title: Characterization and differential expression of a ferritin protein from Fasciola hepatica.
abstract: Ferritins are proteins that play a central role in maintaining intracellular iron balance. A cDNA clone of Fasciola hepatica (687 bp long) encoding a putative 228-amino acid polypeptide (FhFtn-1) homologous with ferritins of vertebrates and invertebrates was identified. FhFtn-1 contains a conserved motif of the ferroxidase center typical of vertebrate ferritins. Phylogenetic tree analysis showed that FhFtn-1 clusters with two ferritins of Paragonimus westermani, which suggests a common ancestry for the ferritins of these two trematodes. Recombinant FhFtn-1 protein expressed and purified from an Escherichia coli system showed iron-uptake ability. Moreover, FhFtn-1 showed strong reactivity with sera from rabbits infected with F. hepatica for 2-12 weeks, which suggests that this protein could be a potential antigen for immunodiagnosis of fascioliasis. qPCR analysis demonstrated that FhFtn-1-mRNA is expressed at significantly higher levels in adults and unembryonated eggs than in juveniles or miracidia. These results represent the first characterization of a ferritin protein from the liver fluke F. hepatica.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, University of Puerto Rico, School of Medicine, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
authors.forename: Kimberly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Cabán-Hernández
authors.forename: José F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Gaudier
authors.forename: Ana M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Espino
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000947:Antigens, Helminth / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005210:Fasciola hepatica / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D005211:Fascioliasis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology; D005293:Ferritins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D015801:Helminth Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D007159:Immunologic Tests; D007501:Iron / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011817:Rabbits; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D016415:Sequence Alignment
chemical_list: D000947:Antigens, Helminth; D015415:Biomarkers; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D015801:Helminth Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D005293:Ferritins; D007501:Iron