Genome-wide identification, in silico characterization and expression analysis of ZIP-like genes from Trichomonas vaginalis in response to Zinc and Iron

Abstract

Trace elements such as Zinc and Iron are essential components of metalloproteins and serve as cofactors or structural elements for enzymes involved in several important biological processes in almost all organisms. Because either excess or insufficient levels of Zn and Fe can be harmful for the cells, the homeostatic levels of these trace minerals must be tightly regulated. The Zinc regulated transporter, Iron regulated transporter-like Proteins (ZIP) comprise a diverse family, with several paralogues in diverse organisms and are considered essential for the Zn and Fe uptake and homeostasis. Zn and Fe has been shown to regulate expression of proteins involved in metabolism and pathogenicity mechanisms in the protozoan pathogen Trichomonas vaginalis, in contrast high concentrations of these elements were also found to be toxic for T. vaginalis trophozoites. Nevertheless, Zn and Fe uptake and homeostasis mechanisms is not yet clear in this parasite. We performed a genome-wide analysis and localized the 8 members of the ZIP gene family in T. vaginalis (TvZIP1-8). The bioinformatic programs predicted that the TvZIP proteins are highly conserved and show similar properties to the reported in other ZIP orthologues. The expression patterns of TvZIP1, 3, 5 and 7 were diminished in presence of Zinc, while the rest of the TvZIP genes showed an unchanged profile in this condition. In addition, TvZIP2 and TvZIP4 showed a differential expression pattern in trophozoites growth under different Iron conditions. These results suggest that TvZIP genes encode membrane transporters that may be responsible for the Zn and Fe acquisition in T. vaginalis.

The Role of Iron Status in the Early Progression of Metronidazole Resistance in Trichomonas vaginalis Under Microaerophilic Conditions

“…We previously suggested the possible role of TvZIP4 as an iron transporter through the plasmatic membrane in T. vaginalis (Fernández‐Martín et al. ). The reduction in the expression of this putative iron transporter in the early stages of metronidazole resistance is similar to that seen in Bacteroides fragilis where the increased metronidazole resistance was agreed to the reduced cellular iron content due to a deficiency of a ferrous iron transporter (Veeranagouda et al.…”

Immune Response of BALB/c Mice toward Putative Calcium Transporter Recombinant Protein of Trichomonas vaginalis

“…For this work, total RNA isolation from T. vaginalis trophozoites and cDNA synthesis were carried out as reported previously [15]. TvTRPV gene (Genbank Accession: XP_001296819) was amplified from cDNA by PCR using specific primers and cloned into the pCold-II (Takara, Otsu, Shiga, Japan) prokaryotic expression vector, by insertion at Bam HI and Hind III restriction sites.…”