RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: The infectious and diagnostic form of Entamoeba histolytica (Eh), cause of amebic dysentery and liver abscess, is the quadranucleate cyst. The cyst wall of Entamoeba invadens (Ei), a model for Eh, is composed of chitin fibrils and three sets of chitin-binding lectins that cross-link chitin fibrils (multivalent Jacob lectins), self-aggregate (Jessie lectins), and remodel chitin (chitinase). The goal here was to determine how well the Ei model applies to Entamoeba cysts from humans. METHODS/RESULTS: An Eh Jacob lectin (EhJacob2) has three predicted chitin-binding domains surrounding a large, Ser-rich spacer. Recombinant EhJacob2 made in transfected Eh trophozoites binds to particulate chitin. Sequences of PCR products using primers flanking the highly polymorphic spacer of EhJacob2 may be used to distinguish Entamoeba isolates. Antibodies to the EhJacob2, EhJessie3, and chitinase each recognize cyst walls of clinical isolates of Entamoeba. While numerous sera from patients with amebic intestinal infections and liver abscess recognize recombinant EhJacob1 and EhJessie3 lectins, few of these sera recognize recombinant EhJacob2. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The EhJacob2 lectin binds chitin and is polymorphic, and Jacob2, Jessie3, and chitinase are present in cyst walls of clinical isolates of Entamoeba. These results suggest there are substantial similarities between cysts of the human pathogen (Eh) and the in vitro model (Ei), even though there are quantitative and qualitative differences in their chitin-binding lectins.
Asunto(s)
Quitina/metabolismo , Entamoeba histolytica/química , Lectinas/metabolismo , Polimorfismo Genético , Proteínas Protozoarias/metabolismo , Esporas Protozoarias/química , Sitios de Unión , Lectinas/genética , Unión Proteica , Proteínas Protozoarias/genéticaRESUMEN
A bacterial monolayer biofilm is a collection of cells attached to a surface but not to each other. Monolayer formation is initiated when a bacterial cell forms a transient attachment to a surface. While some transient attachments are broken, others transition into the permanent attachments that define a monolayer biofilm. In this work, we describe the results of a large-scale, microscopy-based genetic screen for Vibrio cholerae mutants that are defective in formation of a monolayer biofilm. This screen identified mutations that alter both transient and permanent attachment. Transient attachment was somewhat slower in the absence of flagellar motility. However, flagellar mutants eventually formed a robust monolayer. In contrast, in the absence of the flagellar motor, monolayer formation was severely impaired. A number of proteins that modulate the V. cholerae ion motive force were also found to affect the transition from transient to permanent attachment. Using chemicals that dissipate various components of the ion motive force, we discovered that dissipation of the membrane potential (DeltaPsi) completely blocks the transition from transient to permanent attachment. We propose that as a bacterium approaches a surface, the interaction of the flagellum with the surface leads to transient hyperpolarization of the bacterial cell membrane. This, in turn, initiates the transition to permanent attachment.
Asunto(s)
Adhesión Bacteriana , Biopelículas/crecimiento & desarrollo , Vibrio cholerae/crecimiento & desarrollo , Vibrio cholerae/genética , Proteínas Bacterianas/genética , Proteínas Bacterianas/metabolismo , Biopelículas/efectos de los fármacos , Flagelos/metabolismo , Eliminación de Gen , Regulación Bacteriana de la Expresión Génica , Genes Bacterianos , Ionóforos/farmacología , Potenciales de la Membrana , Mutagénesis Insercional , Mutación , NAD/metabolismo , Plásmidos , ARN Bacteriano/genética , Reacción en Cadena de la Polimerasa de Transcriptasa Inversa , Ubiquinona/metabolismo , Vibrio cholerae/metabolismoRESUMEN
Entamoeba histolytica, which causes amebic dysentery and liver abscesses, is spread via chitin-walled cysts. The most abundant protein in the cyst wall of Entamoeba invadens, a model for amebic encystation, is a lectin called EiJacob1. EiJacob1 has five tandemly arrayed, six-Cys chitin-binding domains separated by low-complexity Ser- and Thr-rich spacers. E. histolytica also has numerous predicted Jessie lectins and chitinases, which contain a single, N-terminal eight-Cys chitin-binding domain. We hypothesized that E. invadens cyst walls are composed entirely of proteins with six-Cys or eight-Cys chitin-binding domains and that some of these proteins contain sugars. E. invadens genomic sequences predicted seven Jacob lectins, five Jessie lectins, and three chitinases. Reverse transcription-PCR analysis showed that mRNAs encoding Jacobs, Jessies, and chitinases are increased during E. invadens encystation, while mass spectrometry showed that the cyst wall is composed of an approximately 30:70 mix of Jacob lectins (cross-linking proteins) and Jessie and chitinase lectins (possible enzymes). Three Jacob lectins were cleaved prior to Lys at conserved sites (e.g., TPSVDK) in the Ser- and Thr-rich spacers between chitin-binding domains. A model peptide was cleaved at the same site by papain and E. invadens Cys proteases, suggesting that the latter cleave Jacob lectins in vivo. Some Jacob lectins had O-phosphodiester-linked carbohydrates, which were one to seven hexoses long and had deoxysugars at reducing ends. We concluded that the major protein components of the E. invadens cyst wall all contain chitin-binding domains (chitinases, Jessie lectins, and Jacob lectins) and that the Jacob lectins are differentially modified by site-specific Cys proteases and O-phosphodiester-linked glycans.
Asunto(s)
Quitina/metabolismo , Entamoeba/metabolismo , Lectinas/metabolismo , Procesamiento Proteico-Postraduccional , Secuencia de Aminoácidos , Animales , Quitinasas/química , Quitinasas/metabolismo , Secuencia Conservada , Cisteína Endopeptidasas/metabolismo , Entamoeba/genética , Genoma de Protozoos , Lectinas/química , Lectinas/genética , Espectrometría de Masas , Datos de Secuencia Molecular , Polisacáridos/metabolismo , Proteínas Protozoarias/química , Proteínas Protozoarias/genética , Proteínas Protozoarias/metabolismo , ARN Mensajero/genética , ARN Mensajero/metabolismo , ARN Protozoario/genética , ARN Protozoario/metabolismoRESUMEN
Chitin in the cyst wall of Entamoeba histolytica is made by two chitin synthases (Chs), one of which is unique (EhCHS-1) and one of which resembles those of insects and nematodes (EhCHS-2). EhCHS-1 is deposited chitin in the lateral wall of transformed Saccharomyces cerevisiae Chs mutants, independent of accessory proteins (Chs4p to Chs7p) required by yeast Chs3p.