Molecular characterization of a calcium binding translationally controlled tumor protein homologue from the filarial parasites Brugia malayi and Wuchereria bancrofti

M. Gnanasekar, K. V.N. Rao, L. Chen, R. B. Narayanan, M. Geetha, A. L. Scott, K. Ramaswamy, P. Kaliraj

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

80 Scopus citations

Abstract

We have cloned homologues of the mammalian translationally controlled tumor protein (TCTP) from the human filarial parasites Wuchereria bancrofti and Brugia malayi. TCTP genes from B. malayi and W. bancrofti were expressed in a T7 promoter vector as histidine tagged fusion proteins. Both the recombinant B. malayi TCTP (rBm-TCTP) and recombinant W. bancrofti TCTP (rWb-TCTP) have a molecular mass of approximately 28 kDa with the histidine tag. Sequence analyses showed that there is a 98% similarity between the two filarial TCTPs at amino acid levels and are immunologically cross-reactive. Analysis of soluble proteins from various lifecycle stages of B. malayi suggested that the expression of Bm-TCTP might be differentially regulated and occurs in multimeric form. Recombinant TCTP were found to form multimers in solution under non-reducing conditions. The tendency for filarial TCTPs to become multimers was predicted by the presence of the Lupas coiled coil structure in their sequence. Despite the absence of a signal sequence, Bm-TCTP is present abundantly in the excretory/secretions (ES) of microfilariae. Characterization studies showed that both Bm- and Wb-TCTPs are calcium-binding proteins and have histamine-releasing function in vitro. When injected intraperitoneally both the filarial TCTPs induced inflammatory infiltration of eosinophils into the peritoneal cavity of mice suggesting that the filarial TCTPs may have a role in the allergic inflammatory responses associated with filarial infections.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)107-118
Number of pages12
JournalMolecular and Biochemical Parasitology
Volume121
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 30 2002

Keywords

  • Brugia malayi
  • Calcium-binding protein
  • Histamine releasing factor
  • Translationally controlled tumor protein
  • Wuchereria bancrofti

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Parasitology
  • Molecular Biology

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