Intersection of endocytic and exocytic systems in Toxoplasma gondii

Host cytosolic proteins are endocytosed by Toxoplasma gondii and degraded in its lysosome‐like compartment, the vacuolar compartment (VAC), but the dynamics and route of endocytic trafficking remain undefined. Conserved endocytic components and plant‐like features suggest T. gondii endocytic trafficking involves transit through early and late endosome‐like compartments (ELCs) and potentially the trans‐Golgi network (TGN) as in plants. However, exocytic trafficking to regulated secretory organelles, micronemes and rhoptries, also proceeds through ELCs and requires classical endocytic components, including a dynamin‐related protein, DrpB. Here, we show that host cytosolic proteins are endocytosed within 7 minutes post‐invasion, trafficked through ELCs en route to the VAC, and degraded within 30 minutes. We could not definitively interpret if ingested protein is trafficked through the TGN. We also found that parasites ingest material from the host cytosol throughout the parasite cell cycle. Ingested host proteins colocalize with immature microneme proteins, proM2AP and proMIC5, in transit to the micronemes, but not with the immature rhoptry protein proRON4, indicating that endocytic trafficking of ingested protein intersects with exocytic trafficking of microneme proteins. Finally, we show that conditional expression of a DrpB dominant negative mutant increases T. gondii ingestion of host‐derived proteins, suggesting that DrpB is not required for parasite endocytosis.      

Biogenesis and secretion of micronemes in Toxoplasma gondii

One of the hallmarks of the parasitic phylum of Apicomplexa is the presence of highly specialised, apical secretory organelles, called the micronemes and rhoptries that play critical roles in ensuring survival and dissemination. Upon exocytosis, the micronemes release adhesin complexes, perforins, and proteases that are crucially implicated in egress from infected cells, gliding motility, migration across biological barriers, and host cell invasion. Recent studies on Toxoplasma gondii and Plasmodium species have shed more light on the signalling events and the machinery that trigger microneme secretion. Intracellular cyclic nucleotides, calcium level, and phosphatidic acid act as key mediators of microneme exocytosis, and several downstream effectors have been identified. Here, we review the key steps of microneme biogenesis and exocytosis, summarising the still fractal knowledge at the molecular level regarding the fusion event with the parasite plasma membrane.     

The apical annuli of Toxoplasma gondii are composed of coiled‐coil and signalling proteins embedded in the inner membrane complex sutures

The apical annuli are among the most intriguing and understudied structures in the cytoskeleton of the apicomplexan parasite Toxoplasma gondii. We mapped the proteome of the annuli in Toxoplasma by reciprocal proximity biotinylation (BioID), and validated five apical annuli proteins (AAP1–5), Centrin2, and an apical annuli methyltransferase. Moreover, inner membrane complex (IMC) suture proteins connecting the alveolar vesicles were also detected and support annuli residence within the sutures. Super‐resolution microscopy identified a concentric organisation comprising four rings with diameters ranging from 200 to 400 nm. The high prevalence of domain signatures shared with centrosomal proteins in the AAPs together with Centrin2 suggests that the annuli are related and/or derived from the centrosomes. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the AAPs are conserved narrowly in coccidian, apicomplexan parasites that multiply by an internal budding mechanism. This suggests a role in replication, for example, to provide pores in the mother IMC permitting exchange of building blocks and waste products. However, presence of multiple signalling domains and proteins are suggestive of additional functions. Knockout of AAP4, the most conserved compound forming the largest ring‐like structure, modestly decreased parasite fitness in vitro but had no significant impact on acute virulence in vivo. In conclusion, the apical annuli are composed of coiled‐coil and signalling proteins assembled in a pore‐like structure crossing the IMC barrier maintained during internal budding.     

家蚕动力蛋白轻链8基因克隆及其对重力的响应

克隆家蚕动力蛋白轻链8(dynein light chain 8, Dlc8)基因开放阅读框架并对其序列进行分析．探讨Dlc8基因在家蚕胚胎、头、丝腺、中肠、皮肤、血液、脂肪和马氏管等组织中的分布．在细胞水平,应用RT-PCR和实时定量RT-PCR方法分析大梯度强磁场(large gradient high magnetic field, LGHMF)重力模拟环境(0 g、1 g、2 g)对家蚕Dlc8基因表达的影响．在整体水平,应用实时定量RT-PCR方法分析Dlc8基因在家蚕胚胎反转期和整个胚胎期对LGHMF模拟失重环境的响应．克隆的家蚕Dlc8基因开放阅读框架长度为270 bp,编码89个氨基酸．家蚕Dlc8基因推导的氨基酸序列与拟南芥(Arabidopsis thaliana)、果蝇(Drosophila melanogaster)、线虫(Caenorhabditis elegans)、热带爪蟾(Xenopus tropicalis)、小鼠(Mus musculus)、人类(Homo sapiens)等6个物种Dlc8基因的氨基酸序列同源性分别为67%、96%、91%、95%、92%、92%．信号肽分析结果显示,该蛋白质为非分泌蛋白,不存在糖基磷脂酰肌醇锚定位点．家蚕Dlc8分子质量与等电点分别为10.34 ku和6.81．Dlc8基因在家蚕的胚胎、头、丝腺、中肠、皮肤、血液、脂肪、马氏管中稳定表达．在细胞水平,家蚕Dlc8基因表达对重力变化较敏感,对磁场变化不敏感．在整体水平,Dlc8基因在家蚕胚胎发育的不同时期对重力的响应不同．整个胚胎发育期Dlc8基因在模拟失重条件下表达量与对照组接近．家蚕Dlc8基因可以作为重力生物学效应研究的分子靶标．该研究为深入探讨家蚕Dlc8基因重力生物学效应机制奠定了基础．     

The “8-kD” Cytoplasmic Dynein Light Chain Is Required for Nuclear Migration and for Dynein Heavy Chain Localization in Aspergillus nidulans

The heavy chain of cytoplasmic dynein is required for nuclear migration in Aspergillus nidulans and other fungi. Here we report on a new gene required for nuclear migration, nudG, which encodes a homologue of the “8-kD” cytoplasmic dynein light chain (CDLC). We demonstrate that the temperature sensitive nudG8 mutation inhibits nuclear migration and growth at restrictive temperature. This mutation also inhibits asexual and sexual sporulation, decreases the intracellular concentration of the nudG CDLC protein and causes the cytoplasmic dynein heavy chain to be absent from the mycelial tip, where it is normally located in wild-type mycelia. Coimmunoprecipitation experiments with antibodies against the cytoplasmic dynein heavy chain (CDHC) and the nudG CDLC demonstrated that some fraction of the cytoplasmic dynein light chain is in a protein complex with the CDHC. Sucrose gradient sedimentation analysis, however, showed that not all of the NUDG protein is complexed with the heavy chain. A double mutant carrying a cytoplasmic dynein heavy chain deletion plus a temperature-sensitive nudG mutation grew no more slowly at restrictive temperature than a strain with only the CDHC deletion. This result demonstrates that the effect of the nudG mutation on nuclear migration and growth is mediated through an interaction with the CDHC rather than with some other molecule (e.g., myosin-V) with which the 8-kD CDLC might theoretically interact.     

A family of aspartic proteases and a novel, dynamic and cell-cycle-dependent protease localization in the secretory pathway of Toxoplasma gondii

Aspartic proteases are important virulence factors in pathogens like HIV, Candida albicans or Plasmodium falciparum . We report here the identification of seven putative aspartic proteases, TgASP1 to TgASP7, in the apicomplexan parasite Toxoplasma gondii . Bioinformatic and phylogenetic analysis of the TgASPs and other aspartic proteases from related Apicomplexa suggests the existence of five distinct groups of aspartic proteases with different evolutionary lineages. The members of each group share predicted biological features that validate the phylogeny. TgASP1 is expressed in tachyzoites, the rapidly dividing asexual stage of T. gondii . We present the proteolytic maturation and subcellular localization of this protease through the cell cycle. TgASP1 shows a novel punctate localization associated with the secretory system in non-dividing cells, and relocalizes dramatically and unambiguously to the nascent inner membrane complex of daughter cells at replication, before coalescing again at the end of division.