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H+-dependent inorganic phosphate uptake in Trypanosoma brucei is influenced by myo-inositol transporter

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Abstract

Trypanosoma brucei is an extracellular protozoan parasite that causes human African trypanosomiasis or “sleeping sickness”. During the different phases of its life cycle, T. brucei depends on exogenous inorganic phosphate (Pi), but little is known about the transport of Pi in this organism. In the present study, we showed that the transport of 32Pi across the plasma membrane follows Michaelis-Menten kinetics and is modulated by pH variation, with higher activity at acidic pH. Bloodstream forms presented lower Pi transport in comparison to procyclic forms, that displayed an apparent K0.5 = 0.093 ± 0.008 mM. Additionally, FCCP (H+-ionophore), valinomycin (K+-ionophore) and SCH28080 (H+, K+-ATPase inhibitor) inhibited the Pi transport. Gene Tb11.02.3020, previously described to encode the parasite H+:myo-inositol transporter (TbHMIT), was hypothesized to be potentially involved in the H+:Pi cotransport because of its similarity with the Pho84 transporter described in S. cerevisiae and other trypanosomatids. Indeed, the RNAi mediated knockdown remarkably reduced TbHMIT gene expression, compromised cell growth and decreased Pi transport by half. In addition, Pi transport was inhibited when parasites were incubated in the presence of concentrations of myo-inositol that are above 300 μM. However, when expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes, two-electrode voltage clamp experiments provided direct electrophysiological evidence that the protein encoded by TbHMIT is definitely a myo-inositol transporter that may be only marginally affected by the presence of Pi. These results confirmed the presence of a Pi carrier in T. brucei, similar to the H+-dependent inorganic phosphate system described in S. cerevisiae and other trypanosomatids. This transport system contributes to the acquisition of Pi and may be involved in the growth and survival of procyclic forms. In summary, this work presents the first description of a Pi transport system in T. brucei.

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Abbreviations

AMDP:

Aminomethylenediphosphonate

DMSO:

Dimethyl sulfoxide

FBS:

Fetal bovine serum

FCCP:

Carbonylcyanide-p-trifluoromethoxyphenylhydrazone

HEPES:

4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-piperazineethanesulfonic acid

IDP:

Imidodiphosphate

PSG:

Phosphate-sodium-glucose

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Mr. Fabiano Ferreira Esteves, Mr. Edimilson Pereira and Ms. Rosangela Rosa de Araújo for their excellent technical assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Microbiologia Professor Paulo de Góes, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

    Thais Russo-Abrahão

  2. Instituto de Bioquímica Médica Leopoldo de Meis, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21941-590, Brazil

    Thais Russo-Abrahão, Stephanie Silva-Rito, Thaissa Marins-Lucena, Michele Alves-Bezerra, Naira Ligia Lima-Giarola, Iron Francisco de-Paula, Katia Calp Gondim & José Roberto Meyer-Fernandes

  3. Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Biologia Estrutural e Bioimagem, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

    Thais Russo-Abrahão, Stephanie Silva-Rito, Thaissa Marins-Lucena, Naira Ligia Lima-Giarola & José Roberto Meyer-Fernandes

  4. Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21941-590, Brazil

    Carolina Macedo Koeller & Norton Heise

  5. Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of Bern, 3012, Bern, Switzerland

    Michael E. Steinmann, Amaia Gonzalez-Salgado, Erwin Sigel & Peter Bütikofer

  6. Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Entomologia Molecular, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

    Michele Alves-Bezerra, Iron Francisco de-Paula & Katia Calp Gondim

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  1. Thais Russo-Abrahão
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  2. Carolina Macedo Koeller
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  3. Michael E. Steinmann
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  4. Stephanie Silva-Rito
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  5. Thaissa Marins-Lucena
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  6. Michele Alves-Bezerra
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  7. Naira Ligia Lima-Giarola
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  8. Iron Francisco de-Paula
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  9. Amaia Gonzalez-Salgado
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  10. Erwin Sigel
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  13. Norton Heise
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  14. José Roberto Meyer-Fernandes
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Correspondence to Norton Heise or José Roberto Meyer-Fernandes.

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Funding

This work was supported by grants from the Brazilian Agencies Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq 401134/2014–8), Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ e-26/201.300/2014) and Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia de Biologia Estrutural e Bioimagem (INBEB). Additional funding was obtained from Swiss National Science Foundation grant CRSII3_141913 (to E.S. and P.B.).

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Russo-Abrahão, T., Koeller, C.M., Steinmann, M.E. et al. H+-dependent inorganic phosphate uptake in Trypanosoma brucei is influenced by myo-inositol transporter. J Bioenerg Biomembr 49, 183–194 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10863-017-9695-y

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