spacer gif spacer gif spacer gif spacer gif spacer gif
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


spacer gif
     Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents    

First published online 3 June 2003
doi: 10.1242/jcs.00596

This Article
Right arrow Figures Only
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow JCS00596 Movies
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
jcs.00596v1
116/14/3009    most recent
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Lovett, J. L.
Right arrow Articles by Sibley, L. D.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Lovett, J. L.
Right arrow Articles by Sibley, L. D.
Journal of Cell Science 116, 3009-3016 (2003)
doi: 10.1242/jcs.00596

Research Article

Intracellular calcium stores in Toxoplasma gondii govern invasion of host cells

Jennie L. Lovett and L. David Sibley*

Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA

* Author for correspondence (e-mail: sibley{at}borcim.wustl.edu)

Accepted 3 April 2003

Invasion of host cells by Toxoplasma gondii is accompanied by secretion of parasite proteins that occurs coincident with increases in intracellular calcium. The source of calcium mobilized by the parasite and the signals that promote calcium increase remain largely undefined. We demonstrate here that intracellular stores of calcium in the parasite were both necessary and sufficient to support microneme secretion, motility and invasion of host cells. In contrast, host cell calcium was largely unaltered during parasite entry and not essential for this process. During parasite motility, cytosolic calcium levels underwent dramatic and rapid fluxes as imaged using the calcium indicator fluo-4 and time-lapse microscopy. Surprisingly, intracellular calcium in the parasite cytosol was rapidly quenched during the initial stages of host cell invasion, suggesting that while it is needed to initiate motility, it is not required to complete entry. These studies indicate that intracellular calcium stores govern secretion and motility by T. gondii and that the essential role of calcium in these events explains its requirement for cell entry.

Key words: Calcium, Invasion, Parasite, Secretion, Motility, Intracellular, Signaling




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Sci SignalHome page
A. H. Guse
Back from the Dormant Stage: Second Messenger Cyclic ADP-Ribose Essential for Toxoplasma gondii Pathogenicity
Sci. Signal., April 29, 2008; 1(17): pe18 - pe18.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Biol. Chem.Home page
A. Vaid, D. C. Thomas, and P. Sharma
Role of Ca2+/Calmodulin-PfPKB Signaling Pathway in Erythrocyte Invasion by Plasmodium falciparum
J. Biol. Chem., February 29, 2008; 283(9): 5589 - 5597.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Eukaryot CellHome page
M. D. Lavine and G. Arrizabalaga
Exit from Host Cells by the Pathogenic Parasite Toxoplasma gondii Does Not Require Motility
Eukaryot. Cell, January 1, 2008; 7(1): 131 - 140.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Eukaryot CellHome page
K. Nagamune, W. L. Beatty, and L. D. Sibley
Artemisinin Induces Calcium-Dependent Protein Secretion in the Protozoan Parasite Toxoplasma gondii
Eukaryot. Cell, November 1, 2007; 6(11): 2147 - 2156.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Biol. Chem.Home page
J. Periz, A. C. Gill, L. Hunt, P. Brown, and F. M. Tomley
The Microneme Proteins EtMIC4 and EtMIC5 of Eimeria tenella Form a Novel, Ultra-high Molecular Mass Protein Complex That Binds Target Host Cells
J. Biol. Chem., June 8, 2007; 282(23): 16891 - 16898.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Cell Sci.Home page
K. S. Masek, J. Fiore, M. Leitges, S.-F. Yan, B. D. Freedman, and C. A. Hunter
Host cell Ca2+ and protein kinase C regulate innate recognition of Toxoplasma gondii
J. Cell Sci., November 1, 2006; 119(21): 4565 - 4573.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Mol Biol EvolHome page
K. Nagamune and L. D. Sibley
Comparative Genomic and Phylogenetic Analyses of Calcium ATPases and Calcium-Regulated Proteins in the Apicomplexa
Mol. Biol. Evol., August 1, 2006; 23(8): 1613 - 1627.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Infect. Immun.Home page
X.-M. Chen, S. P. O'Hara, B. Q. Huang, J. B. Nelson, J. J.-C. Lin, G. Zhu, H. D. Ward, and N. F. LaRusso
Apical Organelle Discharge by Cryptosporidium parvum Is Temperature, Cytoskeleton, and Intracellular Calcium Dependent and Required for Host Cell Invasion
Infect. Immun., December 1, 2004; 72(12): 6806 - 6816.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Cell Sci.Home page
D. M. Wetzel, L. A. Chen, F. A. Ruiz, S. N. J. Moreno, and L. D. Sibley
Calcium-mediated protein secretion potentiates motility in Toxoplasma gondii
J. Cell Sci., November 15, 2004; 117(24): 5739 - 5748.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USAHome page
K. L. Carey, N. J. Westwood, T. J. Mitchison, and G. E. Ward
A small-molecule approach to studying invasive mechanisms of Toxoplasma gondii
PNAS, May 11, 2004; 101(19): 7433 - 7438.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 ScienceHome page
L. D. Sibley
Intracellular Parasite Invasion Strategies
Science, April 9, 2004; 304(5668): 248 - 253.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


© The Company of Biologists Ltd 2003