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Molecular cloning, sequencing, and expression analysis of presenilin cDNA from Schistosoma mansoni

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Abstract

Presenilins (PS) are integral membrane proteins involved, among other functions, in regulated intramembrane proteolysis. In this study, we report the identification and characterization of a complementary DNA from Schistosoma mansoni exhibiting a significant homology to human and nonvertebrate presinilins. S. mansoni contained a 1,485 bp open reading frame encoding a predicted protein of 494 amino acids. Alignment of predicted amino acid sequence of S. mansoni with PS (SmPS) from other species revealed up to 40% similarity shared among the investigated organisms. In addition, phylogenetic analyses demonstrated SmPS being closely related to its orthologues found in Schistosoma japonicum and Caenorhabditis elegans. Expression analysis of SmPS using quantitative real-time PCR revealed that the transcript is up-regulated in the egg stage. We hypothesize that the high level of SmPS in the S. mansoni embryo correlates to an important role during cellular signaling associated to larval development. To our knowledge, this study represents the first attempt to investigate the existence and abundance of PS from a helminth parasite.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior. We are grateful to Elenice A. Macedo and Olinda Mara Brigatto for their excellent technical assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Bioquímica e Imunologia, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, 14049900, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brasil

    Lizandra Guidi Magalhães & Vanderlei Rodrigues

  2. Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Instituto de Ciências Exatas e Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, 3400000, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brasil

    William de Castro-Borges, Matheus de Souza Gomes & Renata Guerra-Sá

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  1. Lizandra Guidi Magalhães
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  2. William de Castro-Borges
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  3. Matheus de Souza Gomes
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  4. Renata Guerra-Sá
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  5. Vanderlei Rodrigues
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Correspondence to Lizandra Guidi Magalhães.

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Magalhães, L.G., de Castro-Borges, W., de Souza Gomes, M. et al. Molecular cloning, sequencing, and expression analysis of presenilin cDNA from Schistosoma mansoni . Parasitol Res 106, 7–13 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-009-1620-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-009-1620-9

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