Functional Evolution of Subolesin/Akirin.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Artigas-Jeronimo S
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6277881 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:BackgroundSubolesin is an evolutionary conserved molecule in diverse arthropod species that play an important role in the regulation of genes involved in immune responses, blood digestion, reproduction and development. In this study, we have identified a subolesin ortholog from soft ticks Ornithodoros turicata, the vector of the relapsing fever spirochete in the United States.MethodsUninfected fed or unfed O. turicata ticks were used throughout this study. The subolesin mRNA was amplified by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and sequenced. Quantitative-real time PCR (QRT-PCR) was performed to evaluate subolesin mRNA levels at different O. turicata developmental stages and from salivary glands and gut tissues. Bioinformatics and comparative analysis was performed to predict potential post-translational modifications in O. turicata subolesin amino-acid sequences.ResultsOur study reveals that O. turicata subolesin gene expression is developmentally regulated, where; adult ticks expressed significantly higher levels in comparison to the larvae or nymphal ticks. Expression of subolesin was evident in both unfed and fed ticks and in the salivary glands and midgut tissues. The expression of subolesin transcripts varied in fed ticks with peak levels at day 14 post-feeding. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that O. turicata subolesin showed a high degree of sequence conservation with subolesin's from other soft and hard ticks. Bioinformatics and comparative analysis predicted that O. turicata subolesin carry three Protein kinase C and one Casein kinase II phosphorylation sites. However, no myristoylation or glycosylation sites were evident in the O. turicata subolesin sequence.ConclusionOur study provides important insights in recognizing subolesin as a conserved potential candidate for the development of a broad-spectrum anti-vector vaccine to control not only ticks but also several other arthropods that transmit diseases to humans and animals.
| S-EPMC4359563 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The main objective of this study was to propose a novel methodology to approach challenges in molecular biology. Akirin/Subolesin (AKR/SUB) are vaccine protective antigens and are a model for the study of the interactome due to its conserved function in the regulation of different biological processes such as immunity and development throughout the metazoan. Herein, three visual artists and a music professor collaborated with scientists for the functional characterization of the AKR2 interactome in the regulation of the NF-κB pathway in human placenta cells. The results served as a methodological proof-of-concept to advance this research area. The results showed new perspectives on unexplored characteristics of AKR2 with functional implications. These results included protein dimerization, the physical interactions with different proteins simultaneously to regulate various biological processes defined by cell type-specific AKR-protein interactions, and how these interactions positively or negatively regulate the nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) signaling pathway in a biological context-dependent manner. These results suggested that AKR2-interacting proteins might constitute suitable secondary transcription factors for cell- and stimulus-specific regulation of NF-κB. Musical perspective supported AKR/SUB evolutionary conservation in different species and provided new mechanistic insights into the AKR2 interactome. The combined scientific and artistic perspectives resulted in a multidisciplinary approach, advancing our knowledge on AKR/SUB interactome, and provided new insights into the function of AKR2-protein interactions in the regulation of the NF-κB pathway. Additionally, herein we proposed an algorithm for quantum vaccinomics by focusing on the model proteins AKR/SUB.
| S-EPMC7157757 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundAkirins are nuclear proteins that form part of an innate immune response pathway conserved in Drosophila and mice. This studies aim was to characterise the evolution of akirin gene structure and protein function in the eukaryotes.Resultsakirin genes are present throughout the metazoa and arose before the separation of animal, plant and fungi lineages. Using comprehensive phylogenetic analysis, coupled with comparisons of conserved synteny and genomic organisation, we show that the intron-exon structure of metazoan akirin genes was established prior to the bilateria and that a single proto-orthologue duplicated in the vertebrates, before the gnathostome-agnathan separation, producing akirin1 and akirin2. Phylogenetic analyses of seven vertebrate gene families with members in chromosomal proximity to both akirin1 and akirin2 were compatible with a common duplication event affecting the genomic neighbourhood of the akirin proto-orthologue. A further duplication of akirins occurred in the teleost lineage and was followed by lineage-specific patterns of paralogue loss. Remarkably, akirins have been independently characterised by five research groups under different aliases and a comparison of the available literature revealed diverse functions, generally in regulating gene expression. For example, akirin was characterised in arthropods as subolesin, an important growth factor and in Drosophila as bhringi, which has an essential myogenic role. In vertebrates, akirin1 was named mighty in mice and was shown to regulate myogenesis, whereas akirin2 was characterised as FBI1 in rats and promoted carcinogenesis, acting as a transcriptional repressor when bound to a 14-3-3 protein. Both vertebrate Akirins have evolved under comparably strict constraints of purifying selection, although a likelihood ratio test predicted that functional divergence has occurred between paralogues. Bayesian and maximum likelihood tests identified amino-acid positions where the rate of evolution had shifted significantly between paralogues. Interestingly, the highest scoring position was within a conserved, validated binding-site for 14-3-3 proteins.ConclusionThis work offers an evolutionary framework to facilitate future studies of eukaryotic akirins and provides insight into their multifaceted and conserved biochemical functions.
| S-EPMC2660306 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BACKGROUND:Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) are vectors of pathogens worldwide that cause diseases in humans and animals. Ticks and pathogens have co-evolved molecular mechanisms that contribute to their mutual development and survival. Subolesin was discovered as a tick protective antigen and was subsequently shown to be similar in structure and function to akirins, an evolutionarily conserved group of proteins in insects and vertebrates that controls NF-kB-dependent and independent expression of innate immune response genes. The objective of this study was to investigate subolesin expression in several tick species infected with a variety of pathogens and to determine the effect of subolesin gene knockdown on pathogen infection. In the first experiment, subolesin expression was characterized in ticks experimentally infected with the cattle pathogen, Anaplasma marginale. Subolesin expression was then characterized in questing or feeding adult ticks confirmed to be infected with Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, Rickettsia, Babesia or Theileria spp. Finally, the effect of subolesin knockdown by RNA interference (RNAi) on tick infection was analyzed in Dermacentor variabilis males exposed to various pathogens by capillary feeding (CF). RESULTS:Subolesin expression increased with pathogen infection in the salivary glands but not in the guts of tick vector species infected with A. marginale. When analyzed in whole ticks, subolesin expression varied between tick species and in response to different pathogens. As reported previously, subolesin knockdown in D. variabilis infected with A. marginale and other tick-borne pathogens resulted in lower infection levels, while infection with Francisella tularensis increased in ticks after RNAi. When non-tick-borne pathogens were fed to ticks by CF, subolesin RNAi did not affect or resulted in lower infection levels in ticks. However, subolesin expression was upregulated in D. variabilis exposed to Escherichia coli, suggesting that although this pathogen may induce subolesin expression in ticks, silencing of this molecule reduced bacterial multiplication by a presently unknown mechanism. CONCLUSIONS:Subolesin expression in infected ticks suggested that subolesin may be functionally important for tick innate immunity to pathogens, as has been reported for the akirins. However, subolesin expression and consequently subolesin-mediated innate immunity varied with the pathogen and tick tissue. Subolesin may plays a role in tick innate immunity in the salivary glands by limiting pathogen infection levels, but activates innate immunity only for some pathogen in the guts and other tissues. In addition, these results provided additional support for the role of subolesin in other molecular pathways including those required for tissue development and function and for pathogen infection and multiplication in ticks. Consequently, RNAi experiments demonstrated that subolesin knockdown in ticks may affect pathogen infection directly by reducing tick innate immunity that results in higher infection levels and indirectly by affecting tissue structure and function and the expression of genes that interfere with pathogen infection and multiplication. The impact of the direct or indirect effects of subolesin knockdown on pathogen infection may depend on several factors including specific tick-pathogen molecular interactions, pathogen life cycle in the tick and unknown mechanisms affected by subolesin function in the control of global gene expression in ticks.
| S-EPMC2836984 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Vaccination is an environmentally-friendly alternative for tick control. The tick antigen Subolesin (SUB) has shown protection in vaccines for the control of multiple tick species in cattle. Additionally, recent approaches in quantum vaccinomics have predicted SUB-protective epitopes and the peptide sequences involved in protein−protein interactions in this tick antigen. Therefore, the identification of B-cell−reactive epitopes by epitope mapping using a SUB peptide array could be essential as a novel strategy for vaccine development. Subolesin can be used as a model to evaluate the effectiveness of these approaches for the identification of protective epitopes related to vaccine protection and efficacy. In this study, the mapping of B-cell linear epitopes of SUB from three different tick species common in Uganda (Rhipicephalus appendiculatus, R. decoloratus, and Amblyomma variegatum) was conducted using serum samples from two cattle breeds immunized with SUB-based vaccines. The results showed that in cattle immunized with SUB from R. appendiculatus (SUBra) all the reactive peptides (Z-score > 2) recognized by IgG were also significant (Z-ratio > 1.96) when compared to the control group. Additionally, some of the reactive peptides recognized by IgG from the control group were also recognized in SUB cocktail−immunized groups. As a significant result, cattle groups that showed the highest vaccine efficacy were Bos indicus immunized with a SUB cocktail (92%), and crossbred cattle were immunized with SUBra (90%) against R. appendiculatus ticks; the IgG from these groups recognized overlapping epitopes from the peptide SPTGLSPGLSPVRDQPLFTFRQVGLICERMMKERESQIRDEYDHVLSAKLAEQYDTFVKFTYDQKRFEGATPSYLS (Z-ratio > 1.96), which partially corresponded to a Q38 peptide and the SUB protein interaction domain. These identified epitopes could be related to the protection and efficacy of the SUB-based vaccines, and new chimeras containing these protective epitopes could be designed using this new approach.
| S-EPMC9414912 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BACKGROUND: The control of vector-borne diseases is important to improve human and animal health worldwide. Malaria is one of the world's deadliest diseases and is caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Plasmodium, which are transmitted by Anopheles spp. mosquitoes. Recent evidences using Subolesin (SUB) and Akirin (AKR) vaccines showed a reduction in the survival and/or fertility of blood-sucking ectoparasite vectors and the infection with vector-borne pathogens. These experiments suggested the possibility of using AKR for malaria control. METHODS: The role of AKR on Plasmodium berghei infection and on the fitness and reproduction of the main malaria vector, Anopheles gambiae was characterized by evaluating the effect of akr gene knockdown or vaccination with recombinant mosquito AKR on parasite infection levels, fertility and mortality of female mosquitoes. RESULTS: Gene knockdown by RNA interference in mosquitoes suggested a role for akr in mosquito survival and fertility. Vaccination with recombinant Aedes albopictus AKR reduced parasite infection in mosquitoes fed on immunized mice when compared to controls. CONCLUSIONS: These results showed that recombinant AKR could be used to develop vaccines for malaria control. If effective, AKR-based vaccines could be used to immunize wildlife reservoir hosts and/or humans to reduce the risk of pathogen transmission. However, these vaccines need to be evaluated under field conditions to characterize their effect on vector populations and pathogen infection and transmission.
| S-EPMC4265507 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Eukaryotic gene expression requires the coordinated action of transcription factors, chromatin remodelling complexes and RNA polymerase. The conserved nuclear protein Akirin plays a central role in immune gene expression in insects and mammals, linking the SWI/SNF chromatin-remodelling complex with the transcription factor NFκB. Although nematodes lack NFκB, Akirin is also indispensable for the expression of defence genes in the epidermis of Caenorhabditis elegans following natural fungal infection. Through a combination of reverse genetics and biochemistry, we discovered that in C. elegans Akirin has conserved its role of bridging chromatin-remodellers and transcription factors, but that the identity of its functional partners is different since it forms a physical complex with NuRD proteins and the POU-class transcription factor CEH-18. In addition to providing a substantial step forward in our understanding of innate immune gene regulation in C. elegans, our results give insight into the molecular evolution of lineage-specific signalling pathways.
| S-EPMC6072134 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Subolesin is an evolutionary conserved protein that was discovered recently in Ixodes scapularis as a tick protective antigen and has a role in tick blood digestion, reproduction and development. In other organisms, subolesin orthologs may be involved in the control of developmental processes. Because of the profound effect of subolesin knockdown in ticks and other organisms, we hypothesized that subolesin plays a role in gene expression, and therefore affects multiple cellular processes. The objective of this study was to provide evidence for the role of subolesin in gene expression.Two subolesin-interacting proteins were identified and characterized by yeast two-hybrid screen, co-affinity purification and RNA interference (RNAi). The effect of subolesin knockdown on the tick gene expression pattern was characterized by microarray analysis and demonstrated that subolesin RNAi affects the expression of genes involved in multiple cellular pathways. The analysis of subolesin and interacting protein sequences identified regulatory motifs and predicted the presence of conserved protein kinase C (PKC) phosphorylation sites.Collectively, these results provide evidence that subolesin plays a role in gene expression in ticks.
| S-EPMC2518936 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The evolution of the nucleus, the defining feature of eukaryotic cells, was long shrouded in speculation and mystery. There is now strong evidence that nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) and nuclear membranes coevolved with the endomembrane system, and that the last eukaryotic common ancestor (LECA) had fully functional NPCs. Recent studies have identified many components of the nuclear envelope in living Opisthokonts, the eukaryotic supergroup that includes fungi and metazoan animals. These components include diverse chromatin-binding membrane proteins, and membrane proteins with adhesive lumenal domains that may have contributed to the evolution of nuclear membrane architecture. Further discoveries about the nucleoskeleton suggest that the evolution of nuclear structure was tightly coupled to genome partitioning during mitosis.
| S-EPMC3198171 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundTicks can transmit numerous tick-borne pathogens and cause a huge economic loss to the livestock industry. Tick vaccines can contribute to the prevention of tick-borne diseases by inhibiting tick infestation or reproduction. Subolesin is an antigenic molecule proven to be a potential tick vaccine against different tick species and even some tick-borne pathogens. However, its effectivity has not been verified in Haemaphysalis longicornis, which is a widely distributed tick species, especially in East Asian countries. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectivity of subolesin vaccination against H. longicornis in a rabbit model.MethodsHaemaphysalis longicornis (Okayama strain, female, adult, parthenogenetic strain) and Japanese white rabbits were used as the model tick and animal, respectively. The whole open reading frame of H. longicornis subolesin (HlSu) was identified and expressed as a recombinant protein using E. coli. The expression was verified using sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and the immunogenicity of rHlSu against anti-H. longicornis rabbit serum was confirmed using Western blotting. After vaccination of rHlSu in rabbits, experimental infestation of H. longicornis was performed. Variables related to blood-feeding periods, pre-oviposition periods, body weight at engorgement, egg mass, egg mass to body weight ratio, and egg-hatching periods were measured to evaluate the effectiveness of subolesin vaccination.ResultsThe whole open reading frame of HlSu was 540 bp, and it was expressed as a recombinant protein. Vaccination with rHlSu stimulated an immune response in rabbits. In the rHlSu-vaccinated group, body weight at engorgement, egg mass, and egg mass to body weight ratio were statistically significantly lower than those in the control group. Besides, egg-hatching periods were extended significantly. Blood-feeding periods and pre-oviposition periods were not different between the two groups. In total, the calculated vaccine efficacy was 37.4%.ConclusionsVaccination of rabbits with rHlSu significantly affected the blood-feeding and reproduction in H. longicornis. Combined with findings from previous studies, our findings suggest subolesin has the potential to be used as a universal tick vaccine.
| S-EPMC7501621 | biostudies-literature