RESUMO
The actin cytoskeleton consists of multiple actin binding proteins (ABPs) that participate cooperatively in different cellular functions such as the maintenance of polarity and cell motility as well as the invasion of target cells and regulation of gene expression, among others. Due to the important role of ABPs in the pathogenesis of Entamoeba histolytica, the role of a new nucleocytoplasmic ABP from E. histolytica named EhNCABP166 was investigated. The EhNCABP166 gene encodes a protein with an estimated molecular weight of 166kDa. Structurally, this peptide is composed of two CH domains arranged in tandem at the N-terminus of the protein, followed by an alpha-helical region containing a number of different domains with a low level of homology. Two (Bin1/Amphiphysin/Rvs167) (BAR) domains, one GTPase-binding/formin 3 homology (GBD/FH3) domain, three Bcl2-associated athanogene (BAG) domains, one basic-leucine zipper (bZIP) domain and one poly(A)-binding protein C-terminal (PABC) domain were also present. Molecular and biochemical studies showed that the EhNCABP166 protein is transcribed and translated in trophozoites of E. histolytica. It was also shown that the CH domains are functional and bind to F-actin, whereas the BAR and GBD/FH3 domains interact in vitro and in vivo with different families of GTPases such as Rho and Ras, and with different phosphoinositides. These findings suggest that these domains have the conserved functional properties described in other eukaryotic systems. These domains also interacted with additional GTPase and lipid targets that have not been previously described. Finally, cellular studies showed that EhNCABP166 is localized to the cytoplasm and nucleus of E. histolytica and that it has an important role in phagocytosis, proliferation, and motility of E. histolytica.
Assuntos
Entamoeba histolytica/genética , Entamoeba histolytica/metabolismo , Proteínas dos Microfilamentos/genética , Proteínas dos Microfilamentos/metabolismo , Proteínas de Protozoários/genética , Proteínas de Protozoários/metabolismo , Actinas/metabolismo , Sequência de Aminoácidos , Núcleo Celular/química , Citoplasma/química , Entamoeba histolytica/fisiologia , GTP Fosfo-Hidrolases/metabolismo , Perfilação da Expressão Gênica , Metabolismo dos Lipídeos , Proteínas dos Microfilamentos/biossíntese , Proteínas dos Microfilamentos/química , Dados de Sequência Molecular , Peso Molecular , Fagocitose , Ligação Proteica , Biossíntese de Proteínas , Conformação Proteica , Domínios e Motivos de Interação entre Proteínas , Estrutura Terciária de Proteína , Proteínas de Protozoários/biossíntese , Proteínas de Protozoários/química , Homologia de Sequência de Aminoácidos , Transcrição GênicaRESUMO
This paper reports the EhGEF1-EhRacG and EhGEF1-EhRho1 molecular complexes from Entamoeba histolytica. The not conserved amino acids Gln201,Tyr299, Gln302, Lys312, Asn313, Phe314 and Ile324 were localized, by means of an in silico computational analysis, at the interface of the exposed face from the DH domain of EhGEF1, which are important to establish the contact with its target GTPases EhRacG and EhRho1. Functional studies of nucleotide exchange of Phe314Ala mutant showed a decrement of 80% on EhRacG GTPase; in contrast the Ile324Ala mutant exhibited a reduction of 77%, specifically on EhRho1; meanwhile the Gln302Ala mutant showed a reduction of approximately 50% on the exchange activity for both GTPases. Moreover, the functional studies of the protein EhGEF1 mutants in the conserved residues Thr194Ala, Asn366Ala and Glu367Ala indicated that contrary to what has been reported for other systems, the mutation of these residues did not alter considerably its catalytic activity.