Preliminary evaluation of a Trypanosoma brucei FG-GAP repeat containing protein of mitochondrial localization [version 1; peer review: 1 approved, 1 approved with reservations]
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Date
2019
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
AAS Open Research
Abstract
Trypanosoma brucei, a causative agent of African
Trypanosomiasis, is known to cross the blood brain barrier during the
second stage of the disease. It was previously suggested that this
parasite crosses the blood brain barrier in a manner similar to that of
lymphocytes. This would imply that trypanosomes possess integrins
that are required to interact with adhesion molecules located on the
blood brain barrier microvascular endothelial cells, as a first step in
traversal. To date, no T. brucei integrin has been described. However,
one T. brucei putative FG-GAP repeat containing protein (typical of
integrins) encoded by the Tb927.11.720 gene, was predicted to be
involved in cell-cell/cell-matrix adhesion. Therefore, this study sought
to characterize a putative FG-GAP repeat containing protein (FG-GAP
RCP) and to determine its cellular localization as a basis for further
exploration of its potential role in cell-cell or cell-matrix adhesion.
Methods: In this study, we successfully cloned, characterized,
expressed and localized this protein using antibodies we produced
against its VCBS domain in T. brucei.
Results: Contrary to what we initially suspected, our data showed that
this protein is localized to the mitochondria but not the plasma
membrane. Our data showed that it contains putative calcium binding
motifs within the FG-GAP repeats suggesting it could be involved in
calcium signaling/binding in the mitochondrion of T. brucei.
Conclusion: Based on its localization we conclude that this protein is
unlikely to be a trypanosomal integrin and thus that it may not be
involved in traversal of the blood brain barrier. However, it could be involved in calcium signaling in the mitochondrion.
Description
Keywords
Trypanosoma brucei, FG-GAP repeat, Integrin, Mitochondrion, Calcium signaling
Citation
Namyanja, M., Xu, Z. S., Mugasa, C. M., Lun, Z. R., Matovu, E., Chen, Z., & Lubega, G. W. (2019). Preliminary evaluation of a Trypanosoma brucei FG-GAP repeat containing protein of mitochondrial localization. AAS Open Research, 2, 165. https://doi.org/10.12688/aasopenres.12986.1