Leishmania infantum EndoG is an endo/exo-nuclease essential for parasite survival.

PLoS One

Departamento de Biología de Sistemas-Unidad Asociada al Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain.

Published: May 2015

AI Article Synopsis

  • EndoG is a nuclease found in various organisms, including Trypanosomatids, and is involved in the apoptotic process by degrading genomic DNA after moving from the mitochondrion to the nucleus.
  • Research shows that Leishmania infantum EndoG (LiEndoG) acts as an endo-exonuclease with a preference for 5' exonuclease activity on linear DNA, highlighting its importance in both cell death and normal parasite development.
  • LiEndoG is crucial for the growth and infectivity of Leishmania parasites, as indicated by diminished growth in knockout strains and increased survival in parasites with higher LiEndoG levels when treated with an inhibitor.

Article Abstract

EndoG, a member of the DNA/RNA non-specific ββα-metal family of nucleases, has been demonstrated to be present in many organisms, including Trypanosomatids. This nuclease participates in the apoptotic program in these parasites by migrating from the mitochondrion to the nucleus, where it takes part in the degradation of genomic DNA that characterizes this process. We now demonstrate that Leishmania infantum EndoG (LiEndoG) is an endo-exonuclease that has a preferential 5' exonuclease activity on linear DNA. Regardless of its role during apoptotic cell death, this enzyme seems to be necessary during normal development of the parasites as indicated by the reduced growth rates observed in LiEndoG hemi-knockouts and their poor infectivity in differentiated THP-1 cells. The pro-life role of this protein is also corroborated by the higher survival rates of parasites that over-express this protein after treatment with the LiEndoG inhibitor Lei49. Taken together, our results demonstrate that this enzyme plays essential roles in both survival and death of Leishmania parasites.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3971528PMC
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0089526PLOS

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