Comprehensive proteomic analysis of membrane proteins in toxoplasma gondii

Mol Cell Proteomics. 2010 Oct 10. [Epub ahead of print]

Comprehensive proteomic analysis of membrane proteins in toxoplasma gondii
Che FY, Madrid-Aliste C, Burd B, Zhang H, Nieves E, Kim K, Fiser A, Angeletti RH, Weiss LM.

Albert Einstein College of Medicine, United States.

Abstract
Toxoplasma gondii (T.gondii) is an obligate intracellular protozoan parasite that is important human and animal pathogen. Experimental information on T.gondii membrane proteins is limited, and the majority of gen predictions with predicted transmembrane motifs are of unknown function. A systematic analysis of the membrane proteome of T.gondii is important not only for understanding this parasite's invasion mechanism(s), but also for the discovery of potentail drug targets and new preventative and therapeutic strategies. Here we report a comprehensive analysis of the membrane proteome of T.gondii, employing three proteomics strategies: 1D gel LC-MSMS annlysis (one dimensional gel electrophoresis liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry), biotin labeling in conjunction with 1D gel LC-MSMS analysis, and a novel strategy that combines Three Layer "Sandwich" gel Electrophoresis (TLSGE) with multidimensional protein identification technology (MudPIT). A total of 2, 241 T.gondii proteins with at least one predicted transmembrane segment were identified and grouped into 841 sequentially non-redundant protein clusters, which account for 21.8% of the predicted transmembrane protein clusters in the T.gondii genmoe. A large portion (42%) of the identified T. gondii membrane proteins are hypothetical proteins. Furthermore, many of the membrane proteins validated by mass spectrometry are unique to T.gondii or to the Apicomplexa, providing a set of gene predictions ripe for experimental investigation, and potentially siutable targets for the development of therapeutic strategies.

PMID: 20935347 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]