Department of Cellular Biology, Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases (CTEGD), University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States.
Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States.
Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2020 Jan 17;9:445. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2019.00445. eCollection 2019.
The etiological agent of Chagas disease, , is an obligate intracellular parasite that infects an estimated 7 million people in the Americas, with an at-risk population of 70 million. Despite its recognition as the highest impact parasitic infection of the Americas, Chagas disease continues to receive insufficient attention and resources in order to be effectively combatted. Unlike the other parasitic trypanosomatids that infect humans ( and spp.), retains an ancestral mode of phagotrophic feeding via an endocytic organelle known as the cytostome-cytopharynx complex (SPC). How this tubular invagination of the plasma membrane functions to bring in nutrients is poorly understood at a mechanistic level, partially due to a lack of knowledge of the protein machinery specifically targeted to this structure. Using a combination of CRISPR/Cas9 mediated endogenous tagging, fluorescently labeled overexpression constructs and endocytic assays, we have identified the first known SPC targeted protein (CP1). The CP1 labeled structure co-localizes with endocytosed protein and undergoes disassembly in infectious forms and reconstitution in replicative forms. Additionally, through the use of immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry techniques, we have identified two additional CP1-associated proteins (CP2 and CP3) that also target to this endocytic organelle. Our localization studies using fluorescently tagged proteins and surface lectin staining have also allowed us, for the first time, to specifically define the location of the intriguing pre-oral ridge (POR) surface prominence at the SPC entrance through the use of super-resolution light microscopy. This work is a first glimpse into the proteome of the SPC and provides the tools for further characterization of this enigmatic endocytic organelle. A better understanding of how this deadly pathogen acquires nutrients from its host will potentially direct us toward new therapeutic targets to combat infection.
克氏锥虫病的病原体 ,是一种专性细胞内寄生虫,估计有 700 万人在美洲感染这种寄生虫,而高危人群则有 7000 万人。尽管它被认为是美洲影响最大的寄生虫感染,但克氏锥虫病仍然没有得到足够的重视和资源,无法得到有效防治。与其他感染人类的寄生原虫( 和 spp.)不同, 保留了一种古老的吞噬营养的方式,通过一个称为胞口-胞咽复合结构(SPC)的内吞细胞器。这种质膜的管状内陷是如何将营养物质带入细胞内的,在机制层面上还知之甚少,部分原因是缺乏针对该结构的蛋白质机制的专门知识。通过 CRISPR/Cas9 介导的内源性标记、荧光标记过表达构建体和内吞测定的组合,我们已经鉴定出第一个已知的 SPC 靶向蛋白(CP1)。CP1 标记的结构与内吞的蛋白质共定位,并在感染形式中解体,在复制形式中重新组装。此外,通过免疫沉淀和质谱技术,我们还鉴定了另外两个靶向该内吞细胞器的 CP1 相关蛋白(CP2 和 CP3)。我们使用荧光标记蛋白和表面凝集素染色进行的定位研究还使我们首次能够通过使用超分辨率荧光显微镜,专门定义 SPC 入口处令人着迷的前口嵴(POR)表面突起的位置。这项工作是对 SPC 蛋白质组的首次探索,并为进一步研究这个神秘的内吞细胞器提供了工具。更好地了解这种致命病原体如何从宿主中获取营养,可能会为我们寻找对抗感染的新治疗靶点提供指导。