Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of Bern, Bühlstrasse 28, 3012 Bern, Switzerland.
J Biol Chem. 2012 Apr 13;287(16):13313-23. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M112.344812. Epub 2012 Feb 20.
myo-Inositol is an essential precursor for the production of inositol phosphates and inositol phospholipids in all eukaryotes. Intracellular myo-inositol is generated by de novo synthesis from glucose 6-phosphate or is provided from the environment via myo-inositol symporters. We show that in Trypanosoma brucei, the causative pathogen of human African sleeping sickness and nagana in domestic animals, myo-inositol is taken up via a specific proton-coupled electrogenic symport and that this transport is essential for parasite survival in culture. Down-regulation of the myo-inositol transporter using RNA interference inhibited uptake of myo-inositol and blocked the synthesis of the myo-inositol-containing phospholipids, phosphatidylinositol and inositol phosphorylceramide; in contrast, it had no effect on glycosylphosphatidylinositol production. This together with the unexpected localization of the myo-inositol transporter in both the plasma membrane and the Golgi demonstrate that metabolism of endogenous and exogenous myo-inositol in T. brucei is strictly segregated.
肌醇是所有真核生物中肌醇磷酸盐和肌醇磷脂合成的必需前体。细胞内肌醇由葡萄糖 6-磷酸从头合成产生,或者通过肌醇转运蛋白从环境中提供。我们表明,在引起人类昏睡病和家畜纳格纳病的病原体布氏锥虫中,肌醇通过特定的质子偶联的电致运动来摄取,并且这种运输对寄生虫在培养中的存活是必需的。使用 RNA 干扰下调肌醇转运蛋白的表达会抑制肌醇的摄取并阻断肌醇磷脂(磷脂酰肌醇和肌醇磷酸神经酰胺)的合成;相比之下,它对糖基磷脂酰肌醇的产生没有影响。这与肌醇转运蛋白在质膜和高尔基体中的意外定位一起表明,布氏锥虫内源性和外源性肌醇的代谢是严格分隔的。