title: Amylopectin biogenesis and characterization in the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii, the intracellular development of which is restricted in the HepG2 cell line.
abstract: The obligate intracellular protozoan Toxoplasma gondii belongs to the phylum Apicomplexa, which is composed of numerous parasites causing major diseases such as malaria, toxoplasmosis and coccidiosis. The life cycle of T. gondii involves developmental processes from one stage to another with both asexual and sexual parasitic forms. Throughout their life cycle, some apicomplexan parasites accumulate a crystalline storage polysaccharide analogous to amylopectin within the cytoplasm. In T. gondii, both the slowly dividing encysted bradyzoites and the sporozoites of the sexual stage contain a high number of amylopectin granules (AG), while the rapidly replicating tachyzoites are devoid of amylopectin. It is thought that this storage polysaccharide may represent an energy reserve that could fuel the transition from one developmental stage to another one. At present, by comparison to glycogen and plant starch, little is known about the biosynthesis, structure and biological functions of amylopectin in T. gondii. Here, we describe an in vitro system allowing the production and purification of a large amount of amylopectin, which has been subjected to detailed biochemical and structural analyses. Our data indicate that T. gondii synthesizes a genuine amylopectin following changes in the environmental conditions and that this storage polysaccharide differs from glycogen and starch in terms of glucan chain length.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Chimie Biologique, UGSF, CNRS UMR 8576, Bâtiment C9, Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille, 59655 Villeneuve d'Ascq cedex, France.
authors.forename: Yann
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Guérardel
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Leleu
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Coppin
authors.forename: Luc
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liénard
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Slomianny
authors.forename: Gérard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Strecker
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ball
authors.forename: Stanislas
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tomavo
mesh_terms: D000687:Amylopectin / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D006801:Humans; D008018:Life Cycle Stages; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure
chemical_list: D000687:Amylopectin