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 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 Expression of a variant surface glycoprotein of Trypanosoma gambiense in procyclic forms of Trypanosoma brucei shows that the cell type dictates the nature of the glycosylphosphatidylinositol membrane anchor attached to the glycoprotein

1997 ◽  
Vol 324 (3) ◽  
pp. 885-895 ◽  
Author(s):  
Françoise PATURIAUX-HANOCQ ◽  
Nicole ZITZMANN ◽  
Jacqueline HANOCQ-QUERTIER ◽  
Luc VANHAMME ◽  
Sylvie ROLIN ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Trypanosoma Brucei ◽  
Degradation Products ◽  
Surface Glycoprotein ◽  
Variant Surface Glycoprotein ◽  
Mrna Levels ◽  
Membrane Anchor ◽  
Gpi Anchor ◽  
Intact Membrane ◽  
Membrane Bound ◽  
Trypanosoma Gambiense

Procyclic forms of Trypanosoma brucei have been genetically modified to express the major metacyclic variant surface glycoprotein (VSG variant AnTat 11.17) of Trypanosoma gambiense. The VSG is expressed in an intact membrane-bound form that can be detected over the entire plasma membrane, together with procyclin, and as a series of lower-molecular-mass fragments that are mostly soluble degradation products. The presence of degraded VSG in the cells and the culture medium suggests that VSG is not efficiently processed and/or efficiently folded when expressed in procyclic cells. The level of procyclin expressed on the surface of these cells is slightly reduced, although there is no difference in procyclin mRNA levels. The intact membrane-bound form of the VSG is N-glycosylated with oligomannose structures and contains a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) membrane anchor that can be biosynthetically labelled with [3H]ethanolamine. The anchor is sensitive to mammalian GPI-specific phospholipase D but, like the anchor of procyclin, it is resistant to the action of bacterial phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C. This pattern of phospholipase sensitivity suggests that the GPI anchor acquired by VSG when expressed in procyclics is acylated on the inositol ring and therefore resembles a procyclic procyclin-type anchor rather than a trypomastigote VSG-type anchor with respect to the lipid structure. The VSG expressed in procyclics was sensitive to the action of a mixture of sialidase, β-galactosidase and β-hexosaminidase, suggesting that the VSG GPI anchor also contains a sialylated polylactosamine side-chain modification similar to that described for procyclin. These results indicate that the nature of the protein expressed has little influence on the post-translational modifications performed in the secretory pathway of procyclic trypanosomes.

scholarly journals Turnover of Variant Surface Glycoprotein in Trypanosoma brucei Is a Bimodal Process

mBio ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paige Garrison ◽  
Umaer Khan ◽  
Michael Cipriano ◽  
Peter J. Bush ◽  
Jacquelyn McDonald ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Trypanosoma Brucei ◽  
Surface Glycoprotein ◽  
Variant Surface Glycoprotein ◽  
Host Immune System ◽  
Membrane Anchor ◽  
African Trypanosomes ◽  
Hydrolysis Of

African trypanosomes, the protozoan agent of human African trypanosomaisis, avoid the host immune system by switching expression of the variant surface glycoprotein (VSG). VSG is a long-lived protein that has long been thought to be turned over by hydrolysis of its glycolipid membrane anchor.

scholarly journals Experimental production of anti-membrane bound variable surface glycoglycoprotein (anti-VSGm) antibodies for in vitro and in situ immunostaining of pathogenic African trypanosomes

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reymick Okwong-Oketch ◽  
Julius Nsubuga ◽  
Peter Ayebare ◽  
Zachary Nsadha ◽  
George William Lubega ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Culture Media ◽  
Surface Glycoprotein ◽  
Variant Surface Glycoprotein ◽  
Homologous Region ◽  
Experimental Production ◽  
Artificial Culture ◽  
African Trypanosomes ◽  
Variable Surface ◽  
Membrane Bound

AbstractBackgroundThe variant surface glycoprotein (VSG) of the African trypanosomes is the major membrane protein of the plasma membrane of the bloodstream stage of the parasite. African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness in humans and nagana in animals) is caused by the systemic infection of the host by several sub-species of the extracellular haemoflagellate protozoa under genus Trypanosoma. As a defense barrier against the host immune response, the entire surface of the bloodstream form of trypanosome is covered with densely packed molecules of VSG that determines the antigenic phenotype of the parasite. Variant surface glycoprotein has a C-terminal domain that is highly conserved in various species of trypanosomes.MethodsThe membrane bound VSG (VSGm) protein was prepared without denaturing the homologous region and by including numerous variable antigen types from Trypanosoma brucei brucei parasites. The purified VSGm native trypanosome protein was used to produce anti-VSGm immune sera in rabbits. The indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) was used to detect trypanosomes from mice blood, artificial culture media and cattle histological sections.ResultsThe resultant immune sera were able to detect different strains and species of African trypanosomes from in vivo and in situ sources after immunostaining. Anti-VSGm antibodies also demonstrated a unique property to locate trypanosomes within the histological tissues even after the trypanosome’s morphology had been distorted.ConclusionThe produced immune sera can be utilized for immunohistochemistry to detect Trypanosoma species in various fluids and tissues.Author summary

Glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol molecules of the parasite and the host

Parasitology ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 108 (S1) ◽  
pp. S45-S54 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. J. Ferguson ◽  
J. S. Brimacombe ◽  
S. Cottaz ◽  
R. A. Field ◽  
L. S. Güther ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Chemotherapeutic Agents ◽  
Surface Glycoprotein ◽  
Molecular Architecture ◽  
Protozoan Parasites ◽  
Gpi Anchor ◽  
African Trypanosomes ◽  
Glycosyl Phosphatidylinositol ◽  
Protein Membrane ◽  
Parasite Survival

SUMMARYThe glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol (GPI) protein-membrane anchors are ubiquitous among the eukaryotes. However, while mammalian cells typically express in the order of 100 thousand copies of GPI-anchor per cell, the parasitic protozoa, particularly the kinetoplastids, express up to 10–20 million copies of GPI-anchor and/or GPI-related glycolipids per cell. Thus GPI-family members dominate the cell surface molecular architecture of these organisms. In several cases, GPI-anchored proteins, such as the variant surface glycoprotein (VSG) of the African trypanosomes, or GPI-related glycolipids, such as the lipophosphoglycan (LPG) of the Leishmania, are known to be essential for parasite survival and infectivity. The highly elevated levels and specialised nature of GPI metabolism in the kinetoplastid parasites suggest that the GPI biosynthetic pathways might be good targets for the development of chemotherapeutic agents. This article introduces the range of GPI structures found in protozoan parasites, and their mammalian hosts, and discusses some aspects of GPI biosynthesis.

scholarly journals Targeting the Variable Surface of African Trypanosomes with Variant Surface Glycoprotein-Specific, Serum-Stable RNA Aptamers

2003 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mihaela Lorger ◽  
Markus Engstler ◽  
Matthias Homann ◽  
H. Ulrich Göringer
Keyword(s):  
Antigenic Variation ◽  
Sleeping Sickness ◽  
Rna Aptamers ◽  
Surface Glycoprotein ◽  
Variant Surface Glycoprotein ◽  
Parasite Protein ◽  
African Trypanosomes ◽  
Variable Surface ◽  
New Strategy

ABSTRACT African trypanosomes cause sleeping sickness in humans and Nagana in cattle. The parasites multiply in the blood and escape the immune response of the infected host by antigenic variation. Antigenic variation is characterized by a periodic change of the parasite protein surface, which consists of a variant glycoprotein known as variant surface glycoprotein (VSG). Using a SELEX (systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment) approach, we report the selection of small, serum-stable RNAs, so-called aptamers, that bind to VSGs with subnanomolar affinity. The RNAs are able to recognize different VSG variants and bind to the surface of live trypanosomes. Aptamers tethered to an antigenic side group are capable of directing antibodies to the surface of the parasite in vitro. In this manner, the RNAs might provide a new strategy for a therapeutic intervention to fight sleeping sickness.

scholarly journals Glycosyltransferase activities in Golgi complex and endoplasmic reticulum fractions isolated from African trypanosomes.

1984 ◽  
Vol 99 (2) ◽  
pp. 569-577 ◽  
Author(s):  
D J Grab ◽  
S Ito ◽  
U A Kara ◽  
L Rovis
Keyword(s):  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Golgi Complex ◽  
Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Surface Glycoprotein ◽  
Relative Distribution ◽  
African Trypanosomes ◽  
Independent Form ◽  
Variable Surface ◽  
Dependent Form

Highly enriched Golgi complex and endoplasmic reticulum fractions were isolated from total microsomes obtained from Trypanosoma brucei, Trypanosoma congolense, and Trypanosoma vivax, and tested for glycosyltransferase activity. Purity of the fractions was assessed by electron microscopy as well as by biochemical analysis. The relative distribution of all the glycosyltransferases was remarkably similar for the three species of African trypanosomes studied. The Golgi complex fraction contained most of the galactosyltransferase activity followed by the smooth and rough endoplasmic reticulum fractions. The dolichol-dependent mannosyltransferase activities were highest for the rough endoplasmic reticulum, lower for the smooth endoplasmic reticulum, and lowest for the Golgi complex. Although the dolichol-independent form of N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase was essentially similar in all the fractions, the dolichol-dependent form of this enzyme was much higher in the endoplasmic reticulum fractions than in the Golgi complex fraction. Inhibition of this latter activity in the smooth endoplasmic reticulum fraction by tunicamycin A1 suggests that core glycosylation of the variable surface glycoprotein may occur in this organelle and not in the rough endoplasmic reticulum as previously assumed.

scholarly journals Escaping the immune system by DNA repair and recombination in African trypanosomes

Open Biology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 190182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Núria Sima ◽  
Emilia Jane McLaughlin ◽  
Sebastian Hutchinson ◽  
Lucy Glover
Keyword(s):  
Immune Response ◽  
Dna Repair ◽  
Trypanosoma Brucei ◽  
Antigenic Variation ◽  
Surface Glycoprotein ◽  
Variant Surface Glycoprotein ◽  
Surface Coat ◽  
African Trypanosomes ◽  
Active Expression ◽  
Expression Site

African trypanosomes escape the mammalian immune response by antigenic variation—the periodic exchange of one surface coat protein, in Trypanosoma brucei the variant surface glycoprotein (VSG), for an immunologically distinct one. VSG transcription is monoallelic, with only one VSG being expressed at a time from a specialized locus, known as an expression site. VSG switching is a predominantly recombination-driven process that allows VSG sequences to be recombined into the active expression site either replacing the currently active VSG or generating a ‘new’ VSG by segmental gene conversion. In this review, we describe what is known about the factors that influence this process, focusing specifically on DNA repair and recombination.

scholarly journals Nuclear Phosphatidylinositol 5-Phosphatase Is Essential for Allelic Exclusion of Variant Surface Glycoprotein Genes in Trypanosomes

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Igor Cestari ◽  
Hilary McLeland-Wieser ◽  
Kenneth Stuart
Keyword(s):  
Antibody Response ◽  
Antigenic Variation ◽  
Chromatin Organization ◽  
Surface Glycoprotein ◽  
Variant Surface Glycoprotein ◽  
Allelic Exclusion ◽  
Activator Protein 1 ◽  
Multiprotein Complex ◽  
African Trypanosomes ◽  
Activator Protein

ABSTRACT Allelic exclusion of variant surface glycoprotein (VSG) genes is essential for African trypanosomes to evade the host antibody response by antigenic variation. The mechanisms by which this parasite expresses only one of its ∼2,000 VSG genes at a time are unknown. We show that nuclear phosphatidylinositol 5-phosphatase (PIP5Pase) interacts with repressor activator protein 1 (RAP1) in a multiprotein complex and functions in the control of VSG allelic exclusion. RAP1 binds PIP5Pase substrate phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate [PI(3,4,5)P3], and catalytic mutation of PIP5Pase that inhibits PI(3,4,5)P3 dephosphorylation results in simultaneous transcription of VSGs from all telomeric expression sites (ESs) and from silent subtelomeric VSG arrays. PIP5Pase and RAP1 bind to telomeric ESs, especially at 70-bp repeats and telomeres, and their binding is altered by PIP5Pase inactivation or knockdown, implying changes in ES chromatin organization. Our data suggest a model whereby PIP5Pase controls PI(3,4,5)P3 binding by RAP1 and, thus, RAP1 silencing of telomeric and subtelomeric VSG genes. Hence, allelic exclusion of VSG genes may entail control of nuclear phosphoinositides.

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