A chymotrypsin-like serine protease interacts with the chitin synthase from the midgut of the tobacco hornworm

Abstract

The chitin portion of the peritrophic matrix in the midgut of the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta, is produced by chitin synthase 2 (CHS2), a transmembrane family II glycosyltransferase, located at the apical tips of brush border microvilli. To look for proteins that potentially interact with CHS2, we performed yeast twohybrid screening, identifying a novel chymotrypsin-like protease (CTLP1) that binds to the extracellular carboxyterminal domain of CHS2. The occurrence of this interaction in vivo is supported by co-localization and coimmunoprecipitation data. Based on our findings we propose that chitin synthesis is controlled by an intestinal proteolytic signalling cascade linking chitin synthase activity to the nutritional state of the larvae.

Targeted Disruption of Toxoplasma gondii Serine Protease Inhibitor 1 Increases Bradyzoite Cyst Formation In Vitro and Parasite Tissue Burden in Mice

“…4B), the ⌬TgPI1 effect is particularly profound. It is possible that TgPI1 inhibits proteases involved in bradyzoite cyst formation, as the cyst wall contains chitin (6) and there is ample precedent for proteolytic regulation of chitin in other systems (7,13,37).…”

Changes of exoskeleton surface roughness and expression of crucial participation genes for chitin formation and digestion in the mud crab (Macrophthalmus japonicus) following the antifouling biocide irgarol

“…Serine proteinases, a dominant class of proteolytic enzymes, play important roles in immune response, food protein digestion, embryogenesis, and other biological processes (Sveinsdóttir et al, 2006;Broehan et al, 2007). SPs are involved in the activation of crustaceans' prophenoloxidase system (Vaseeharan.…”

Molecular characteristic and expression analysis of collagenolytic serine protease from the Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis with defense response to Vibrio anguillarum challenge

“…SP constitutes one of the largest families of enzymes in the animal kingdom (Barrett and Rawlings, 1995;Hedstrom, 2001). They play important roles in immune response (Finnerty et al, 1999;O'Connell et al, 2006), food protein digestion (Broehan et al, 2007), embryogenesis (Sveinsdóttir et al, 2006), and other biological progress in insects (Herrero et al, 2005). SPs are characterized by an active site called the catalytic triad, which contains H, D, and S amino acids (Sellos and Van Wormhoudt, 1999).…”

“…In Drosophila, a CLSP is involved in immune defense reactions against bacteria (de Morais et al, 2005;Moffitt et al, 2012). Recently, more and more CLSPs have been discovered in invertebrates Colebatch et al, 2002;Zhu et al, 2005;Broehan et al, 2007;Shi et al, 2008;Danwattananusorn et al, 2009;Yadav et al, 2011). CLSPs have been cloned in the shrimp and their polymorphism patterns and immune response to bacteria have been analyzed Van Wormhoudt et al, 1992;Shi et al, 2008).…”