In mammals, Rab5 and Rab7 play a specific and coordinated role in a sequential process during phagosome maturation. Here, we report that Rab5 and Rab7 in the enteric protozoan parasite Entamoeba histolytica, EhRab5 and EhRab7A, are involved in steps that are distinct from those known for mammals. EhRab5 and EhRab7A were localized to independent small vesicular structures at steady state. Priming with red blood cells induced the formation of large vacuoles associated with both EhRab5 and EhRab7A ("prephagosomal vacuoles (PPV)") in the amoeba within an incubation period of 5-10 min. PPV emerged de novo physically and distinct from phagosomes. PPV were gradually acidified and matured by fusion with lysosomes containing a digestive hydrolase, cysteine proteinase, and a membrane-permeabilizing peptide amoebapore. After EhRab5 dissociated from PPV, 5-10 min later, the EhRab7A-PPV fused with phagosomes, and EhRab7A finally dissociated from the phagosomes. Immunoelectron and light micrographs showed that PPV contained small vesicle-like structures containing fluid-phase markers and amoebapores, which were not evenly distributed within PPV, suggesting that the mechanism was similar to multivesicular body formation in PPV generation. In contrast to Rab5 from other organisms, EhRab5 was involved exclusively in phagocytosis, but not in endocytosis. Overexpression of wild-type EhRab5 enhanced phagocytosis and the transport of amoebapore to phagosomes. Conversely, expression of an EhRab5Q67L GTP form mutant impaired the formation of PPV and phagocytosis. Altogether, we propose that the amoebic Rab5 plays an important role in the formation of unique vacuoles, which is essential for engulfment of erythrocytes and important for packaging of lysosomal hydrolases, prior to the targeting to phagosomes.

Vesicular trafficking plays an important role in a virulence mechanism of the enteric protozoan parasite Entamoeba histolytica as secreted and lysosomal cysteine protease (CP) contributes to both cytolysis of tissues and degradation of internalized host cells. Despite the primary importance of intracellular sorting in pathogenesis, the molecular mechanism of CP trafficking remains largely unknown. In this report we demonstrate that transport of CP is regulated through a specific interaction of Rab7A small GTPase (EhRab7A) with the retromerlike complex. The amoebic retromerlike complex composed of Vps26, Vps29, and Vps35 was identified as EhRab7A-binding proteins. The amoebic retromerlike complex specifically bound to GTP-EhRab7A, but not GDP-EhRab7A through the direct binding via the carboxy terminus of EhVps26. In erythrophagocytosis the retromerlike complex was recruited to prephagosomal vacuoles, the unique preparatory vacuole of digestive enzymes, and later to phagosomes. This dynamism was indistinguishable from that of EhRab7A, and consistent with the premise that the retromerlike complex is involved in the retrograde transport of putative hydrolase receptor(s) from preparatory vacuoles and phagosomes to the Golgi apparatus. EhRab7A overexpression caused enlargement of lysosomes and decrease of the cellular CP activity. The reduced CP activity was restored by the coexpression of EhVps26, implying that the EhRab7A-mediated transport of CP to phagosomes is regulated by the retromerlike complex. INTRODUCTIONRab GTPases play an essential role to regulate intracellular membrane trafficking. The compartmentalization and functions of Rab proteins are modulated at multiple layers of mechanisms including isoprenylation of the carboxy terminus, nucleotide exchange, and binding of specific effector molecules (Stenmark and Olkkonen, 2001;Takai et al., 2001;Tuvim et al., 2001). Among these modulators, effectors play key roles in the control of 7-90 Rab proteins depending on organisms from fission yeast and amoeba to mammals and plants. A variety of effectors have been identified and shown to interact with specific Rab protein. For instance, regulatory secretions of neurotransmitters from neurons or insulin from pancreatic ␤-cells are regulated by the specific interaction of Rab3 with its effectors (Jahn and Sudhof, 1999). At least four proteins, Rabphilin3, Rim1, Rim2, and Noc2, are known to bind Rab3 and recruit cAMP-GEFII, 14 -3-3, and zyxin, respectively, to regulate cAMP responsiveness, phosphoserine-dependent signaling, and the interaction with cytoskeleton (Kotake et al., 1997;Ozaki et al., 2000;Sun et al., 2003). The specificity of the Rab-effector interaction is attributable to primary sequence motifs in only a few cases including exophilins or Slip/Slac2, Rab3, and Rab27 effectors (Izumi et al., 2003). However, the majority of Rab effectors lack recognizable conserved binding motifs. For instance, Rab5 effectors, rabaptin-5, Rabex-5, EEA1, Rabenosyn-5, hVps34/p150, p110␤/p35␣, rabip4Ј, and rabankyrin-5, which a...

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SummaryRab7 small GTPase plays a crucial role in the regulation of trafficking to late endosomes, lysosomes and phagosomes. While most eukaryotes encode a single Rab7, the parasitic protist Entamoeba histolytica possesses nine Rab7. In this study, to understand the significance of the presence of multiple Rab7 isotypes, a role of two representative Rab7 isotypes, EhRab7A and EhRab7B, was investigated. EhRab7B was exclusively localized to acidic vacuoles containing lysosomal proteins, e.g. amoebapore-A and cysteine protease. This lysosome localization of EhRab7B was in good contrast to EhRab7A, localized to a non-acidic compartment in steady state, and only partially colocalized with lysosomal proteins. Overexpression of EhRab7B resulted in augmentation of late endosome/lysosome acidification, similar to the EhRab7A overexpression. Expression of EhRab7B-GTP mutant caused dominant-negative phenotypes including decrease in late endosome/lysosome acidification and missecretion of lysosomal proteins, while EhRab7A-GTP enhanced acidification but did not affect either intracellular or secreted cysteine protease activity. Expression of either EhRab7B or EhRab7B-GTP mutant caused defect in phagocytosis, concomitant with the disturbed formation and disassembly of prephagosomal vacuoles, the compartment previously shown to be linked to efficient ingestion.Altogether, these data indicate that the two Rab7 isotypes play distinct but co-ordinated roles in lysosome and phagosome biogenesis.

SummaryVesicular trafficking plays a pivotal role in the virulence of the enteric protozoan parasite Entamoeba histolytica. In the present study, we showed that one isotype of the small GTPase Rab11, EhRab11B, plays a central role in the secretion of a major virulence factor, cysteine proteases. EhRab11B did not colocalize with markers for the endoplasmic reticulum, early endosomes and lysosomes, but was partially associated with non-acidified vesicles in the endocytic pathway, likely recycling endosomes. Overexpression of EhRab11B resulted in a remarkable increase in both intracellular and secreted cysteine protease activity, concomitant with an augmentation of cytolytic activity as demonstrated by an increased ability to destroy mammalian cells. The oversecretion of cysteine proteases with EhRab11B overexpression was neither sensitive to brefeldin A nor specific to a certain cysteine protease species (e.g. CP1, 2 or 5), suggesting that these three major cysteine proteases are trafficked via an EhRab11B-associated secretory pathway, which is distinct from the classical brefeldinsensitive pathway. Overexpression of EhRab11B also enhanced exocytosis of the incorporated fluid-phase marker, supporting the notion that it is involved in recycling. This is the first report demonstrating that Rab11 plays a central role in the transport and secretion of pathogenic factors.

Sulfur-containing amino acids play an important role in a variety of cellular functions such as protein synthesis, methylation, and polyamine and glutathione synthesis. We cloned and characterized cDNA encoding cystathionine ␤-synthase (CBS), which is a key enzyme of transsulfuration pathway, from a hemoflagellate protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. T. cruzi CBS, unlike mammalian CBS, lacks the regulatory carboxyl terminus, does not contain heme, and is not activated by S-adenosylmethionine. T. cruzi CBS mRNA is expressed as at least six independent isotypes with sequence microheterogeneity from tandemly linked multicopy genes. The enzyme forms a homotetramer and, in addition to CBS activity, the enzyme has serine sulfhydrylase and cysteine synthase (CS) activities in vitro. Expression of the T. cruzi CBS in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Escherichia coli demonstrates that the CBS and CS activities are functional in vivo. Enzymatic studies on T. cruzi extracts indicate that there is an additional CS enzyme and stage-specific control of CBS and CS expression. We also cloned and characterized cDNA encoding serine acetyltransferase (SAT), a key enzyme in the sulfate assimilatory cysteine biosynthetic pathway. Dissimilar to bacterial and plant SAT, a recombinant T. cruzi SAT showed allosteric inhibition by L-cysteine, L-cystine, and, to a lesser extent, glutathione. Together, these studies demonstrate the T. cruzi is a unique protist in possessing both transsulfuration and sulfur assimilatory pathways.Various sulfur compounds, especially cysteine, methionine, and S-adenosylmethionine, are essential for the growth and activities of all cells (1, 2). Methionine initiates the synthesis of proteins, whereas cysteine plays a critical role in the structure, stability, and catalytic function of many proteins. S-Adenosylmethionine plays a crucial role in methyl group transfer and in polyamine biosynthesis. Cysteine is also involved in the synthesis of the major antioxidant glutathione.In the filamentous fungi, Aspergillus nidulans and Neurospora crassa, the major route for the synthesis of cysteine is the condensation of O-acetylserine (OAS) 1 with sulfide, catalyzed by cysteine synthase (CS, OAS sulfhydrase) (3, 4). This pathway has been shown to be present in prokaryotes, plants, and enteric protozoan Entamoebae, and is generally called assimilatory cysteine biosynthetic pathway since this process involves reduction and fixation of inorganic sulfate to organic amino acids. Cysteine can also be synthesized by an alternative pathway: the sulfurylation of O-acetylhomoserine to give homocysteine, which then can be converted to cysteine via cystathionine by the transsulfuration pathway. In vertebrates, cysteine is synthesized from methionine via cystathionine by the transsulfuration pathway. This pathway is believed to be the sole route for cysteine synthesis in vertebrates with cystathionine ␤-synthase (CBS) acting as the flux-controlling enzyme (1). In mammals, this pathway also functions as catabolic pathway of methionine a...

Surface molecules are of major importance for host-parasite interactions. During Entamoeba histolytica infections, these interactions are predicted to be of prime importance for tissue invasion, induction of colitis and liver abscess formation. To date, however, little is known about the molecules involved in these processes, with only about 20 proteins or protein families found exposed on the E. histolytica surface. We have therefore analyzed the complete surface proteome of E. histolytica. Using cell surface biotinylation and mass spectrometry, 693 putative surface-associated proteins were identified. In silico analysis predicted that ϳ26% of these proteins are membrane-associated, as they contain transmembrane domains and/or signal sequences, as well as sites of palmitoylation, myristoylation, or prenylation. An additional 25% of the identified proteins likely represent nonclassical secreted proteins. Surprisingly, no membraneassociation sites could be predicted for the remaining 49% of the identified proteins. To verify surface localization, 23 proteins were randomly selected and analyzed by immunofluorescence microscopy. Of these 23 proteins, 20 (87%) showed definite surface localization. These findings indicate that a far greater number of E. histolytica proteins than previously supposed are surface-associated, a phenomenon that may be based on the high membrane turnover of E. histolytica. Molecular & Cellular Proteomics 13: 10.1074/mcp.M113.031393, 132-144, 2014.The intestinal protozoan Entamoeba histolytica is an important human parasite. Its life cycle is relatively simple, consisting of infectious cysts that can survive outside the host and vegetative trophozoites that proliferate in the human gut. After infection, E. histolytica trophozoites are normally present in the intestine where they asymptomatically persist for months in the lumen. E. histolytica can become a pathogen by penetrating the intestinal mucosa and inducing colitis, or by disseminating to other organs, most commonly to the liver, where it induces abscess formation.The factors that determine the clinical outcomes of E. histolytica infections have not been well defined. Decisive factors may include genetic aspects of the host and/or parasite, the type of immune response mounted by the host, the presence of concomitant infections, and host diet. E. histolytica surface proteins are regarded to be of prime importance for hostparasite interactions. Members of the galactose/N-acetyl D-galactosamine-inhibitable (Gal/GalNAc) lectin family exposed on the surface of the parasite are considered important for adherence to target cells (1, 2), with adherence necessary for killing and/or phagocytosis. In addition to their involvement in adhesion and phagocytosis, the surface molecules of E. histolytica are exposed to the host's immune system. To date, only about 20 proteins or protein families have been identified as exposed on the plasma membrane of the parasite. These proteins include EhADH112 and the cysteine peptidase EhCP112 (EhCP-B9), which fo...