title: A new microneme protein of Neospora caninum, NcMIC8 is involved in host cell invasion.
abstract: Microneme proteins play an important role in the invasion process of Apicomplexan parasites through adhesion to host cells. We discovered a new N. caninum protein, NcMIC8, which is highly identical to TgMIC8. The NcMIC8 sequence has 2049 bp and no intron in the open reading fragment. It has a molecular weight of 73.8 kDa and contains a signal peptide, a transmembrane region, a low complexity region and 10 epidermal growth factor (EGF) domains. Immuno-fluorescence assay showed that NcMIC8 is located in the microneme. NcMIC8 was secreted to culture medium under stimulation of 1% ethanol, and cleaved to form the mature body of 40 kDa before transporting to microneme or during secretion. Blocking NcMIC8 using anti-NcMIC8 serum effectively inhibited host cell invasion by tachyzoites in vitro. NcMIC8 in the form of mature body interacts with NcMIC3, and the two microneme proteins form a complex probably during transportation. NcMIC8 is a new microneme protein of N. caninum and could be an attractive target for the control of neosporosis.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Epidemiology and Zoonosis, Ministry of Agriculture, National Animal Protozoa Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Epidemiology and Zoonosis, Ministry of Agriculture, National Animal Protozoa Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
authors.forename: Di
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Epidemiology and Zoonosis, Ministry of Agriculture, National Animal Protozoa Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
authors.forename: Wensheng
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Epidemiology and Zoonosis, Ministry of Agriculture, National Animal Protozoa Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
authors.forename: Jianhai
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Epidemiology and Zoonosis, Ministry of Agriculture, National Animal Protozoa Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China. Electronic address: qunliu@cau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Qun
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Epidemiology and Zoonosis, Ministry of Agriculture, National Animal Protozoa Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China. Electronic address: liujingvet@cau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000276:immunology; D015153:Blotting, Western; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D003048:Coccidiosis / Q000469:parasitology; D019295:Computational Biology; D005260:Female; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D047468:Immunoprecipitation; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D018688:Neospora / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D015388:Organelles / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*; D011817:Rabbits; D014709:Vero Cells
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; D015800:Protozoan Proteins
keywords: Adhesion; Location; Microneme protein 8; Neospora caninum