title: Cloning and analysis of the PTS-1 receptor in Trypanosoma brucei.
abstract: Kinetoplastid organisms, such as the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma brucei, compartmentalise several important metabolic pathways in organelles called glycosomes. Glycosomes are related to peroxisomes of yeast and mammalian cells. A subset of glycosomal matrix proteins is routed to the organelles via the peroxisome-targeting signal type 1 (PTS-1). The PEX5 gene homologue has been cloned from T. brucei coding for a protein of the translocation machinery, the PTS-1 receptor. The gene codes for a polypeptide of 654 amino acids with a calculated molecular mass of 70 kDa. Like its homologue in other organisms T. brucei PTS-1 receptor protein (TbPEX5) is a member of the tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR) protein family and contains several copies of the pentapeptide W-X-X-X-F/Y. Northern and Western blot analysis showed that the protein is expressed at different stages of the life cycle of the parasite. The protein has been overproduced in Escherichia coli and purified using immobilized metal affinity chromatography. The purified protein specifically interacts in vitro with glycosomal phosphoglycerate kinase-C (PGK-C) of T. brucei, a PTS-1 containing protein. The equilibrium dissociation constant (Kd) of PGK-C for purified TbPEX5 is 40 nM. Using biochemical and cytochemical techniques a predominantly cytosolic localization was found for TbPEX5. This is consistent with the idea of receptor cycling between the glycosomes and the cytosol.
authors.affiliation: Research Unit for Tropical Diseases, Christian de Duve Institute of Cellular Pathology and Laboratory of Biochemistry, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: de Walque
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Kiel
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Veenhuis
authors.forename: F R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Opperdoes
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Michels
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D002451:Cell Compartmentation; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D015870:Gene Expression; D017125:Genes, Protozoan; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D015388:Organelles; D000074435:Peroxisome-Targeting Signal 1 Receptor; D010735:Phosphoglycerate Kinase / Q000378:metabolism; D011485:Protein Binding; D018160:Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014346:Trypanosoma brucei brucei / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D007527:Isoenzymes; D000074435:Peroxisome-Targeting Signal 1 Receptor; D018160:Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D010735:Phosphoglycerate Kinase