RESUMO
The surface coat of Trypanosoma cruzi is covered with glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored glycoproteins (GAGPs) that contribute to parasite protection and to the establishment of a persistent infection in both the insect vector and the mammalian host. Multiple GAGPs that vary by amino acid sequence and/or posttranslational modifications are co-expressed on the parasite surface coat, hence curtailing structural/functional analyses on these molecules. Studies in our lab have indicated that GAGP-tagged variants expressed by transfected parasites undergo analogous posttranslational processing than endogenous ones and therefore constitute suitable tools to overcome these limitations. In this chapter, we detail the entire methodological pipeline for the efficient homologous expression of GAGPs in T. cruzi: from a simple strategy for the simultaneously cloning and tagging of the gene of interest to the biochemical validation of the parasite-expressed product.
Assuntos
Proteínas Ligadas por GPI/genética , Proteínas de Protozoários/genética , Trypanosoma cruzi/genética , Doença de Chagas/parasitologia , Clonagem Molecular/métodos , Expressão Gênica , Humanos , Proteínas Recombinantes/genética , Transfecção/métodosRESUMO
Here we describe a mass spectrometry-based proteomics workflow to discovery proteins differentially regulated in brains collected postmortem from mental, neurological, or substance abuse disorders (MNS) patients. One way to maximize protein detection is to carry out enrichment of cellular compartments such as the nucleus, mitochondria and cytosol. Subcellular fractionation improves proteome coverage and may shed light on the role of these organelles in the pathophysiology of MNS.
Assuntos
Encefalopatias/genética , Cromatografia Líquida/métodos , Espectrometria de Massas/métodos , Proteômica/métodos , Encefalopatias/patologia , Núcleo Celular/genética , Núcleo Celular/patologia , Humanos , Proteoma/genética , Frações Subcelulares/patologiaRESUMO
Pulse radiolabelling of cells with radioactive amino acids such is a common method for investigating the biosynthetic rates of proteins. In this way, the abundance of newly synthesized proteins can be determined by several proteomic techniques including 2D gel electrophoresis (2DE). This chapter describes a protocol for labelling pancreatic islets with 35S-methionine in the presence of low and high concentrations of glucose, followed by subcellular fractionation enrichment of secretory granule proteins and analysis of the granule protein contents by 2DE. This demonstrated that the biosynthetic rates of most of the granule proteins are co-ordinately regulated in the presence of stimulatory glucose concentrations.
Assuntos
Eletroforese em Gel Bidimensional/métodos , Insulina/análise , Ilhotas Pancreáticas/química , Vesículas Secretórias/química , Animais , Fracionamento Celular/métodos , Separação Celular/métodos , Glucose/farmacologia , Insulina/biossíntese , Ilhotas Pancreáticas/efeitos dos fármacos , Ilhotas Pancreáticas/metabolismo , Marcação por Isótopo/métodos , Metionina/análise , Ratos , Radioisótopos de Enxofre/análiseRESUMO
In the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, as in other trypanosomatids, transcription of protein coding genes occurs in a constitutive fashion, producing large polycistronic transcription units. These units are composed of non-functionally related genes which are pervasively processed to yield each mRNA. Therefore, post-transcriptional processes are crucial to regulate gene expression. Considering that nuclear compartmentalization could contribute to gene expression regulation, we comparatively studied the nuclear, cytoplasmic and whole cell transcriptomes of the non-infective epimastigote stage of T. cruzi, using RNA-Seq. We found that the cytoplasmic transcriptome tightly correlates with the whole cell transcriptome and both equally correlate with the proteome. Nonetheless, 1,200 transcripts showed differential abundance between the nuclear and cytoplasmic fractions. For the genes with transcript content augmented in the nucleus, significant structural and compositional differences were found. The analysis of the reported epimastigote translatome and proteome, revealed scarce ribosome footprints and encoded proteins for them. Ontology analyses unveiled that many of these genes are distinctive of other parasite life-cycle stages. Finally, the relocalization of transcript abundance in the metacyclic trypomastigote infective stage was confirmed for specific genes. While gene expression is strongly dependent on transcript steady-state level, we here highlight the importance of the distribution of transcripts abundance between compartments in T. cruzi. Particularly, we show that nuclear compartmentation is playing an active role in the developmental stage determination preventing off-stage expression.
RESUMO
Pulse-chase radiolabeling of cells with radioactive amino acids is a common method for tracking the biosynthesis of proteins. Radiolabeled newly synthesized proteins can be analyzed by a number of techniques such as two dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DE). This chapter presents a protocol for the biosynthetic labeling of pancreatic islets with 35S-methionine in the presence of basal and stimulatory concentrations of glucose, followed by subcellular fractionation to produce a secretory granule fraction and analysis of the granule protein contents by 2DE. This provides a means of determining whether or not the biosynthetic rates of the entire granule constituents are coordinately regulated.