Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-01T02:08:10.488Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Characterization of the lipid content of Toxoplasma gondii rhoptries

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2009

F. Foussard
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Biochimie Médicale, rue Haute de Reculée, 49000 Angers
M. A. Leriche
Affiliation:
Unité 42 INSERM, 369, rue J Guesde, 59650 Villeneuve d' Ascq, France
J. F. Dubremetz
Affiliation:
Unité 42 INSERM, 369, rue J Guesde, 59650 Villeneuve d' Ascq, France

Extract

Quantitative and qualitative analysis of lipids has been performed on a rhoptry fraction purified from Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites. The lipid to protein ratio was estimated to be 0·26. The cholesterol to phospholipid ratio was unusually high at 1·48. Phosphatidylcholine was the major phospholipid; phosphatidylserine, phosphatidylinositol and sphingomyelin were absent whereas significant amounts of phosphatidic acid and lysophospholipids were found. This pelicular composition could be related to functional involvement of the organelle in host-cell invasion.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1991

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bannister, L. H. & Mitchell, G. H. (1989). The fine structure of secretion by Plasmodium knowlesi merozoites during red cell invasion. Journal of Protozoology 36, 362–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bottcher, C. S. F., Van Gent, C. M. & Pries, C. (1961). A rapid and sensitive sub-microphosphorous determination. Analytical and Clinical Acta 24, 203–4.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gallois, Y., Foussard, F., Girault, A., Hodbert, J., Tricaud, A., Mauras, G. & Motta, C. (1988). Membrane fluidity of Toxoplasma gondii: a fluorescence polarization study. Biology of the Cell 62, 1115.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grimwood, B. G., Hechemy, K. & Stevens, R. W. (1979). Toxoplasma gondii: Purification of trophozoites propagated in cell culture. Experimental Parasitology 48, 282–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kolarovic, L. & Fournier, N. C. (1986). A comparison of extraction methods for the isolation of phospholipids from biological sources. Analytical Biochemistry 156, 244–50.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Le, A. V. & Doyle, D. L. (1984). General theory of membrane structure and function. In Membranes, Detergents and Receptor Solubilization, pp. 125. New York: Alan R. Liss Inc.Google Scholar
Lowry, O. H., Rosebrough, N. J., Farr, A. L. & Randall, R. J. (1951). Protein measurement with the folin phenol reagent. Journal of Biological Chemistry 193, 256–75.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mikkelsen, R. B., Kamber, M., Wadwa, K. S., Lin, P. S. & Schmidt-Ullrich, R. (1988). The role of lipids in Plasmodium falciparum invasion of erythrocytes: a coordinated biochemical and microscopic analysis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 85, 5956–60.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sabin, A. B. (1941). Toxoplasmic encephalitis in children. Journal of the American Medical Association 116, 801–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sadak, A., Taghy, Z., Fortier, B. & Dubremetz, J. F. (1988). Characterization of a family of rhoptry proteins of Toxoplasma gondii. Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology 29, 203–12.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Saffer, L. D., Long-Krug, S. A. & Schwartzman, J. D. (1989). The role of phospholipase in host cell penetration by Toxoplasma gondii. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 40, 145–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schwartzman, J. D. & Krug, E. C. (1989). Toxoplasma gondii: characterization of monoclonal antibodies that recognize rhoptries. Experimental Parasitology 68, 7482.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Spector, A. A. & Yorek, M. A. (1985). Membrane lipid composition and cellular function. Journal of Lipid Research 26, 1015–35.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed