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Gaona-López C, Vazquez-Jimenez LK, Gonzalez-Gonzalez A, Delgado-Maldonado T, Ortiz-Pérez E, Nogueda-Torres B, Moreno-Rodríguez A, Vázquez K, Saavedra E, Rivera G. Advances in Protozoan Epigenetic Targets and Their Inhibitors for the Development of New Potential Drugs. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2023; 16:ph16040543. [PMID: 37111300 PMCID: PMC10143871 DOI: 10.3390/ph16040543] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2023] [Revised: 03/29/2023] [Accepted: 03/31/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Protozoan parasite diseases cause significant mortality and morbidity worldwide. Factors such as climate change, extreme poverty, migration, and a lack of life opportunities lead to the propagation of diseases classified as tropical or non-endemic. Although there are several drugs to combat parasitic diseases, strains resistant to routinely used drugs have been reported. In addition, many first-line drugs have adverse effects ranging from mild to severe, including potential carcinogenic effects. Therefore, new lead compounds are needed to combat these parasites. Although little has been studied regarding the epigenetic mechanisms in lower eukaryotes, it is believed that epigenetics plays an essential role in vital aspects of the organism, from controlling the life cycle to the expression of genes involved in pathogenicity. Therefore, using epigenetic targets to combat these parasites is foreseen as an area with great potential for development. This review summarizes the main known epigenetic mechanisms and their potential as therapeutics for a group of medically important protozoal parasites. Different epigenetic mechanisms are discussed, highlighting those that can be used for drug repositioning, such as histone post-translational modifications (HPTMs). Exclusive parasite targets are also emphasized, including the base J and DNA 6 mA. These two categories have the greatest potential for developing drugs to treat or eradicate these diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Gaona-López
- Laboratorio de Biotecnología Farmacéutica, Centro de Biotecnología Genómica, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Reynosa 88710, Mexico
| | - Lenci K Vazquez-Jimenez
- Laboratorio de Biotecnología Farmacéutica, Centro de Biotecnología Genómica, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Reynosa 88710, Mexico
| | - Alonzo Gonzalez-Gonzalez
- Laboratorio de Biotecnología Farmacéutica, Centro de Biotecnología Genómica, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Reynosa 88710, Mexico
| | - Timoteo Delgado-Maldonado
- Laboratorio de Biotecnología Farmacéutica, Centro de Biotecnología Genómica, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Reynosa 88710, Mexico
| | - Eyrá Ortiz-Pérez
- Laboratorio de Biotecnología Farmacéutica, Centro de Biotecnología Genómica, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Reynosa 88710, Mexico
| | - Benjamín Nogueda-Torres
- Departamento de Parasitología, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City 11340, Mexico
| | - Adriana Moreno-Rodríguez
- Laboratorio de Estudios Epidemiológicos, Clínicos, Diseños Experimentales e Investigación, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Autónoma "Benito Juárez" de Oaxaca, Avenida Universidad S/N, Ex Hacienda Cinco Señores, Oaxaca 68120, Mexico
| | - Karina Vázquez
- Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Francisco Villa 20, General Escobedo 66054, Mexico
| | - Emma Saavedra
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto Nacional de Cardiología Ignacio Chávez, Mexico City 14080, Mexico
| | - Gildardo Rivera
- Laboratorio de Biotecnología Farmacéutica, Centro de Biotecnología Genómica, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Reynosa 88710, Mexico
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2
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Sato S, Dacher M, Kurumizaka H. Nucleosome Structures Built from Highly Divergent Histones: Parasites and Giant DNA Viruses. EPIGENOMES 2022; 6:epigenomes6030022. [PMID: 35997368 PMCID: PMC9396995 DOI: 10.3390/epigenomes6030022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2022] [Revised: 07/29/2022] [Accepted: 07/29/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
In eukaryotes, genomic DNA is bound with histone proteins and packaged into chromatin. The nucleosome, a fundamental unit of chromatin, regulates the accessibility of DNA to enzymes involved in gene regulation. During the past few years, structural analyses of chromatin architectures have been limited to evolutionarily related organisms. The amino acid sequences of histone proteins are highly conserved from humans to yeasts, but are divergent in the deeply branching protozoan groups, including human parasites that are directly related to human health. Certain large DNA viruses, as well as archaeal organisms, contain distant homologs of eukaryotic histone proteins. The divergent sequences give rise to unique and distinct nucleosome architectures, although the fundamental principles of histone folding and DNA contact are highly conserved. In this article, we review the structures and biophysical properties of nucleosomes containing histones from the human parasites Giardia lamblia and Leishmania major, and histone-like proteins from the Marseilleviridae amoeba virus family. The presented data confirm the sharing of the overall DNA compaction system among evolutionally distant species and clarify the deviations from the species-specific nature of the nucleosome.
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Emery-Corbin SJ, Hamey JJ, Ansell BRE, Balan B, Tichkule S, Stroehlein AJ, Cooper C, McInerney BV, Hediyeh-Zadeh S, Vuong D, Crombie A, Lacey E, Davis MJ, Wilkins MR, Bahlo M, Svärd SG, Gasser RB, Jex AR. Eukaryote-Conserved Methylarginine Is Absent in Diplomonads and Functionally Compensated in Giardia. Mol Biol Evol 2021; 37:3525-3549. [PMID: 32702104 PMCID: PMC7743719 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msaa186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Methylation is a common posttranslational modification of arginine and lysine in eukaryotic proteins. Methylproteomes are best characterized for higher eukaryotes, where they are functionally expanded and evolved complex regulation. However, this is not the case for protist species evolved from the earliest eukaryotic lineages. Here, we integrated bioinformatic, proteomic, and drug-screening data sets to comprehensively explore the methylproteome of Giardia duodenalis-a deeply branching parasitic protist. We demonstrate that Giardia and related diplomonads lack arginine-methyltransferases and have remodeled conserved RGG/RG motifs targeted by these enzymes. We also provide experimental evidence for methylarginine absence in proteomes of Giardia but readily detect methyllysine. We bioinformatically infer 11 lysine-methyltransferases in Giardia, including highly diverged Su(var)3-9, Enhancer-of-zeste and Trithorax proteins with reduced domain architectures, and novel annotations demonstrating conserved methyllysine regulation of eukaryotic elongation factor 1 alpha. Using mass spectrometry, we identify more than 200 methyllysine sites in Giardia, including in species-specific gene families involved in cytoskeletal regulation, enriched in coiled-coil features. Finally, we use known methylation inhibitors to show that methylation plays key roles in replication and cyst formation in this parasite. This study highlights reduced methylation enzymes, sites, and functions early in eukaryote evolution, including absent methylarginine networks in the Diplomonadida. These results challenge the view that arginine methylation is eukaryote conserved and demonstrate that functional compensation of methylarginine was possible preceding expansion and diversification of these key networks in higher eukaryotes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha J Emery-Corbin
- Population Health and Immunity Division, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.,Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Joshua J Hamey
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Brendan R E Ansell
- Population Health and Immunity Division, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.,Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Balu Balan
- Population Health and Immunity Division, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.,Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia.,Department of Veterinary Biosciences, Melbourne Veterinary School, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Swapnil Tichkule
- Population Health and Immunity Division, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.,Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Andreas J Stroehlein
- Department of Veterinary Biosciences, Melbourne Veterinary School, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Crystal Cooper
- Central Analytical Research Facility (CARF), Institute for Future Environments, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Bernie V McInerney
- Australian Proteome Analysis Facility (APAF), Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW, Australia
| | - Soroor Hediyeh-Zadeh
- Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia.,Bioinformatics Division, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Daniel Vuong
- Microbial Screening Technologies, Smithfield, NSW, Australia
| | - Andrew Crombie
- Microbial Screening Technologies, Smithfield, NSW, Australia
| | - Ernest Lacey
- Microbial Screening Technologies, Smithfield, NSW, Australia.,Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences, Faculty of Science, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW, Australia
| | - Melissa J Davis
- Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia.,Bioinformatics Division, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Marc R Wilkins
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Melanie Bahlo
- Population Health and Immunity Division, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.,Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Staffan G Svärd
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Robin B Gasser
- Department of Veterinary Biosciences, Melbourne Veterinary School, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Aaron R Jex
- Population Health and Immunity Division, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.,Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia.,Department of Veterinary Biosciences, Melbourne Veterinary School, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
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Lagunas-Rangel FA, Yee J, Bazán-Tejeda ML, García-Villa E, Bermúdez-Cruz RM. Sirtuin GdSir2.4 participates in the regulation of rRNA transcription in the Giardia duodenalis parasite. Mol Microbiol 2021; 115:1039-1053. [PMID: 33665906 DOI: 10.1111/mmi.14710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2021] [Revised: 02/25/2021] [Accepted: 02/28/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Giardia duodenalis is a parasite of great medical interest due to the number of infections it causes worldwide each year. Although research on epigenetic mechanisms in this protist has only begun recently, epigenetic regulation has already been shown to have important roles in encystation, antigenic variation, and resistance to antibiotics in Giardia. In this work, we show that a Giardia ortholog of Sir2, GdSir2.4, is involved in the silencing of rRNA expression. Our results demonstrate that GdSir2.4 localizes to the nucleolus, and its binding to the intergenic spacer region of the rDNA is associated with the deacetylation of the chromatin in this region. Given the importance of the regulation of rRNA expression to maintain adequate levels of ribosomes and genomic stability within the cells, GdSir2.4 can be considered a target to create new therapeutic agents against this parasite.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francisco Alejandro Lagunas-Rangel
- Department of Genetics and Molecular Biology, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (CINVESTAV), Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Janet Yee
- Department of Biology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Program, Trent University, Peterborough, ON, Canada
| | - María Luisa Bazán-Tejeda
- Department of Genetics and Molecular Biology, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (CINVESTAV), Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Enrique García-Villa
- Department of Genetics and Molecular Biology, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (CINVESTAV), Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Rosa María Bermúdez-Cruz
- Department of Genetics and Molecular Biology, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (CINVESTAV), Mexico City, Mexico
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5
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Eukaryote-conserved histone post-translational modification landscape in Giardia duodenalis revealed by mass spectrometry. Int J Parasitol 2020; 51:225-239. [PMID: 33275945 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2020.09.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2020] [Revised: 09/01/2020] [Accepted: 09/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Diarrheal disease caused by Giardia duodenalis is highly prevalent, causing over 200 million cases globally each year. The processes that drive parasite virulence, host immune evasion and transmission involve coordinated gene expression and have been linked to epigenetic regulation. Epigenetic regulatory systems are eukaryote-conserved, including in deep branching excavates such as Giardia, with several studies already implicating histone post-translational modifications in regulation of its pathogenesis and life cycle. However, further insights into Giardia chromatin dynamics have been hindered by a lack of site-specific knowledge of histone modifications. Using mass spectrometry, we have provided the first known molecular map of histone methylation, acetylation and phosphorylation modifications in Giardia core histones. We have identified over 50 previously unreported histone modifications including sites with established roles in epigenetic regulation, and co-occurring modifications indicative of post-translational modification crosstalk. These demonstrate conserved histone modifications in Giardia which are equivalent to many other eukaryotes, and suggest that similar epigenetic mechanisms are in place in this parasite. Further, we used sequence, domain and structural homology to annotate putative histone enzyme networks in Giardia, highlighting representative chromatin modifiers which appear sufficient for identified sites, particularly those from H3 and H4 variants. This study is to our knowledge the first and most comprehensive, complete and accurate view of Giardia histone post-translational modifications to date, and a substantial step towards understanding their associations in parasite development and virulence.
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Jex AR, Svärd S, Hagen KD, Starcevich H, Emery-Corbin SJ, Balan B, Nosala C, Dawson SC. Recent advances in functional research in Giardia intestinalis. ADVANCES IN PARASITOLOGY 2020; 107:97-137. [PMID: 32122532 PMCID: PMC7878119 DOI: 10.1016/bs.apar.2019.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
This review considers current advances in tools to investigate the functional biology of Giardia, it's coding and non-coding genes, features and cellular and molecular biology. We consider major gaps in current knowledge of the parasite and discuss the present state-of-the-art in its in vivo and in vitro cultivation. Advances in in silico tools, including for the modelling non-coding RNAs and genomic elements, as well as detailed exploration of coding genes through inferred homology to model organisms, have provided significant, primary level insight. Improved methods to model the three-dimensional structure of proteins offer new insights into their function, and binding interactions with ligands, other proteins or precursor drugs, and offer substantial opportunities to prioritise proteins for further study and experimentation. These approaches can be supplemented by the growing and highly accessible arsenal of systems-based methods now being applied to Giardia, led by genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic methods, but rapidly incorporating advanced tools for detection of real-time transcription, evaluation of chromatin states and direct measurement of macromolecular complexes. Methods to directly interrogate and perturb gene function have made major leaps in recent years, with CRISPr-interference now available. These approaches, coupled with protein over-expression, fluorescent labelling and in vitro and in vivo imaging, are set to revolutionize the field and herald an exciting time during which the field may finally realise Giardia's long proposed potential as a model parasite and eukaryote.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaron R Jex
- Population Health and Immunity Division, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia.
| | - Staffan Svärd
- Centre for Biomedicine, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Kari D Hagen
- College of Biological Sciences, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Hannah Starcevich
- College of Biological Sciences, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Samantha J Emery-Corbin
- Population Health and Immunity Division, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Balu Balan
- Population Health and Immunity Division, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Chris Nosala
- College of Biological Sciences, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Scott C Dawson
- College of Biological Sciences, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA, United States
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Nawaz M, Malik I, Hameed M, Hussain Kuthu Z, Zhou J. Modifications of histones in parasites as drug targets. Vet Parasitol 2020; 278:109029. [PMID: 31978703 DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2020.109029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2019] [Revised: 01/13/2020] [Accepted: 01/14/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Post-translational modifications of histones and histone modifying enzymes play important roles in gene regulations and other physiological processes in parasites. Inhibitors of such modifying enzymes could be useful as novel therapeutics against parasitic diseases or as chemical probes for investigation of epigenetics. Development of parasitic histone modulators has got rapid expansion in the last few years. A number of highly potent and selective compounds have been reported, together with extensive preclinical studies of their biological activity. Some of these compounds have been widely used in humans targeting cancer and are found non-toxic. This review summarizes the antiparasitic activities of histone and histone modifying enzymes inhibitors evaluated in last few years. As the current chemotherapy against parasites is still not satisfactory, therefore, such compounds represents good starting points for the discovery of effective antiparasitic drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohsin Nawaz
- Key Laboratory of Animal Parasitology of Ministry of Agriculture, Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Irfan Malik
- Key Laboratory of Animal Parasitology of Ministry of Agriculture, Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Mudassar Hameed
- Key Laboratory of Animal Parasitology of Ministry of Agriculture, Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Zulfiqar Hussain Kuthu
- Key Laboratory of Animal Parasitology of Ministry of Agriculture, Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Jinlin Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Animal Parasitology of Ministry of Agriculture, Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 200241, China.
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Rópolo AS, Feliziani C, Touz MC. Unusual proteins in Giardia duodenalis and their role in survival. ADVANCES IN PARASITOLOGY 2019; 106:1-50. [PMID: 31630755 DOI: 10.1016/bs.apar.2019.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
The capacity of the parasite Giardia duodenalis to perform complex functions with minimal amounts of proteins and organelles has attracted increasing numbers of scientists worldwide, trying to explain how this parasite adapts to internal and external changes to survive. One explanation could be that G. duodenalis evolved from a structurally complex ancestor by reductive evolution, resulting in adaptation to its parasitic lifestyle. Reductive evolution involves the loss of genes, organelles, and functions that commonly occur in many parasites, by which the host renders some structures and functions redundant. However, there is increasing data that Giardia possesses proteins able to perform more than one function. During recent decades, the concept of moonlighting was described for multitasking proteins, which involves only proteins with an extra independent function(s). In this chapter, we provide an overview of unusual proteins in Giardia that present multifunctional properties depending on the location and/or parasite requirement. We also discuss experimental evidence that may allow some giardial proteins to be classified as moonlighting proteins by examining the properties of moonlighting proteins in general. Up to date, Giardia does not seem to require the numerous redundant proteins present in other organisms to accomplish its normal functions, and thus this parasite may be an appropriate model for understanding different aspects of moonlighting proteins, which may be helpful in the design of drug targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea S Rópolo
- Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra, INIMEC-CONICET-Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Constanza Feliziani
- Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra, INIMEC-CONICET-Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - María C Touz
- Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra, INIMEC-CONICET-Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina.
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Lagunas-Rangel FA, Bermúdez-Cruz RM. Epigenetics in the early divergent eukaryotic Giardia duodenalis: An update. Biochimie 2019; 156:123-128. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biochi.2018.10.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2018] [Accepted: 10/12/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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10
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Emery SJ, Baker L, Ansell BRE, Mirzaei M, Haynes PA, McConville MJ, Svärd SG, Jex AR. Differential protein expression and post-translational modifications in metronidazole-resistant Giardia duodenalis. Gigascience 2018; 7:4931738. [PMID: 29688452 PMCID: PMC5913674 DOI: 10.1093/gigascience/giy024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2017] [Accepted: 03/06/2018] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Metronidazole (Mtz) is the frontline drug treatment for multiple anaerobic pathogens, including the gastrointestinal protist, Giardia duodenalis. However, treatment failure is common and linked to in vivo drug resistance. In Giardia, in vitro drug-resistant lines allow controlled experimental interrogation of resistance mechanisms in isogenic cultures. However, resistance-associated changes are inconsistent between lines, phenotypic data are incomplete, and resistance is rarely genetically fixed, highlighted by reversion to sensitivity after drug selection ceases or via passage through the life cycle. Comprehensive quantitative approaches are required to resolve isolate variability, fully define Mtz resistance phenotypes, and explore the role of post-translational modifications therein. Findings We performed quantitative proteomics to describe differentially expressed proteins in 3 seminal Mtz-resistant lines compared to their isogenic, Mtz-susceptible, parental line. We also probed changes in post-translational modifications including protein acetylation, methylation, ubiquitination, and phosphorylation via immunoblotting. We quantified more than 1,000 proteins in each genotype, recording substantial genotypic variation in differentially expressed proteins between isotypes. Our data confirm substantial changes in the antioxidant network, glycolysis, and electron transport and indicate links between protein acetylation and Mtz resistance, including cross-resistance to deacetylase inhibitor trichostatin A in Mtz-resistant lines. Finally, we performed the first controlled, longitudinal study of Mtz resistance stability, monitoring lines after cessation of drug selection, revealing isolate-dependent phenotypic plasticity. Conclusions Our data demonstrate understanding that Mtz resistance must be broadened to post-transcriptional and post-translational responses and that Mtz resistance is polygenic, driven by isolate-dependent variation, and is correlated with changes in protein acetylation networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha J Emery
- Population Health and Immunity Division, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Louise Baker
- Population Health and Immunity Division, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.,Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Brendan R E Ansell
- Population Health and Immunity Division, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.,Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Mehdi Mirzaei
- Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences, Faculty of Science, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW, Australia.,Australian Proteome Analysis Facility, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW, Australia
| | - Paul A Haynes
- Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences, Faculty of Science, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW, Australia
| | - Malcom J McConville
- Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Staffan G Svärd
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Aaron R Jex
- Population Health and Immunity Division, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.,Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
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