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An atypical EhGEF regulates phagocytosis in Entamoeba histolytica through EhRho1

Bharadwaj, Ravi
Kushwaha, Tushar
Ahmad, Azhar
Inampudi, Krishna K
Nozaki, Tomoyoshi
Somlata
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Abstract

The parasite Entamoeba histolytica is the etiological agent of amoebiasis, a major cause of morbidity and mortality due to parasitic diseases in developing countries. Phagocytosis is an essential mode of obtaining nutrition and has been associated with the virulence behaviour of E. histolytica. Signalling pathways involved in activation of cytoskeletal dynamics required for phagocytosis remains to be elucidated in this parasite. Our group has been studying initiation of phagocytosis and formation of phagosomes in E. histolytica and have described some of the molecules that play key roles in the process. Here we showed the involvement of non-Dbl Rho Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factor, EhGEF in regulation of amoebic phagocytosis by regulating activation of EhRho1. EhGEF was found in the phagocytic cups during the progression of cups, until closure of phagosomes, but not in the phagosomes themselves. Our observation from imaging, pull down experiments and down regulating expression of different molecules suggest that EhGEF interacts with EhRho1 and it is required during initiation of phagocytosis and phagosome formation. Also, biophysical, and computational analysis reveals that EhGEF mediates GTP exchange on EhRho1 via an unconventional pathway. In conclusion, we describe a non-Dbl EhGEF of EhRho1 which is involved in endocytic processes of E. histolytica.

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Bharadwaj R, Kushwaha T, Ahmad A, Inampudi KK, Nozaki T, Somlata. An atypical EhGEF regulates phagocytosis in Entamoeba histolytica through EhRho1. PLoS Pathog. 2021 Nov 22;17(11):e1010030. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010030. PMID: 34807955; PMCID: PMC8648123.

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10.1371/journal.ppat.1010030
PubMed ID
34807955
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Copyright: © 2021 Bharadwaj et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Attribution 4.0 International