Mitochondrial pyruvate carrier in Trypanosoma brucei. Issue 3 (10th February 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Štáfková, Jitka; Mach, Jan; Biran, Marc; Verner, Zdeněk; Bringaud, Frédéric; Tachezy, Jan
• Is Part Of: Molecular microbiology. Volume 100:Issue 3(2016)
• Page Start: 442
• Page End: 456
• Publication Date: 2016-02-10
• Subjects: Molecular microbiology -- Periodicals; 572.829
• DOI: 10.1111/mmi.13325
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0950-382X

Abstract

Summary: Pyruvate is a key product of glycolysis that regulates the energy metabolism of cells. In Trypanosoma brucei, the causative agent of sleeping sickness, the fate of pyruvate varies dramatically during the parasite life cycle. In bloodstream forms, pyruvate is mainly excreted, whereas in tsetse fly forms, pyruvate is metabolized in mitochondria yielding additional ATP molecules. The character of the molecular machinery that mediates pyruvate transport across mitochondrial membrane was elusive until the recent discovery of mitochondrial pyruvate carrier (MPC) in yeast and mammals. Here, we characterized pyruvate import into mitochondrion of T. brucei . We identified mpc1 and mpc2 homologs in the T. brucei genome with attributes of MPC protein family and we demonstrated that both proteins are present in the mitochondrial membrane of the parasite. Investigations of mpc1 or mpc2 gene knock‐out cells proved that T. brucei MPC1/2 proteins facilitate mitochondrial pyruvate transport. Interestingly, MPC is expressed not only in procyclic trypanosomes with fully activated mitochondria but also in bloodstream trypanosomes in which most of pyruvate is excreted. Moreover, MPC appears to be essential for bloodstream forms, supporting the recently emerging picture that the functions of mitochondria in bloodstream forms are more diverse than it was originally thought. Abstract : In the course of the complex life cycle of Trypanosoma brucei, dramatic changes to the cellular metabolism occur. While in the bloodstream form pyruvate is mainly excreted, in the procyclic midgut stages transmitted by tsetse it is further oxidized in the mitochondria. Here, we investigate the import of pyruvate into the mitochondrion of T. brucei and report that, surprisingly, mitochondrial pyruvate carrier seems to play an important role in the bloodstream form of the parasite.