title: Autophagy protein 16-mediated autophagy is required for the encystation of Acanthamoeba castellanii.
abstract: Autophagy, an evolutionarily conserved protein degradation pathway in eukaryotes, plays essential roles during starvation and cellular differentiation by eliminating unwanted and/or unnecessary cell material including organelles. Autophagy protein 16 (Atg16) is an essential component of the autophagic machinery. The present study identified and characterized an Atg16 homologue (AcAtg16) in Acanthamoeba, an opportunistic pathogen responsible for several distinct diseases in humans. AcAtg16 was highly expressed during encystation and was found to be associated with small or large vesicular structures that partially colocalized with autophagolysosomes. Small interfering RNA against AcAtg16 inhibited autophagosome formation and reduced the encystation efficiency of Acanthamoeba. Moreover, most mitochondria remained undigested in these knockdown cells. Taken together, these results indicate that AcAtg16 is involved in autophagosome formation and plays an essential role in the encystation of Acanthamoeba.
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, 101 Dongin-dong, Joong-gu, Daegu 700-422, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Su-Min
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Byung-In
authors.initials: BI
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Eun-Kyung
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Moon
authors.forename: Yu-Ran
authors.initials: YR
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Hak Sun
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Bijay Kumar
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Jha
authors.forename: Dinzouna-Boutamba Sylvatrie
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Danne
authors.forename: Hyun-Hee
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Kong
authors.forename: Dong-Il
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Yeonchul
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hong
mesh_terms: D048248:Acanthamoeba castellanii / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D001343:Autophagy; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D020868:Gene Silencing; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010588:Phagosomes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D033761:Spores, Protozoan / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D016054:DNA, Protozoan; D015800:Protozoan Proteins