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McWilliam KR. Cell-cell communication in African trypanosomes. Microbiology (Reading) 2023; 169:001388. [PMID: 37643128 PMCID: PMC10482365 DOI: 10.1099/mic.0.001388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2023] [Accepted: 08/15/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
Years of research have shown us that unicellular organisms do not exist entirely in isolation, but rather that they are capable of an altogether far more sociable way of living. Single cells produce, receive and interpret signals, coordinating and changing their behaviour according to the information received. Although this cell-cell communication has long been considered the norm in the bacterial world, an increasing body of knowledge is demonstrating that single-celled eukaryotic parasites also maintain active social lives. This communication can drive parasite development, facilitate the invasion of new niches and, ultimately, influence infection outcome. In this review, I present the evidence for cell-cell communication during the life cycle of the African trypanosomes, from their mammalian hosts to their insect vectors, and reflect on the many remaining unanswered questions in this fascinating field.
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Affiliation(s)
- K. R. McWilliam
- Institute for Immunology and Infection Research, School of Biological Sciences, King’s Buildings, University of Edinburgh, Charlotte Auerbach Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3FL, UK
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Knüsel S, Jenni A, Benninger M, Bütikofer P, Roditi I. Persistence of Trypanosoma brucei as early procyclic forms and social motility are dependent on glycosylphosphatidylinositol transamidase. Mol Microbiol 2021; 117:802-817. [PMID: 34954848 PMCID: PMC9303471 DOI: 10.1111/mmi.14873] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2021] [Revised: 12/10/2021] [Accepted: 12/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Abstract
Glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)‐linked molecules are surface‐exposed membrane components that influence the infectivity, virulence and transmission of many eukaryotic pathogens. Procyclic (insect midgut) forms of Trypanosoma brucei do not require GPI‐anchored proteins for growth in suspension culture. Deletion of TbGPI8, and inactivation of the GPI:protein transamidase complex, is tolerated by cultured procyclic forms. Using a conditional knockout, we show TbGPI8 is required for social motility (SoMo). This collective migration by cultured early procyclic forms has been linked to colonization of the tsetse fly digestive tract. The SoMo‐negative phenotype was observed after a lag phase with respect to loss of TbGPI8 and correlated with an unexpectedly slow loss of procyclins, the major GPI‐anchored proteins. Procyclins are not essential for SoMo, however, suggesting a requirement for at least one other GPI‐anchored protein. Loss of TbGPI8 initiates the transition from early to late procyclic forms; this effect was observed in a subpopulation in suspension culture, and was more pronounced when cells were cultured on SoMo plates. Our results indicate two, potentially interlinked, scenarios that may explain the previously reported failure of TbGPI8 deletion mutants to establish a midgut infection in the tsetse fly: interference with stage‐specific gene expression and absence of SoMo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Knüsel
- Institute of Cell Biology, University of Bern, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Aurelio Jenni
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of Bern, 3012, Bern, Switzerland.,Graduate School for Chemical and Biomedical Sciences, University of Bern, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Mattias Benninger
- Institute of Cell Biology, University of Bern, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Peter Bütikofer
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of Bern, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Isabel Roditi
- Institute of Cell Biology, University of Bern, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
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Jenni A, Knüsel S, Nagar R, Benninger M, Häner R, Ferguson MAJ, Roditi I, Menon AK, Bütikofer P. Elimination of GPI2 suppresses glycosylphosphatidylinositol GlcNAc transferase activity and alters GPI glycan modification in Trypanosoma brucei. J Biol Chem 2021; 297:100977. [PMID: 34284059 PMCID: PMC8358704 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100977] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2021] [Revised: 06/20/2021] [Accepted: 07/16/2021] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Many eukaryotic cell-surface proteins are post-translationally modified by a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) moiety that anchors them to the cell membrane. The biosynthesis of GPI anchors is initiated in the endoplasmic reticulum by transfer of GlcNAc from UDP-GlcNAc to phosphatidylinositol. This reaction is catalyzed by GPI GlcNAc transferase, a multisubunit complex comprising the catalytic subunit Gpi3/PIG-A as well as at least five other subunits, including the hydrophobic protein Gpi2, which is essential for the activity of the complex in yeast and mammals, but the function of which is not known. To investigate the role of Gpi2, we exploited Trypanosoma brucei (Tb), an early diverging eukaryote and important model organism that initially provided the first insights into GPI structure and biosynthesis. We generated insect-stage (procyclic) trypanosomes that lack TbGPI2 and found that in TbGPI2-null parasites, (i) GPI GlcNAc transferase activity is reduced, but not lost, in contrast with yeast and human cells, (ii) the GPI GlcNAc transferase complex persists, but its architecture is affected, with loss of at least the TbGPI1 subunit, and (iii) the GPI anchors of procyclins, the major surface proteins, are underglycosylated when compared with their WT counterparts, indicating the importance of TbGPI2 for reactions that occur in the Golgi apparatus. Immunofluorescence microscopy localized TbGPI2 not only to the endoplasmic reticulum but also to the Golgi apparatus, suggesting that in addition to its expected function as a subunit of the GPI GlcNAc transferase complex, TbGPI2 may have an enigmatic noncanonical role in Golgi-localized GPI anchor modification in trypanosomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aurelio Jenni
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; Graduate School for Chemical and Biomedical Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Sebastian Knüsel
- Institute of Cell Biology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Rupa Nagar
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom
| | | | - Robert Häner
- Department for Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Michael A J Ferguson
- Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom
| | - Isabel Roditi
- Institute of Cell Biology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Anant K Menon
- Department of Biochemistry, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York, USA
| | - Peter Bütikofer
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
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Troselj V, Pathak DT, Wall D. Conditional requirement of SglT for type IV pili function and S-motility in Myxococcus xanthus. Microbiology (Reading) 2020; 166:349-358. [PMID: 32039748 DOI: 10.1099/mic.0.000893] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Myxobacteria exhibit complex social behaviors such as predation, outer membrane exchange and fruiting body formation. These behaviors depend on coordinated movements of cells on solid surfaces that involve social (S) motility. S-motility is powered by extension-retraction cycles of type 4 pili (Tfp) and exopolysaccharides (EPS) that provide a matrix for group cellular movement. Here, we characterized a new class of S-motility mutants in Myxococcus xanthus. These mutants have a distinctive phenotype: they lack S-motility even though they produce pili and EPS and the phenotype is temperature-sensitive. The point mutations were mapped to a single locus, MXAN_3284, named sglT. Similar to pilT mutants, sglT mutants are hyperpiliated and, strikingly, the temperature-sensitive phenotype is caused by null mutations. Our results indicate that SglT plays a critical role in Tfp function associated with pilus retraction and that the block in pili retraction is caused by a Tfp assembly defect in the absence of SglT at high-temperature growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vera Troselj
- Present address: The Molecular Foundry, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, CA 94720, Berkeley, USA
- Department of Molecular Biology, University of Wyoming, 1000 E University Avenue, Laramie, WY, 82071, USA
| | - Darshankumar T Pathak
- Present address: Crop Science Division, Microbiology & Biologics, Bayer, 890 Embarcadero Drive, Sacramento, CA 95605, USA
- Department of Molecular Biology, University of Wyoming, 1000 E University Avenue, Laramie, WY, 82071, USA
| | - Daniel Wall
- Department of Molecular Biology, University of Wyoming, 1000 E University Avenue, Laramie, WY, 82071, USA
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Freire ER, Vashisht AA, Malvezzi AM, Zuberek J, Langousis G, Saada EA, Nascimento JDF, Stepinski J, Darzynkiewicz E, Hill K, De Melo Neto OP, Wohlschlegel JA, Sturm NR, Campbell DA. eIF4F-like complexes formed by cap-binding homolog TbEIF4E5 with TbEIF4G1 or TbEIF4G2 are implicated in post-transcriptional regulation in Trypanosoma brucei. RNA 2014; 20:1272-86. [PMID: 24962368 PMCID: PMC4105752 DOI: 10.1261/rna.045534.114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2014] [Accepted: 05/12/2014] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Members of the eIF4E mRNA cap-binding family are involved in translation and the modulation of transcript availability in other systems as part of a three-component complex including eIF4G and eIF4A. The kinetoplastids possess four described eIF4E and five eIF4G homologs. We have identified two new eIF4E family proteins in Trypanosoma brucei, and define distinct complexes associated with the fifth member, TbEIF4E5. The cytosolic TbEIF4E5 protein binds cap 0 in vitro. TbEIF4E5 was found in association with two of the five TbEIF4Gs. TbIF4EG1 bound TbEIF4E5, a 47.5-kDa protein with two RNA-binding domains, and either the regulatory protein 14-3-3 II or a 117.5-kDa protein with guanylyltransferase and methyltransferase domains in a potentially dynamic interaction. The TbEIF4G2/TbEIF4E5 complex was associated with a 17.9-kDa hypothetical protein and both 14-3-3 variants I and II. Knockdown of TbEIF4E5 resulted in the loss of productive cell movement, as evidenced by the inability of the cells to remain in suspension in liquid culture and the loss of social motility on semisolid plating medium, as well as a minor reduction of translation. Cells appeared lethargic, as opposed to compromised in flagellar function per se. The minimal use of transcriptional control in kinetoplastids requires these organisms to implement downstream mechanisms to regulate gene expression, and the TbEIF4E5/TbEIF4G1/117.5-kDa complex in particular may be a key player in that process. We suggest that a pathway involved in cell motility is affected, directly or indirectly, by one of the TbEIF4E5 complexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eden R Freire
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
| | - Ajay A Vashisht
- Department of Biological Chemistry, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
| | - Amaranta M Malvezzi
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA Department of Microbiology, Centro de Pesquisas Aggeu Magalhães, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Recife, Pernambuco 50670-420, Brazil
| | - Joanna Zuberek
- Division of Biophysics, Institute of Experimental Physics, Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw, 02-089 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Gerasimos Langousis
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
| | - Edwin A Saada
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
| | - Janaína De F Nascimento
- Department of Microbiology, Centro de Pesquisas Aggeu Magalhães, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Recife, Pernambuco 50670-420, Brazil
| | - Janusz Stepinski
- Division of Biophysics, Institute of Experimental Physics, Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw, 02-089 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Edward Darzynkiewicz
- Division of Biophysics, Institute of Experimental Physics, Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw, 02-089 Warsaw, Poland Centre of New Technologies, University of Warsaw, 02-089 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Kent Hill
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
| | - Osvaldo P De Melo Neto
- Department of Microbiology, Centro de Pesquisas Aggeu Magalhães, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Recife, Pernambuco 50670-420, Brazil
| | - James A Wohlschlegel
- Department of Biological Chemistry, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
| | - Nancy R Sturm
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
| | - David A Campbell
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
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