Evidence of nuclear transport mechanisms in the protozoan parasite Giardia lamblia

Publication date: Available online 29 October 2019Source: Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular Cell ResearchAuthor(s): Gonzalo Federico Mayol, María Victoria Revuelta, Agostina Salusso, María Carolina Touz, Andrea Silvana RópoloAbstractNuclear-cytoplasmic trafficking of proteins is a highly regulated process that modulates multiple biological processes in eukaryotic cells. In Giardia lamblia, shuttling has been described from the cytoplasm to nuclei of proteins during the biological cell cycle of the parasite. This suggests that a mechanism of nucleocytoplasmic transport is present and functional in G. lamblia. By means of computational biology analyses, we found that there are only two genes for nuclear transport in this parasite, named Importin α and Importin β. When these transporters were overexpressed, both localized close to the nuclear envelope, and no change was observed in trophozoite growth rate. However, during the encystation process, both transporters induced an increase in the number of cysts produced. Importazole and Ivermectin, two known specific inhibitors of importins, separately influenced the encysting process by inducing an arrest in the trophozoite stage that prevents the production of cysts. This effect was more noticeable when Ivermectin, an anti-parasitic drug, was used. Finally, we tested whether the enzyme arginine deiminase, which shuttles from the cytoplasm to the nuclei during encystation, was influenced by these transporters. We ...

Source: Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) Molecular Cell Research - October 29, 2019 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research