Mitosomal chaperone modulation during the life cycle of the pathogenic protist Giardia intestinalis

Abstract

The mitosome is a double-membrane enveloped organelle that is found in few unicellular eukaryotes, one of which is the human intestinal parasitic protist Giardia intestinalis, which also lacks mitochondria and peroxisomes. This flagellated protist grows in vitro as trophozoites and under some conditions, differentiates into cysts, which are characterized by the absence of externalized flagella, a round shape, and the presence of a cyst wall. The presence and distribution of mitosomal proteins, such as giardial iron-sulfur cluster protein (GiIscU), heat-shock protein 70 (mit-HSP70) and giardial chaperonin 60 (GiCpn60), during the process of trophozoite-to-cyst transformation was tracked using confocal laser scanning microscopy and western blotting. During the early stages of the differentiation process (∼12h), there was a significant decrease in the extent of chaperone labeling in the cells, which disappeared after 21h but was recovered during the cyst stage; IscU labeling remained present throughout the differentiation process. This finding was confirmed by mRNA expression analysis, thus indicating that a process modulates the expression of mitosomal chaperones during the G. intestinalis life cycle. Microscopy techniques, such as structured illumination and electron tomography, revealed a novel profile for central mitosomes, as well as the presence of both rounded and elongated mitosomes.