Scientific article
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p97/VCP targets Toxoplasma gondii vacuoles for parasite restriction in interferon-stimulated human cells

Published inMSphere, vol. 8, no. 6, e0051123
Publication date2023-12-20
First online date2023-11-17
Abstract

Toxoplasma gondii (Tg) is a ubiquitous parasitic pathogen, infecting about one-third of the global population. Tg is controlled in immunocompetent people by mechanisms that are not fully understood. Tg infection drives the production of the inflammatory cytokine interferon gamma (IFNγ), which upregulates intracellular anti-pathogen defense pathways. In this study, we describe host proteins p97/VCP, UBXD1, and ANKRD13A that control Tg at the parasitophorous vacuole (PV) in IFNγ-stimulated endothelial cells. p97/VCP is an ATPase that interacts with a network of cofactors and is active in a wide range of ubiquitin-dependent cellular processes. We demonstrate that PV ubiquitination is a pre-requisite for recruitment of these host defense proteins, and their deposition directs Tg PVs to acidification in endothelial cells. We show that p97/VCP universally targets PVs in human cells and restricts Tg in different human cell types. Overall, these findings reveal new players of intracellular host defense of a vacuolated pathogen.

Keywords
  • ANKRD13A
  • Toxoplasma gondii
  • UBXD1
  • Innate immunity
  • P97/VCP
  • Parasitophorous vacuole
  • Ubiquitin
UNIGE affiliation entities Not a UNIGE publication
Funding
  • Wellcome Trust [217202/Z/19/Z, FC001076]
  • Cancer Research UK [FC001076]
  • Cancer Research UK [FC001999]
  • The Francis Crick Institute [10011]
  • Medical Research Council [MR/T029323/1]
Citation (ISO format)
CLOUGH, Barbara et al. p97/VCP targets Toxoplasma gondii vacuoles for parasite restriction in interferon-stimulated human cells. In: MSphere, 2023, vol. 8, n° 6, p. e0051123. doi: 10.1128/msphere.00511-23
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Article (Published version)
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Journal ISSN2379-5042
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