Premium
Identification and functional characterization of lysine methyltransferases of Entamoeba histolytica
Author(s) -
BorbollaVázquez Jessica,
Orozco Esther,
MedinaGómez Christian,
MartínezHiguera Aarón,
JavierReyna Rosario,
Chávez Bibiana,
Betanzos Abigail,
Rodríguez Mario A.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
molecular microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.857
H-Index - 247
eISSN - 1365-2958
pISSN - 0950-382X
DOI - 10.1111/mmi.13394
Subject(s) - biology , entamoeba histolytica , methyltransferase , methylation , epigenetics , histone , lysine , histone methyltransferase , histone methylation , protein methylation , biochemistry , ezh2 , cytoplasm , microbiology and biotechnology , dna methylation , gene expression , gene , amino acid
Summary Lysine methylation of histones, a posttranslational modification catalyzed by lysine methyltransferases (HKMTs), plays an important role in the epigenetic regulation of transcription. Lysine methylation of non‐histone proteins also impacts the biological function of proteins. Previously it has been shown that lysine methylation of histones of Entamoeba histolytica , the protozoan parasite that infects 50 million people worldwide each year and causing up to 100,000 deaths annually, is implicated in the epigenetic machinery of this microorganism. However, the identification and characterization of HKMTs in this parasite had not yet been determined. In this work we identified four HKMTs in E. histolytica (EhHKMT1 to EhHKMT4) that are expressed by trophozoites. Enzymatic assays indicated that all of them are able to transfer methyl groups to commercial histones. EhHKMT1, EhHKMT2 and EhHKMT4 were detected in nucleus and cytoplasm of trophozoites. In addition EhHKMT2 and EhHKMT4 were located in vesicles containing ingested cells during phagocytosis, and they co‐immunoprecipitated with EhADH, a protein involved in the phagocytosis of this parasite. Results suggest that E. histolytica uses its HKMTs to regulate transcription by epigenetic mechanisms, and at least two of them could also be implicated in methylation of proteins that participate in phagocytosis.