spacer gif spacer gif spacer gif spacer gif spacer gif
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


spacer gif
     Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents    

First published online 23 April 2003
doi: 10.1242/jcs.00382

This Article
Right arrow Figures Only
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
jcs.00382v1
116/11/2311    most recent
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Nakaar, V.
Right arrow Articles by Joiner, K. A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Nakaar, V.
Right arrow Articles by Joiner, K. A.
Journal of Cell Science 116, 2311-2320 (2003)
doi: 10.1242/jcs.00382

Research Article

Pleiotropic effect due to targeted depletion of secretory rhoptry protein ROP2 in Toxoplasma gondii

Valerian Nakaar*, Huân M. Ngô*, Emily P. Aaronson, Isabelle Coppens, Timothy T. Stedman and Keith A. Joiner{ddagger}

Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar St, New Haven, CT, 06520-8022, USA

{ddagger} Author for correspondence (e-mail: keith.joiner{at}yale.edu)

Accepted 21 January 2003

Long after their discovery, the function and biogenesis of rhoptries remain enigmatic. In Apicomplexan parasites, these organelles discharge and their contents are exocytosed at the time of host cell invasion, and are thus proposed to play an essential role in establishing the parasitophorous vacuole. In Toxoplasma gondii, ROP2 is suspected to serve as the molecular link between host cell mitochondria and parasitophorous vacuole membrane. In this study we addressed the function of ROP2. Targeted depletion of ROP2 using a ribozyme-modified antisense RNA strategy resulted in multiple effects on parasite morphology because of a disruption in the formation of mature rhoptries, and an arrest in cytokinesis. The association of host cell mitochondria with the parasitophorous vacuole membrane was abolished and the ROP2-deficient parasites had a reduced uptake of sterol from the host cell. Furthermore, these parasites invaded human fibroblasts poorly and had markedly attenuated virulence in mice. We conclude that rhoptry discharge, and in particular release of ROP2, are essential for parasite invasion, replication and host cell-parasite interaction.

Key words: Rhoptry, Secretion, Toxoplasma, Pleiotropic, Antisense RNA




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J. Biol. Chem.Home page
X. W. Zhou, B. F. C. Kafsack, R. N. Cole, P. Beckett, R. F. Shen, and V. B. Carruthers
The Opportunistic Pathogen Toxoplasma gondii Deploys a Diverse Legion of Invasion and Survival Proteins
J. Biol. Chem., October 7, 2005; 280(40): 34233 - 34244.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Eukaryot CellHome page
K. L. Carey, A. M. Jongco, K. Kim, and G. E. Ward
The Toxoplasma gondii Rhoptry Protein ROP4 Is Secreted into the Parasitophorous Vacuole and Becomes Phosphorylated in Infected Cells
Eukaryot. Cell, October 1, 2004; 3(5): 1320 - 1330.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Infect. Immun.Home page
X. Que, A. Wunderlich, K. A. Joiner, and S. L. Reed
Toxopain-1 Is Critical for Infection in a Novel Chicken Embryo Model of Congenital Toxoplasmosis
Infect. Immun., May 1, 2004; 72(5): 2915 - 2921.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


© The Company of Biologists Ltd 2003