi epimastigote extracts. Confocal microscopy suggests that Tc/NICT is localized in the flagellar pocket, which is consistent with data from our previous studies with a T. cruzi presenilin-like protein. Phylogenetically, Tc/NICT was localized within a subgroup with the T. rangeli protein that are clearly detached from the other Trypanosomatidae such as T. brucei. These results, together with a comparative analysis of the selected peptide sequence regions between the T. cruzi and mammalian proteins suggest a divergence from the human NICT that might be relevant to Chagas disease pathology. As a whole, our data show that an NICT-like protein is expressed in the infective and replicative stages of T. cruzi and may be considered further evidence for a γ-secretase complex in trypanosomatids.


Blood ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 134 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 4658-4658 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason G Underwood ◽  
Jenny L. Smith ◽  
Lindsey F. Call ◽  
Elizabeth Tseng ◽  
Tiffany A. Hylkema ◽  
...  

CD123 is a cell surface protein expressed on hematopoietic progenitors and the surface of most AML blasts, making it a valuable therapeutic target for clinical intervention. As such, antibody-drug conjugates or CAR T cells against this antigen have been developed including tagraxofusp-erzs, recently approved for blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN). CD123 is the alpha subunit of the interleukin 3 receptor and is encoded by the pseudoautosomal IL3RA gene. Recent work demonstrated that different monoclonal antibodies directed against CD123 show sizable discrepancies when used to quantify this antigen on AML patient samples. (Cruz et al. 2018) Given these results and the variability in patient response to anti-CD123 therapeutics, we hypothesized that heterogeneity in IL3RA mRNA isoform expression may induce epitope variation on the cell surface, modulating antibody and therapeutic response. To better understand the heterogeneity, we analyzed long and short read transcriptomics data from normal bone marrow along with pediatric AML samples known to harbor translocations. The combination of these two types of RNA expression data afford both a look at full length isoforms produced in patients and the relative expression levels of each. To define the isoforms expressed in pediatric AML, we augmented short read RNAseq with long read transcriptomics on the PacBio platform. Following up on short RNAseq data generated from 4 clinical study cohorts of pediatric AML samples (N = 1,394) collected and normal bone marrow controls (NBM, N = 68), we chose diagnostic AML samples (N=10) and one NBM with high RNA integrity (RIN >9) for polyA transcript profiling using Pacific Biosciences (PacBio) long read RNA sequencing. This method gives full isoform sequences that can be reliably translated into open reading frames. It also adds new utility to our wealth of short read RNA-seq as the long read data can be used in a reference fashion to quantify and compare isoforms across cohorts. After profiling and classifying the novel isoforms, we honed in on transcripts from the IL3RA locus since these encode the CD123 antigen targeted by immunotherapy approaches. PacBio long read RNA sequencing detected 8 unique full-length transcript isoforms that mapped to the IL3RA gene: 4 known and 4 novel IL3RA transcripts. Three abundant known isoforms aligned to the canonical annotated IL3RA (Isoform 1, Figure 1A), an isoform missing exons 3 and 4 (Isoform 2) or a third isoform (Isoform 3, not shown) which does not encode a transmembrane domain. We focused on 3 novel isoforms (Figure 1, Isoforms A-C) encompassing a variety of splicing changes, but all of which are predicted to harbor a transmembrane domain and dramatically alter the extracellular peptide sequence in comparison to annotated isoforms. (Figure 1, domains predicted and colored in the legend) The novel isoforms were found independently in multiple patients, but as additional validation we PCR amplified cDNA from patient samples using an inclusive primer set directed to constitutive exons that flank the alternative splicing events and thus designed to capture multiple isoforms. (Figure 2A, arrows) Products were separated by gel electrophoresis with amplicons cloned, Sanger sequenced and analyzed through alignment with human reference sequences. The non-specific isoform amplification detects multiple isoforms indicating heterogeneity in splice site choice between patients. Fragment analysis from patient 2 (Figure 2B) confirms the presence of isoform variation with peaks corresponding with the expected products from isoforms 1, 2, A, B, and C. In an effort to further validate and quantify novel isoforms of IL3RA, we employed kallisto which utilizes short read RNAseq data from the entire cohort to get a count estimate for each isoform in pediatric AML patient samples and normal controls. These data (Figure 3) indicate that while the annotated isoform 1 is the most abundant, a wide range of novel isoform expression is detected in both normal and pAML samples. In conclusion, changes in protein length and peptide sequence may affect the efficacy of therapeutic anti-CD123 approaches since some patients express alternative isoforms with a wide range of abundance. We anticipate that the computational and experimental pipeline used to discover and characterize these isoforms will be of high value in the study of many cell surface antigens with therapeutic potential. Disclosures Underwood: Pacific Biosciences: Employment, Equity Ownership. Tseng:Pacific Biosciences: Employment, Equity Ownership. Farrar:Novartis: Research Funding.


2004 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 216-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
SS Catalá ◽  
LB Crocco ◽  
A Muñoz ◽  
G Morales ◽  
I Paulone ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVE: To study the risk of Trypanosoma cruzi domestic transmission using an entomological index and to explore its relationship with household's characteristics and cultural aspects. METHODS: There were studied 158 households in an endemic area in Argentina. Each household was classified according to an entomological risk indicator (number of risky bites/human). A questionnaire was administered to evaluate risk factors among householders. RESULTS: Infested households showed a wide range of risk values (0 to 5 risky bites/human) with skewed distribution, a high frequency of lower values and few very high risk households. Of all collected Triatoma infestans, 44% had had human blood meals whereas 27% had had dogs or chickens blood meals. Having dogs and birds sharing room with humans increased the risk values. Tidy clean households had contributed significantly to lower risk values as a result of low vector density. The infested households showed a 24.3% correlation between time after insecticide application and the number of vectors. But there was no correlation between the time after insecticide application and T. infestans' infectivity. The statistical analysis showed a high correlation between current values of the entomological risk indicator and Trypanosoma cruzi seroprevalence in children. CONCLUSIONS: The risk of T. cruzi domestic transmission assessed using an entomological index show a correlation with children seroprevalence for Chagas' disease and householders' habits.


2000 ◽  
Vol 20 (14) ◽  
pp. 5149-5163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hong Yang ◽  
David G. Russell ◽  
Baijing Zheng ◽  
Manami Eiki ◽  
Mary Gwo-Shu Lee

ABSTRACT CRAM is a cysteine-rich acidic transmembrane protein, highly expressed in the procyclic form of Trypanosoma brucei. Cell surface expression of CRAM is restricted to the flagellar pocket of trypanosomes, the only place where receptor mediated endocytosis takes place in the parasite. CRAM can function as a receptor and was hypothesized to be a lipoprotein receptor of trypanosomes. We study mechanisms involved in the presentation and routing of CRAM to the flagellar pocket of insect- and bloodstream-form trypanosomes. By deletional mutagenesis, we found that deleting up to four amino acids from the C terminus of CRAM did not affect the localization of CRAM at the flagellar pocket. Shortening the CRAM protein by 8 and 19 amino acids from the C terminus resulted in the distribution of the CRAM protein in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) (the CRAM protein is no longer uniquely sequestered at the flagellar pocket). This result indicates that the truncation of the CRAM C terminus affected the transport efficiency of CRAM from the ER to the flagellar pocket. However, when CRAM was truncated between 29 and 40 amino acids from the C terminus, CRAM was not only distributed in the ER but also located to the flagellar pocket and spread to the cell surface and the flagellum. Replacing the CRAM transmembrane domain with the invariant surface glycoprotein 65-derived transmembrane region did not affect the flagellar pocket location of CRAM. These results indicate that the CRAM cytoplasmic extension may exhibit two functional domains: one domain near the C terminus is important for efficient export of CRAM from the ER, while the second domain is of importance for confining CRAM to the flagellar pocket membrane.


Author(s):  
А.Р. Зарипова ◽  
Л.Р. Нургалиева ◽  
А.В. Тюрин ◽  
И.Р. Минниахметов ◽  
Р.И. Хусаинова

Проведено исследование гена интерферон индуцированного трансмембранного белка 5 (IFITM5) у 99 пациентов с несовершенным остеогенезом (НО) из 86 неродственных семей. НО - клинически и генетически гетерогенное наследственное заболевание соединительной ткани, основное клиническое проявление которого - множественные переломы, начиная с неонатального периода жизни, зачастую приводящие к инвалидизации с детского возраста. К основным клиническим признакам НО относятся голубые склеры, потеря слуха, аномалия дентина, повышенная ломкость костей, нарушения роста и осанки с развитием характерных инвалидизирующих деформаций костей и сопутствующих проблем, включающих дыхательные, неврологические, сердечные, почечные нарушения. НО встречается как у мужчин, так и у женщин. До сих пор не определена степень генетической гетерогенности заболевания. На сегодняшний день известно 20 генов, вовлеченных в патогенез НО, и исследователи разных стран продолжают искать новые гены. В последнее десятилетие стало известно, что аутосомно-рецессивные, аутосомно-доминантные и Х-сцепленные мутации в широком спектре генов, кодирующих белки, которые участвуют в синтезе коллагена I типа, его процессинге, секреции и посттрансляционной модификации, а также в белках, которые регулируют дифференцировку и активность костеобразующих клеток, вызывают НО. Мутации в гене IFITM5, также называемом BRIL (bone-restricted IFITM-like protein), участвующем в формировании остеобластов, приводят к развитию НО типа V. До 5% пациентов имеют НО типа V, который характеризуется образованием гиперпластического каллуса после переломов, кальцификацией межкостной мембраны предплечья и сетчатым рисунком ламелирования, наблюдаемого при гистологическом исследовании кости. В 2012 г. гетерозиготная мутация (c.-14C> T) в 5’-нетранслируемой области (UTR) гена IFITM5 была идентифицирована как основная причина НО V типа. В представленной работе проведен анализ гена IFITM5 и идентифицирована мутация c.-14C>T, возникшая de novo, у одного пациента с НО, которому впоследствии был установлен V тип заболевания. Также выявлены три известных полиморфных варианта: rs57285449; c.80G>C (p.Gly27Ala) и rs2293745; c.187-45C>T и rs755971385 c.279G>A (p.Thr93=) и один ранее не описанный вариант: c.128G>A (p.Ser43Asn) AGC>AAC (S/D), которые не являются патогенными. В статье уделяется внимание особенностям клинических проявлений НО V типа и рекомендуется определение мутации c.-14C>T в гене IFITM5 при подозрении на данную форму заболевания. A study was made of interferon-induced transmembrane protein 5 gene (IFITM5) in 99 patients with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) from 86 unrelated families and a search for pathogenic gene variants involved in the formation of the disease phenotype. OI is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous hereditary disease of the connective tissue, the main clinical manifestation of which is multiple fractures, starting from the natal period of life, often leading to disability from childhood. The main clinical signs of OI include blue sclera, hearing loss, anomaly of dentin, increased fragility of bones, impaired growth and posture, with the development of characteristic disabling bone deformities and associated problems, including respiratory, neurological, cardiac, and renal disorders. OI occurs in both men and women. The degree of genetic heterogeneity of the disease has not yet been determined. To date, 20 genes are known to be involved in the pathogenesis of OI, and researchers from different countries continue to search for new genes. In the last decade, it has become known that autosomal recessive, autosomal dominant and X-linked mutations in a wide range of genes encoding proteins that are involved in the synthesis of type I collagen, its processing, secretion and post-translational modification, as well as in proteins that regulate the differentiation and activity of bone-forming cells cause OI. Mutations in the IFITM5 gene, also called BRIL (bone-restricted IFITM-like protein), involved in the formation of osteoblasts, lead to the development of OI type V. Up to 5% of patients have OI type V, which is characterized by the formation of a hyperplastic callus after fractures, calcification of the interosseous membrane of the forearm, and a mesh lamellar pattern observed during histological examination of the bone. In 2012, a heterozygous mutation (c.-14C> T) in the 5’-untranslated region (UTR) of the IFITM5 gene was identified as the main cause of OI type V. In the present work, the IFITM5 gene was analyzed and the de novo c.-14C> T mutation was identified in one patient with OI who was subsequently diagnosed with type V of the disease. Three known polymorphic variants were also identified: rs57285449; c.80G> C (p.Gly27Ala) and rs2293745; c.187-45C> T and rs755971385 c.279G> A (p.Thr93 =) and one previously undescribed variant: c.128G> A (p.Ser43Asn) AGC> AAC (S / D), which were not pathogenic. The article focuses on the features of the clinical manifestations of OI type V, and it is recommended to determine the c.-14C> T mutation in the IFITM5 gene if this form of the disease is suspected.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jana Shen ◽  
Zhi Yue ◽  
Helen Zgurskaya ◽  
Wei Chen

AcrB is the inner-membrane transporter of E. coli AcrAB-TolC tripartite efflux complex, which plays a major role in the intrinsic resistance to clinically important antibiotics. AcrB pumps a wide range of toxic substrates by utilizing the proton gradient between periplasm and cytoplasm. Crystal structures of AcrB revealed three distinct conformational states of the transport cycle, substrate access, binding and extrusion, or loose (L), tight (T) and open (O) states. However, the specific residue(s) responsible for proton binding/release and the mechanism of proton-coupled conformational cycling remain controversial. Here we use the newly developed membrane hybrid-solvent continuous constant pH molecular dynamics technique to explore the protonation states and conformational dynamics of the transmembrane domain of AcrB. Simulations show that both Asp407 and Asp408 are deprotonated in the L/T states, while only Asp408 is protonated in the O state. Remarkably, release of a proton from Asp408 in the O state results in large conformational changes, such as the lateral and vertical movement of transmembrane helices as well as the salt-bridge formation between Asp408 and Lys940 and other sidechain rearrangements among essential residues.Consistent with the crystallographic differences between the O and L protomers, simulations offer dynamic details of how proton release drives the O-to-L transition in AcrB and address the controversy regarding the proton/drug stoichiometry. This work offers a significant step towards characterizing the complete cycle of proton-coupled drug transport in AcrB and further validates the membrane hybrid-solvent CpHMD technique for studies of proton-coupled transmembrane proteins which are currently poorly understood. <p><br></p>


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (36) ◽  
pp. 6519-6543 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriana Egui ◽  
Paola Lasso ◽  
Elena Pérez-Antón ◽  
M. Carmen Thomas ◽  
Manuel Carlos López

Chagas disease courses with different clinical phases and has a variable clinical presentation and progression. The acute infection phase mostly exhibits a non-specific symptomatology. In the absence of treatment, the acute phase is followed by a chronic phase, which is initially asymptomatic. This chronic asymptomatic phase of the disease is characterized by a fragile balance between the host’s immune response and the parasite replication. The loss of this balance is crucial for the progression of the sickness. The virulence and tropism of the T. cruzi infecting strain together to the inflammation processes in the cardiac tissue are the main factors for the establishment and severity of the cardiomyopathy. The efficacy of treatment in chronic Chagas disease patients is controversial. However, several studies carried out in chronic patients demonstrated that antiparasitic treatment reduces parasite load in the bloodstream and leads to an improvement in the immune response against the Trypanosoma cruzi parasite. The present review is mainly focused on the cellular patterns associated to the clinical status and the evolution of the disease in chronic patients, as well as the effectiveness of the treatment related to T. cruzi infection control. Therefore, an emphasis is placed on the dynamics of specific-antigens T cell subpopulations, their memory and activation phenotypes, their functionality and their contribution to pathogenesis or disease control, as well as their association with risk of congenital transmission of the parasite.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (23) ◽  
pp. 4403-4434 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susimaire Pedersoli Mantoani ◽  
Peterson de Andrade ◽  
Talita Perez Cantuaria Chierrito ◽  
Andreza Silva Figueredo ◽  
Ivone Carvalho

Neglected Diseases (NDs) affect million of people, especially the poorest population around the world. Several efforts to an effective treatment have proved insufficient at the moment. In this context, triazole derivatives have shown great relevance in medicinal chemistry due to a wide range of biological activities. This review aims to describe some of the most relevant and recent research focused on 1,2,3- and 1,2,4-triazolebased molecules targeting four expressive NDs: Chagas disease, Malaria, Tuberculosis and Leishmaniasis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qing Zhong ◽  
Yanyu Zhao ◽  
Fangfei Ye ◽  
Zaiyu Xiao ◽  
Gaoxingyu Huang ◽  
...  

AbstractWntless (WLS), an evolutionarily conserved multi-pass transmembrane protein, is essential for secretion of Wnt proteins. Wnt-triggered signaling pathways control many crucial life events, whereas aberrant Wnt signaling is tightly associated with many human diseases including cancers. Here, we report the cryo-EM structure of human WLS in complex with Wnt3a, the most widely studied Wnt, at 2.2 Å resolution. The transmembrane domain of WLS bears a GPCR fold, with a conserved core cavity and a lateral opening. Wnt3a interacts with WLS at multiple interfaces, with the lipid moiety on Wnt3a traversing a hydrophobic tunnel of WLS transmembrane domain and inserting into membrane. A β-hairpin of Wnt3a containing the conserved palmitoleoylation site interacts with WLS extensively, which is crucial for WLS-mediated Wnt secretion. The flexibility of the Wnt3a loop/hairpin regions involved in the multiple binding sites indicates induced fit might happen when Wnts are bound to different binding partners. Our findings provide important insights into the molecular mechanism of Wnt palmitoleoylation, secretion and signaling.


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