Iron-sulfur flavoproteins (Isf) are flavin mononucleotide (FMN)- and FeS cluster-containing proteins commonly encountered in anaerobic prokaryotes. However, with the exception of Isf from Methanosarcina thermophila, which participates in oxidative stress management by removing oxygen and hydrogen peroxide, none of these proteins has been characterized in terms of function. Trichomonas vaginalis, a sexually transmitted eukaryotic parasite of humans, was found to express several iron-sulfur flavoprotein (TvIsf) homologs in its hydrogenosomes. We show here that in addition to having oxygen-reducing activity, the recombinant TvIsf also functions as a detoxifying reductase of metronidazole and chloramphenicol, both of which are antibiotics effective against a variety of anaerobic microbes. TvIsf can utilize both NADH and reduced ferredoxin as electron donors. Given the prevalence of Isf in anaerobic prokaryotes, we propose that these proteins are central to a novel defense mechanism against xenobiotics.

• MeSH
• antitrichomonádové látky farmakologie   MeSH
• ferredoxiny metabolismus   MeSH
• flavoproteiny metabolismus   MeSH
• geny hub MeSH
• katalýza MeSH
• léková rezistence MeSH
• metronidazol chemie   farmakologie   MeSH
• molekulární sekvence - údaje MeSH
• NAD metabolismus   MeSH
• proteiny obsahující železo a síru metabolismus   MeSH
• sekvence aminokyselin MeSH
• subcelulární frakce účinky léků   metabolismus   MeSH
• Trichomonas vaginalis metabolismus   MeSH
• vodík metabolismus   MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Názvy látek
• antitrichomonádové látky MeSH
• ferredoxiny MeSH
• flavoproteiny MeSH
• metronidazol MeSH
• NAD MeSH
• proteiny obsahující železo a síru MeSH
• vodík MeSH

Metronidazole and related 5-nitroimidazoles are the only available drugs in the treatment of human urogenital trichomoniasis caused by the protozoan parasite Trichomonas vaginalis. The drugs are activated to cytotoxic anion radicals by their reduction within the hydrogenosomes. It has been established that electrons required for metronidazole activation are released from pyruvate by the activity of pyruvate:ferredoxin oxidoreductase and transferred to the drug by a low-redox-potential carrier, ferredoxin. Here we describe a novel pathway involved in the drug activation within the hydrogenosome. The source of electrons is malate, another major hydrogenosomal substrate, which is oxidatively decarboxylated to pyruvate and CO2 by NAD-dependent malic enzyme. The electrons released during this reaction are transferred from NADH to ferredoxin by NADH dehydrogenase homologous to the catalytic module of mitochondrial complex I, which uses ferredoxin as electron acceptor. Trichomonads acquire high-level metronidazole resistance only after both pyruvate- and malate-dependent pathways of metronidazole activation are eliminated from the hydrogenosomes.

• MeSH
• antitrichomonádové látky metabolismus   farmakologie   MeSH
• léková rezistence fyziologie   MeSH
• metronidazol metabolismus   farmakologie   MeSH
• organely enzymologie   metabolismus   MeSH
• Trichomonas vaginalis účinky léků   růst a vývoj   MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Názvy látek
• antitrichomonádové látky MeSH
• metronidazol MeSH