Localization of myosin IC and myosin II in Acanthamoeba castellanii by indirect immunofluorescence and immunogold electron microscopy.

Polyclonal antisera have been raised against purified Acanthamoeba myosin II and to a synthetic 26 amino acid peptide that corresponds in sequence to the phosphorylation site of Acanthamoeba myosin IC. These antisera are specific for their respective antigens as determined by immunoblotting after SDS-PAGE of total cell lysates. By using the antisera, localization studies were performed by indirect immunofluorescence and by immunogold electron microscopy. Myosin II occurred in the cell cytoplasm and appeared to be concentrated in the cortex. Immunogold cytochemistry revealed at high resolution that myosin II is organized into rodlike filaments approximately 200 nm long. The antibody raised against the myosin IC synthetic peptide recognized both the plasma membrane and the membrane of the contractile vacuole. The plasma membrane staining was labile to treatment with saponin suggesting an intimate association of the myosin IC with membrane phospholipids. Immunogold cytochemistry with the antimyosin IC synthetic peptide showed that the myosin IC is closely associated with the membrane bilayer.

Purification and characterization of an Acanthamoeba nuclear actin-binding protein.

Immunolocalization of monoclonal antibodies to Acanthamoeba myosin I showed a cross-reactive protein in nuclei (Hagen, S. J., D. P. Kiehart, D. A. Kaiser, and T. D. Pollard. 1986. J. Cell Biol. 103:2121-2128). This protein is antigenically related to myosin I in that nine monoclonal antibodies and three polyclonal antibodies are cross-reactive. However, studies with affinity-purified antibodies and two-dimensional peptide maps show that the protein is not a proteolytic product of myosin I. We have used cell fractionation and column chromatography to purify this protein. It is a dimer of 34-kD polypeptides with a Stokes' radius of 4 nm. A polyclonal antisera generated against the purified protein confirms the nuclear localization seen with the cross-reactive monoclonal antibodies. The 34-kD protein binds actin filaments in an ATP-insensitive manner with a Kd of approximately 0.25 microM without cross-linking, severing, or capping. No ATPase activity was detected in the presence or absence of actin. It also binds to DNA. These unique properties suggest we have discovered a new class of actin-binding protein. We have given this protein the name NAB for "nuclear actin-binding" protein.

Membrane carbohydrate characterization of Acanthamoeba astronyxis, A. castellanii and Naegleria fowleri by fluorescein-conjugated lectins.

A comparative study of membrane carbohydrate characteristics of pathogenic and non-pathogenic trophozoites and cysts of free-living Acanthamoeba castellanii, Naegleria fowleri and A. astronyxis, respectively from sewage sludge in India was carried out by means of fluorescein-conjugated lectin binding using eight lectins. Two lectins, viz. Concanavalin A and Phytohaemagglutinin P, could bind all free-living amoebae at different concentrations. The most notable feature of the study is that peanut agglutinin (PNA) and wheatgerm agglutinin (WGA) can differentiate between the pathogenic A. castellanii and non-pathogenic A. astronyxis strain, respectively. However, Ulex agglutinin I (UEA I) was the only lectin positive to both pathogenic A. castellanii and N. fowleri. During in vitro conversion from trophozoites to cysts, A. castellanii and N. fowleri cysts gained WGA-specific saccharide whereas A. castellanii; A. astronyxis and N. fowleri lost or reduced Dolichos biflorus agglutinin, PNA; WGA and ConA, and UEA I-specific saccharides, respectively. Neuraminidase could not alter the fluorescein-lectin binding to WGA and PNA. These demonstrated that only two lectins can recognize the factors giving Acanthamoeba their pathogenic (PNA-specific) and non-pathogenic (WGA-specific) status. More interestingly, UEA I can only differentiate between pathogenic and non-pathogenic amoebae. It is also suggested that during stage conversion the surface of the organism exhibited replacement of saccharides.

Sterols of Acanthamoeba culbertsoni strain A-1.

Two new sterols, stigmasta-5,7,22,25-tetraene-3 beta -ol (1) and stigmasta-5,7,14,22,25-pentaene-3 beta -ol (2), have been characterized along with ergosterol and 7-dehydrostigmasterol in the nonsaponifiable fraction of the total lipids extracted from trophozoites of Acanthamoeba culbertsoni strain A-1 (virulent strain). However, these sterols were found to be absent in the nonpathogenic strain C-7 of A. culbertsoni.

Alpha-spectrin immunoanalog in Acanthamoeba cells.

A monospecific, affinity purified antibody was prepared against chicken erythrocyte alpha-spectrin. The antibody cross-reacted with only one high molecular weight polypeptide (235 kDa) from whole Acanthamoeba cells. The localization of alpha-spectrin-related antigen in Acanthamoeba cells was examined using immunofluorescence and postembedding cytochemical techniques. Three patterns of distribution of alpha-spectrin immunoanalog were distinguished: as submembranous layer, cytoplasmic aggregates and uniform dispersion through the cytoplasm. Immunoelectron microscopic studies showed that the colloidal gold label was located in the cytoplasm in the vicinity of the plasma membrane. The gold particles were also aggregated around unidentified cytoplasmic filamentous structures. The presence of spectrin-related protein in protozoan cells of Acanthamoeba is in accordance with previous assumptions of the widespread occurrence of spectrin-related proteins. The heterogenous distribution of the immunoanalog of alpha-spectrin protein in Acanthamoeba cells is discussed.

Detection of glycoproteins in the Acanthamoeba plasma membrane.

In the present study we have shown that glycoproteins are present in the plasma membrane of Acanthamoeba castellanii by utilizing different radioactive labeling techniques. Plasma membrane proteins in the amoeba were iodinated by 125I-lactoperoxidase labeling and the solubilized radiolabeled glycoproteins were separated by lectin-Sepharose affinity chromatography followed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The periodate/NaB3H4 and galactose oxidase/NaB3H4 labeling techniques were used for labeling of surface carbohydrates in the amoeba. Several surface-labeled glycoproteins were observed in addition to a diffusely labeled region with Mr of 55,000-75,000 seen on electrophoresis, which could represent glycolipids. The presence of glycoproteins in the plasma membrane of Acanthamoeba castellanii was confirmed by metabolic labeling with [35S]methionine followed by lectin-Sepharose affinity chromatography and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.

Characterization of renatured profilin purified by urea elution from poly-L-proline agarose columns.

We present evidence that native profilin can be purified from cellular extracts of Acanthamoeba, Dictyostelium, and human platelets by affinity chromatography on poly-L-proline agarose. After applying cell extracts and washing the column with 3 M urea, homogeneous profilin is eluted by increasing the urea concentration to 6-8 M. Acanthamoeba profilin-I and profilin-II can subsequently be separated by cation exchange chromatography. The yield of Acanthamoeba profilin is twice that obtained by conventional methods. Several lines of evidence show that the profilins fully renature after removal of the urea by dialysis: 1) dialyzed Acanthamoeba and human profilins rebind quantitatively to poly-L-proline and bind to actin in the same way as native, conventionally purified profilin without urea treatment; 2) dialyzed profilins form 3-D crystals under the same conditions as native profilins; 3) dialyzed Acanthamoeba profilin-I has an NMR spectrum identical with that of native profilin-I; and 4) dialyzed human and Acanthamoeba profilins inhibit actin polymerization. We report the discovery of profilin in Dictyostelium cell extracts using the same method. Based on these observations we conclude that urea elution from poly-L-proline agarose followed by renaturation will be generally useful for preparing profilins from a wide variety of cells. Perhaps also of general use is the finding that either myosin-II or alpha-actinin in crude cell extracts can be bound selectively to the poly-L-proline agarose column depending on the ionic conditions used to equilibrate the column. We have purified myosin-II from both Acanthamoeba and Dictyostelium cell extracts and alpha-actinin from Acanthamoeba cell extracts in the appropriate buffers. These proteins are retained as complexes with actin by the agarose and not by a specific interaction with poly-L-proline. They can be eluted by dissociating the complexes with ATP and separated from actin by gel filtration if necessary.

Destrin, a mammalian actin-depolymerizing protein, is closely related to cofilin. Cloning and expression of porcine brain destrin cDNA.

Destrin is a mammalian 19-kDa protein that rapidly depolymerizes F-actin in a stoichiometric manner. In this study, we isolated cDNA clones coding for destrin from a porcine brain cDNA library. The deduced amino acid sequence of destrin is 165 residues long and is very similar (71% identical) to that of cofilin, a widely distributed, pH-sensitive actin-modulating protein. Destrin contains a sequence nearly identical with the putative nuclear transport signal sequence of cofilin and a hexapeptide sequence identical with the amino-terminal sequence (residues 2-7) of tropomyosin, which is shown to be involved in cofilin binding to actin. Destrin, like cofilin, also has in its carboxyl-terminal portion a region homologous to the sequence shared by gelsolin, fragmin, and Acanthamoeba profilin. We have expressed destrin as well as cofilin in Escherichia coli, purified them, and examined their function in vitro. The two proteins were found to differ in their interaction with actin, like destrin and cofilin isolated from porcine brain. This suggests that the difference in the function of the two proteins results from the subtle difference in their amino acid sequence rather than possible differences in post-translational modifications. Northern blot analyses indicated that both destrin mRNA and cofilin mRNA are widely distributed in various tissues, but both mRNAs differ in their relative abundance among tissues.