title: 14-3-3 gene characterization and description of a second 14-3-3 isoform in both Echinococcus granulosus and E. multilocularis.
abstract: Members of the 14-3-3 protein family have been identified as regulatory molecules in intracellular signaling pathways and cell cycle control. Previously, the first Echinococcus 14-3-3 isoform (E14-3-3.1) was isolated from E. granulosus and E. multilocularis metacestode stages. Hyperexpression of this isoform was claimed to be associated with non-restricted tumor-like growth of the E. multilocularis metacestode. In this report, we describe the characterization of a 14-3-3 cDNA from E. granulosus and E. multilocularis corresponding to a second isoform of this family, E14-3-3.2. The characterized 14-3-3 gene was interrupted by two introns whose sequence and positions were conserved in both Echinococcus species. The deduced amino acid sequence of E14-3-3.2 showed 88% identity to the E14-3-3.1 isoform and 52% identity to a third Echinococcus isoform (E14-3-3.3) described by other authors. These findings, coupled to Southern blot analysis, suggest the presence of more than one 14-3-3 gene in Echinococcus. Phylogenenetically, the Echinococcus 14-3-3.1 and 14-3-3.2 isoforms appeared to cluster with zeta-type ("pro-tumorigenic") 14-3-3 isoforms from closely related organisms, whereas the E14-3-3.3 isoform grouped with 14-3-3 epsilon isoforms. The presence of more than one 14-3-3 isoform might indicate isoform-specific roles in the different parasite stages of Echinococcus.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Biotecnologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Caixa Postal 15005, RS 91501-970 Porto Alegre, Brazil. paiva@adufrgs.ufrgs.br
authors.forename: Cláudia Paiva
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Nunes
authors.forename: Arnaldo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zaha
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gottstein
authors.forename: Norbert
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: María del Mar
authors.initials: Mdel M
authors.lastname: Siles-Lucas
mesh_terms: D048948:14-3-3 Proteins; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D018509:DNA, Helminth / Q000737:chemistry; D004446:Echinococcus / Q000235:genetics*; D017238:Genes, Helminth; D015801:Helminth Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D007438:Introns; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D020033:Protein Isoforms / Q000235:genetics; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D048948:14-3-3 Proteins; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D018509:DNA, Helminth; D015801:Helminth Proteins; D020033:Protein Isoforms; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase