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Selenium and protozoan parasitic infections: selenocompounds and selenoproteins potential. Parasitol Res 2022; 121:49-62. [PMID: 34993638 PMCID: PMC8735723 DOI: 10.1007/s00436-021-07400-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2021] [Accepted: 11/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
The current drug treatments against protozoan parasitic diseases including Chagas, malaria, leishmaniasis, and toxoplasmosis represent good examples of drug resistance mechanisms and have shown diverse side effects. Therefore, the identification of novel therapeutic strategies and drug compounds against such life-threatening diseases is urgent. According to the successful usage of selenium (Se) compounds-based therapy against some diseases, this therapeutic strategy has been recently further underlined against these parasitic diseases by targeting different parasite´s essential pathways. On the other hand, due to the important functions played by parasite selenoproteins in their biology (such as modulating the host immune response), they can be also considered as a novel therapeutic strategy by designing specific inhibitors against these important proteins. In addition, the immunomodulatory potentiality of these compounds to trigger T helper type 1 (Th1) cells and cytokine-mediated immune response for the substantial induction of proinflammatory cytokines, thus, Se, selenoproteins, and parasite selenoproteins could be further investigated to find possible vaccine antigens. Herein, we collect and present the results of some studies regarding Se-based therapy against protozoan parasitic diseases and highlight relevant information and some viewpoints that might be insightful to advance toward more effective studies in the future.
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Tavares KCS, Casagrande Dambrós MG, Antunes ASL, Danziato PM, Stoco PH, Schlindwein AD, Moreira RS, Miletti LC. Selenocysteine in Trypanosoma evansi: Identification of the Genes selb, selc, seld, pstk, seltryp and the Selenophosphate Synthetase Protein. ACTA PROTOZOOL 2021. [DOI: 10.4467/16890027ap.21.003.14063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Selenoproteins have been described in all three domains of life and their function has been mainly associated with oxidative stress defense. Canonical elements required for selenoprotein production have been identified in members of the kinetoplastid group supporting the existence of a complete selenocysteine synthesis pathway in these organisms. Currently, nothing is known regarding the selenocysteine pathway in Trypanosoma evansi. In this study, we identified the expression of the elements selB, selC, selD, PSTK and selTRYP at the mRNA level in T. evansi. All translated proteins (selD, PSTK, selTRYP and selB) have the domains predicted and higher identity with Trypanosoma brucei. gambiense. The selenophosphate synthetase protein was localized in the cytoplasm. Our results support the existence of an active selenocysteine pathway in T. evansi.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaio Cesar Simiano Tavares
- Laboratório de Hemoparasitas e Vetores Centro de Ciências Agroveterinárias (CAV), Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina (UDESC).; Experimental Biology Center (NUBEX), Universidade de Fortaleza
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Renato Simões Moreira
- Laboratório de Hemoparasitas e Vetores Centro de Ciências Agroveterinárias (CAV), Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina (UDESC); Instituto Federal de Santa Catarina (IFSC)
| | - Luiz Claudio Miletti
- Laboratório de Hemoparasitas e Vetores Centro de Ciências Agroveterinárias (CAV), Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina (UDESC)
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da Silva MTA, Silva IRE, Faim LM, Bellini NK, Pereira ML, Lima AL, de Jesus TCL, Costa FC, Watanabe TF, Pereira HD, Valentini SR, Zanelli CF, Borges JC, Dias MVB, da Cunha JPC, Mittra B, Andrews NW, Thiemann OH. Trypanosomatid selenophosphate synthetase structure, function and interaction with selenocysteine lyase. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2020; 14:e0008091. [PMID: 33017394 PMCID: PMC7595633 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2020] [Revised: 10/29/2020] [Accepted: 08/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Eukaryotes from the Excavata superphylum have been used as models to study the evolution of cellular molecular processes. Strikingly, human parasites of the Trypanosomatidae family (T. brucei, T. cruzi and L. major) conserve the complex machinery responsible for selenocysteine biosynthesis and incorporation in selenoproteins (SELENOK/SelK, SELENOT/SelT and SELENOTryp/SelTryp), although these proteins do not seem to be essential for parasite viability under laboratory controlled conditions. Selenophosphate synthetase (SEPHS/SPS) plays an indispensable role in selenium metabolism, being responsible for catalyzing the formation of selenophosphate, the biological selenium donor for selenocysteine synthesis. We solved the crystal structure of the L. major selenophosphate synthetase and confirmed that its dimeric organization is functionally important throughout the domains of life. We also demonstrated its interaction with selenocysteine lyase (SCLY) and showed that it is not present in other stable assemblies involved in the selenocysteine pathway, namely the phosphoseryl-tRNASec kinase (PSTK)-Sec-tRNASec synthase (SEPSECS) complex and the tRNASec-specific elongation factor (eEFSec) complex. Endoplasmic reticulum stress with dithiothreitol (DTT) or tunicamycin upon selenophosphate synthetase ablation in procyclic T. brucei cells led to a growth defect. On the other hand, only DTT presented a negative effect in bloodstream T. brucei expressing selenophosphate synthetase-RNAi. Furthermore, selenoprotein T (SELENOT) was dispensable for both forms of the parasite. Together, our data suggest a role for the T. brucei selenophosphate synthetase in the regulation of the parasite’s ER stress response. Selenium is both a toxic compound and a micronutrient. As a micronutrient, it participates in the synthesis of specific proteins, selenoproteins, as the amino acid selenocysteine. The synthesis of selenocysteine is present in organisms ranging from bacteria to humans. The protist parasites of the Trypanosomatidae family, that cause major tropical diseases, conserve the complex machinery responsible for selenocysteine biosynthesis and incorporation in selenoproteins. However, this pathway has been considered dispensable for the parasitic protist cells. This has intrigued us, and lead to question that if maintained in the cell it should be under selective pressure and therefore be necessary. Also, extensive and dynamic protein-protein interactions must happen to deliver selenium-containing intermediates along the pathway in order to warrant efficient usage of biological selenium in the cell. In this study we have investigated the molecular interactions of different proteins involved in selenocysteine synthesis and its putative involvement in the endoplasmic reticulum redox homeostasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Túlio Alves da Silva
- Laboratory of Structural Biology, Sao Carlos Institute of Physics, University of São Paulo, São Carlos, SP, Brazil
| | - Ivan Rosa e Silva
- Laboratory of Structural Biology, Sao Carlos Institute of Physics, University of São Paulo, São Carlos, SP, Brazil
| | - Lívia Maria Faim
- Laboratory of Structural Biology, Sao Carlos Institute of Physics, University of São Paulo, São Carlos, SP, Brazil
| | - Natália Karla Bellini
- Laboratory of Structural Biology, Sao Carlos Institute of Physics, University of São Paulo, São Carlos, SP, Brazil
| | - Murilo Leão Pereira
- Laboratory of Structural Biology, Sao Carlos Institute of Physics, University of São Paulo, São Carlos, SP, Brazil
| | - Ana Laura Lima
- Laboratory of Structural Biology, Sao Carlos Institute of Physics, University of São Paulo, São Carlos, SP, Brazil
| | - Teresa Cristina Leandro de Jesus
- Laboratory of Structural Biology, Sao Carlos Institute of Physics, University of São Paulo, São Carlos, SP, Brazil
- Laboratory of Cell Cycle and Center of Toxins, Immune Response and Cell Signaling—CeTICS, Butantan Institute, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Fernanda Cristina Costa
- Laboratory of Structural Biology, Sao Carlos Institute of Physics, University of São Paulo, São Carlos, SP, Brazil
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | - Tatiana Faria Watanabe
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Araraquara, SP, Brazil
| | - Humberto D'Muniz Pereira
- Laboratory of Structural Biology, Sao Carlos Institute of Physics, University of São Paulo, São Carlos, SP, Brazil
| | | | | | - Júlio Cesar Borges
- São Carlos Institute of Chemistry, University of São Paulo, São Carlos, SP, Brazil
| | | | - Júlia Pinheiro Chagas da Cunha
- Laboratory of Cell Cycle and Center of Toxins, Immune Response and Cell Signaling—CeTICS, Butantan Institute, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Bidyottam Mittra
- Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Norma W. Andrews
- Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Otavio Henrique Thiemann
- Laboratory of Structural Biology, Sao Carlos Institute of Physics, University of São Paulo, São Carlos, SP, Brazil
- Department of Genetics and Evolution, Federal University of São Carlos, São Carlos, SP, Brazil
- * E-mail:
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Shikha S, Schneider A. The single CCA-adding enzyme of T. brucei has distinct functions in the cytosol and in mitochondria. J Biol Chem 2020; 295:6138-6150. [PMID: 32234763 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.ra119.011877] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2019] [Revised: 03/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
tRNAs universally carry a CCA nucleotide triplet at their 3'-ends. In eukaryotes, the CCA is added post-transcriptionally by the CCA-adding enzyme (CAE). The mitochondrion of the parasitic protozoan Trypanosoma brucei lacks tRNA genes and therefore imports all of its tRNAs from the cytosol. This has generated interest in the tRNA modifications and their distribution in this organism, including how CCA is added to tRNAs. Here, using a BLAST search for genes encoding putative CAE proteins in T. brucei, we identified a single ORF, Tb927.9.8780, as a potential candidate. Knockdown of this putative protein, termed TbCAE, resulted in the accumulation of truncated tRNAs, abolished translation, and inhibited both total and mitochondrial CCA-adding activities, indicating that TbCAE is located both in the cytosol and mitochondrion. However, mitochondrially localized tRNAs were much less affected by the TbCAE ablation than the other tRNAs. Complementation assays revealed that the N-terminal 10 amino acids of TbCAE are dispensable for its activity and mitochondrial localization and that deletion of 10 further amino acids abolishes both. A growth arrest caused by the TbCAE knockdown was rescued by the expression of the cytosolic isoform of yeast CAE, even though it was not imported into mitochondria. This finding indicated that the yeast enzyme complements the essential function of TbCAE by adding CCA to the primary tRNA transcripts. Of note, ablation of the mitochondrial TbCAE activity, which likely has a repair function, only marginally affected growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shikha Shikha
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Bern, Freiestrasse 3, Bern CH-3012, Switzerland
| | - André Schneider
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Bern, Freiestrasse 3, Bern CH-3012, Switzerland.
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Manhas R, Gowri VS, Madhubala R. Leishmania donovani Encodes a Functional Selenocysteinyl-tRNA Synthase. J Biol Chem 2015; 291:1203-20. [PMID: 26586914 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m115.695007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2015] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
The synthesis of selenocysteine, the 21st amino acid, occurs on its transfer RNA (tRNA), tRNA(Sec). tRNA(Sec) is initially aminoacylated with serine by seryl-tRNA synthetase and the resulting seryl moiety is converted to phosphoserine by O-phosphoseryl-tRNA kinase (PSTK) in eukaryotes. The selenium donor, selenophosphate is synthesized from selenide and ATP by selenophosphate synthetase. Selenocysteinyl-tRNA synthase (SepSecS) then uses the O-phosphoseryl-tRNA(Sec) and selenophosphate to form Sec-tRNA(Sec) in eukaryotes. Here, we report the characterization of selenocysteinyl-tRNA synthase from Leishmania donovani. Kinetoplastid SepSecS enzymes are phylogenetically closer to worm SepSecS. LdSepSecS was found to exist as a tetramer. Leishmania SepSecS enzyme was found to be active and able to complement the ΔselA deletion in Escherichia coli JS1 strain only in the presence of archaeal PSTK, indicating the conserved nature of the PSTK-SepSecS pathway. LdSepSecS was found to localize in the cytoplasm of the parasite. Gene deletion studies indicate that Leishmania SepSecS is dispensable for the parasite survival. The parasite was found to encode three selenoproteins, which were only expressed in the presence of SepSecS. Selenoproteins of L. donovani are not required for the growth of the promastigotes. Auranofin, a known inhibitor of selenoprotein synthesis showed the same sensitivity toward the wild-type and null mutants suggesting its effect is not through binding to selenoproteins. The three-dimensional structural comparison indicates that human and Leishmania homologs are structurally highly similar but their association modes leading to tetramerization seem different.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reetika Manhas
- From the School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
| | | | - Rentala Madhubala
- From the School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
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