title: Toxoplasma gondii: a bradyzoite-specific DnaK-tetratricopeptide repeat (DnaK-TPR) protein interacts with p23 co-chaperone protein.
abstract: The DnaK-tetratricopeptide repeat (DnaK-TPR) gene (ToxoDB ID, TGME49_002020) is expressed predominantly at the bradyzoite stage. DnaK-TPR protein has a heat shock protein (DnaK) and tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR) domains with amino acid sequence similarity to the counterparts of other organisms (40.2-43.7% to DnaK domain and 41.1-66.0% to TPR domain). These findings allowed us to infer that DnaK-TPR protein is important in the tachyzoite-to-bradyzoite development or maintenance of cyst structure although the function of this gene is still unknown. An immunofluorescence assay (IFA) revealed that DnaK-TPR protein was expressed in Toxoplasma gondii-encysted and in vitro-induced bradyzoites and distributed in the whole part of parasite cells. We conducted yeast two-hybrid screening to identify proteins interacting with DnaK-TPR protein, and demonstrated that DnaK-TPR protein interacts with p23 co-chaperone protein (Tgp23). It was expected that DnaK-TPR protein would have a function as a molecular chaperon in bradyzoite cells associated with Tgp23. Possible mechanisms for this gene are discussed.
authors.affiliation: National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, 2-13 Inada-cho, Obihiro, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Akio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ueno
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dautu
authors.forename: Kaori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Haga
authors.forename: Biscah
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Munyaka
authors.forename: Gabriella
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Carmen
authors.forename: Yoshiyasu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Igarashi
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000737:chemistry; D005260:Female; D057809:HEK293 Cells; D006801:Humans; D047468:Immunoprecipitation; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000737:chemistry; D018832:Molecular Chaperones / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D015345:Oligonucleotide Probes / Q000737:chemistry; D054730:Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D011817:Rabbits; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014124:Toxoplasmosis, Animal / Q000469:parasitology
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D018832:Molecular Chaperones; D015345:Oligonucleotide Probes; D015800:Protozoan Proteins