A single aquaporin gene encodes a water/glycerol/urea facilitator in Toxoplasma gondii with similarity to plant tonoplast intrinsic proteins1

FEBS Letters

Schultz, Joachim E.¹  Beitz, Eric¹  Pavlovic-Djuranovic, Slavica¹ 

[1]Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Tübingen, Morgenstelle 8, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany

关键词: Aquaglyceroporin;    Water;    Glycerol;    Hydroxyurea;    Toxoplasma;    Plasmodium;    AQP;    aquaporin;    GlpF;    Escherichia coli glycerol facilitator;    TIP;    tonoplast intrinsic protein;   

DOI  :  10.1016/S0014-5793(03)01313-9

学科分类：生物化学/生物物理

来源: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

【 摘 要 】

We describe a single aquaporin gene in Toxoplasma gondii which, surprisingly, has only 28% sequence similarity to the aquaglyceroporin of another apicomplexan parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. Sequence comparisons showed 47% similarity to water-specific plant aquaporins and the conservation of typical pore-forming residues. We established that the Toxoplasma aquaporin protein is a bifunctional membrane pore with intermediate water and high glycerol permeability. Furthermore, we identified hydroxyurea, an antineoplastic agent with inhibitory effects on parasite proliferation, as a permeant of this channel.

【 授权许可】

Unknown