Gong Pengtao

Differential dissolved protein expression throughout the life cycle of Giardia lamblia

Giardia lamblia (G. lamblia) has a simple life cycle that alternates between a cyst and a trophozoite, and this parasite is an important human and animal pathogen. To increase our understanding of the molecular basis of the G. lamblia encystment, we have analyzed the soluble proteins expressed by trophozoites and cysts extracted from feces by quantitative proteomic analysis. A total of 63 proteins were identified by isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ) labeling, and were categorized as cytoskeletal proteins, a cell-cycle-specific kinase, metabolic enzymes and stress resistance proteins. Importantly, we demonstrated that the expression of seven proteins differed significantly between trophozoites and cysts. In cysts, the expression of three proteins (one variable surface protein (VSP), ornithine carbamoyltransferase (OTC), β-tubulin) increased, whereas the expression of four proteins (14-3-3 protein, α-tubulin, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), protein disulfide isomerase 2 (PDI-2)) decreased significantly when compared with the levels of these proteins in trophozoites. The mRNA expression patterns of four of these proteins (OTC, α-tubulin, GAPDH, VSP) were similar to the expression levels of the proteins. These seven proteins appear to play an important role in the completion of the life cycle of G. lamblia.

Differential Protein Expressions in Virus-Infected and Uninfected Trichomonas vaginalis

Protozoan viruses may influence the function and pathogenicity of the protozoa. Trichomonas vaginalis is a parasitic protozoan that could contain a double stranded RNA (dsRNA) virus, T. vaginalis virus (TVV). However, there are few reports on the properties of the virus. To further determine variations in protein expression of T. vaginalis, we detected 2 strains of T. vaginalis; the virus-infected (V+) and uninfected (V−) isolates to examine differentially expressed proteins upon TVV infection. Using a stable isotope N-terminal labeling strategy (iTRAQ) on soluble fractions to analyze proteomes, we identified 293 proteins, of which 50 were altered in V+ compared with V− isolates. The results showed that the expression of 29 proteins was increased, and 21 proteins decreased in V+ isolates. These differentially expressed proteins can be classified into 4 categories: ribosomal proteins, metabolic enzymes, heat shock proteins, and putative uncharacterized proteins. Quantitative PCR was used to detect 4 metabolic processes proteins: glycogen phosphorylase, malate dehydrogenase, triosephosphate isomerase, and glucose-6-phosphate isomerase, which were differentially expressed in V+ and V− isolates. Our findings suggest that mRNA levels of these genes were consistent with protein expression levels. This study was the first which analyzed protein expression variations upon TVV infection. These observations will provide a basis for future studies concerning the possible roles of these proteins in host-parasite interactions.