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Infection and Immunity, May 2004, p. 2780-2790, Vol. 72, No. 5
0019-9567/04/$08.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/IAI.72.5.2780-2790.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Wales, Aberystwyth SY23 3DA,1 Department of Veterinary Parasitology, University of Glasgow G61 1QH, United Kingdom,4 ID-Lelystad, 8200AB Lelystad, The Netherlands,2 Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington 6001, New Zealand3
Received 17 December 2003/ Returned for modification 10 January 2004/ Accepted 22 January 2004
| ABSTRACT |
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| INTRODUCTION |
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| MATERIALS AND METHODS |
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Modeling of HcGST-1. Homology models of HcGST-1 were initially obtained from the SWISS-MODEL protein-modeling server (14, 15, 24), and the model was based on three templates (PDB accession numbers 1PD2, 2GSQ, and 1GUK). This preliminary model was refined by minimization to 0.1 kJ/mol/A by using a Polak-Ribiere conjugate gradients algorithm and the OPLS-AA force field (17) with MaestroT (version 3.0027; Schrodinger Inc.).
Southern blot analysis.
Genomic DNA was extracted from H. contortus adults (CAVR strain) or mixed-stage wild-type Caenorhabditis elegans nematodes (N2-Bristol) by using a DNeasy tissue kit (QIAGEN). After single or double digestion with BamHI, EcoRI, and/or HindIII, the DNA fragments were separated in 0.8% Tris-acetate-EDTA agarose and transferred in 20x SSC (1x SSC is 0.15 M NaCl plus 0.015 M sodium citrate [pH 8]) to a Zeta-Probe GT membrane (Bio-Rad). H. contortus GST-encoding cDNA was used as a probe following isolation with the Qiaex II gel extraction kit (QIAGEN). The probe was radiolabeled with [
-32P]dCTP by using the Random Primers DNA labeling kit (Gibco). Southern blots were blocked with stopping solution (5x SSC, 5x Denhardt's solution, 0.5% SDS, 0.1 mg/ml preboiled herring sperm DNA) (catalog number D3159; Sigma), incubated overnight with the radiolabeled probe (55°C), and washed with wash A (0.1% SDS/2x SSC [wt/vol]), wash B (0.1% SDS/1x SSC [wt/vol]), and wash C (0.1% SDS/0.1x SSC [wt/vol]) twice for 10 min each time. After each wash, the filter was exposed to a phosphor storage screen (GP SO230, Kodak) for up to 24 h and images were acquired by using a Typhoon 8600 variable-mode imager (Molecular Dynamics).
Enzymatic and ligand binding assays. GST enzymatic activity in 100 mM potassium phosphate buffer (pH 6.5) containing reduced GSH at a concentration of 1 mM and the model GST substrate 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (CDNB) at a concentration of 1 mM (11) was measured spectrophotometrically at 340 nm (25°C). Assays with natural and other model substrates were completed as previously described (11). Both CDNB and GSH were utilized as competing substrates for a Dixon plot analysis as outlined by Cortes et al. (12). Protein concentrations were determined by the Bradford method (Bio-Rad, commercial kit). Ligand binding to rHcGST-1 was estimated by measuring changes in intrinsic or competitive protein fluorescence. In all ligand binding assays, a final concentration of 1 µM HcGST-1 was used at 25°C in 20 mM potassium phosphate buffer (pH 6.5) containing 100 mM sodium chloride (31). Changes in fluorescence were recorded with a Shimadzu spectrofluorometer (RF-5301 PC) with excitation and emission wavelengths for intrinsic protein fluorescence (tryptophan) of 280 and 320 nm, respectively. Increasing concentrations of hematin or anthelmintic were added, followed by 3 min of incubation prior to measurement. For competitive fluorescent assays, the competitive GST ligand 8-anilino-1-naphthalene-sulfonic acid (ANS) was used at a final concentration of 10 µM as previously described (11). Excitation and emission wavelengths for ANS were established at 365 and 480 nm, respectively.
Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and Western blotting. Two-dimensional electrophoresis (13) was undertaken with the Multiphor II system (Pharmacia). Somatic protein extracts or GSH-Sepharose affinity-purified proteins from C. elegans or H. contortus were separated by isoelectric focusing overnight on commercially available immobilized pH gradient (IPG) strips (11 cm, pH 3 to 10; Pharmacia) followed by size separation with precast SDS-8 to 18% PAGE gels (ExcelGel XL; Pharmacia). The gels were silver-stained with an automated gel-staining system (Hoefer). Images were scanned into Adobe Photoshop and analyzed by using Phoretix 5.01 software.
Polyclonal antibodies to HcGST-1 were raised in rabbits by standard procedures (4, 7) and used for Western blot analysis. After SDS-12% PAGE, proteins were electrotransferred to a polyvinylidene difluoride membrane. The membrane was blocked with blocking buffer (5% [wt/vol] Marvel milk powder and 0.1% [vol/vol] Tween-20 in phosphate buffered saline [pH 7.3]) and subsequently incubated in blocking buffer containing GST antisera for 1 h (1:250 dilution), followed by four 15-min washes in 0.1% (vol/vol) Tween 20 in phosphate-buffered saline. After 1 h of incubation with the secondary antibody (alkaline phosphatase conjugated anti-rabbit immunoglobulin G; 1:10,000 dilution), blots were washed again four times for 15 min each time. The blots were developed with BCIP/NBT (5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl phosphate/nitro blue tetrazolium; Sigma).
Nucleotide sequence accession number. The nucleotide sequence for the H. contortus GST has been deposited in the GenBank database, under GenBank accession no. AF281663.
| RESULTS AND DISCUSSION |
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ß
ßß
fold (Fig. 1). An
2ß3 fold was indicative of the cofactor GSH-binding (G) site, and the presence of a GST hydrophobic (H) site along the interdomain cleft was highlighted by two parallel ß strands and the N-terminal ß
ß motif. The C terminus of the H. contortus GST also possesses an
helix that is generally presumed to contribute to the binding of hydrophobic ligands to GSTs.
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The recombinant form of the closest relative in the free-living nematode C. elegans, CE07055 (Fig. 2), was expressed in E. coli following cloning from a cDNA library and successfully purified from the soluble native protein fraction by GSH affinity chromatography (results not shown). The specific activity of CE07055 with the model substrate CDNB was found to be 5,034.72 ± 223 nmol · min1 · mg of protein1 (average of four replicates ± standard deviation). Thus, the purification of recombinant CE07055 by GSH affinity chromatography and the activity with CDNB confirmed the functional integrity of the protein. The activity obtained is in the range of those of other nematode GSTs (22, 21). CE07055 did not appear to have a site with high affinity for hematin (IC50 = 32.7 ± 4.3 µM; average of four replicates ± standard deviation).
The HcGST hematin binding range is similar for hematin interaction with a number of mammalian liver tissue alpha class GSTs, which have proposed roles in heme detoxification and/or transport (23). Thirteen investigated human liver GSTs exhibit variation as hematin-binding proteins, with inhibition levels ranging from noninteraction to near 20 nM for GST III, with some of the GSTs showing a simple inhibition pattern and others showing a more complex, two-phase inhibition pattern (31). In contrast, mammalian extrahepatic Pi GSTs bind hematin in the range of 4 to 5 µM (23). The values for intrinsic and competitive fluorescent binding (Kd values of 1.72 ± 0.10 and 1.13 ± 0.07 µM, respectively) compared to the IC50 of hematin (180 ± 13 nM) suggest that fluorescence binding detects a different hematin site on the HcGST, distinct from the enzymatic active site. A number of mammalian liver GSTs also have proposed secondary binding sites, distinct from the substrate site, for hydrophobic ligands (25).
A universal heme signature sequence for heme binding proteins could not be determined by using the MEME motif discovery and search program (version 3.0; http://meme.sdsc.edu/meme/website/meme.html). Crystals of HcGST-1 bound to hematin have recently been produced (unpublished data) and this development will ultimately lead to the location of the hematin binding site and the investigation of potential heme binding signatures.
A high affinity for hematin and limited other activities imply a focused role for this GST from H. contortus in the detoxification or transport of heme or related compounds. In contrast to cestode and digenean parasites, nematodes may express GSTs with specific physiological roles rather than general detoxification activities. Compared to rHcGST-1, GSTs from the blood-dwelling digenean parasites Schistosoma mansoni (Sm28GST) and Schistosoma japonicum (Sj26GST) displayed a lower affinity for hematin (up to 23-fold lower) and a broader substrate specificity (34). This finding indicates that the digenean GSTs have more generalized detoxification roles than the more specialized GST from the voracious blood feeder H. contortus.
In conclusion, a GST from the drug-resistant parasitic nematode H. contortus may have a focused, nonenzymatic role involving binding and/or transporting heme-related compounds and is not apparently associated with immune defense or with drug metabolism or resistance. The function appears to be adapted to parasitism or, specifically, blood or tissue feeding, as this biochemical feature is not evident in the closest GST relative from the free-living nematode C. elegans. The expression of a parasitic nematode protein with a focused role may have implications for future drug and vaccine discovery. The C. elegans nematode model will now be utilized to assess the physiological significance of this GST class under external hematin stress via reverse and transgenic expression strategies.
| ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
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We thank the EU and BBSRC for financial support.
| FOOTNOTES |
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