Open AccessThe C ‐terminal tail of tetraspanin proteins regulates their intracellular distribution in the parasite T richomonas vaginalis
Author(s) -
Coceres V. M.,
Alonso A. M.,
Nievas Y. R.,
Midlej V.,
Frontera L.,
Benchimol M.,
Johnson P. J.,
Miguel N.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
cellular microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.542
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1462-5822
pISSN - 1462-5814
DOI - 10.1111/cmi.12431
Subject(s) - tetraspanin , biology , intracellular , parasite hosting , microbiology and biotechnology , intracellular parasite , genetics , cell , world wide web , computer science
Summary The parasite T richomonas vaginalis is the causative agent of trichomoniasis, a prevalent sexually transmitted infection. Here, we report the cellular analysis of T. vaginalis tetraspanin family ( TvTSPs ). This family of membrane proteins has been implicated in cell adhesion, migration and proliferation in vertebrates. We found that the expression of several members of the family is up‐regulated upon contact with vaginal ectocervical cells. We demonstrate that most TvTSPs are localized on the surface and intracellular vesicles and that the C ‐terminal intracellular tails of surface TvTSPs are necessary for proper localization. Analyses of full‐length TvTSP 8 and a mutant that lacks the C ‐terminal tail indicates that surface‐localized TvTSP 8 is involved in parasite aggregation, suggesting a role for this protein in parasite : parasite interaction.