Disruption of the lipid-transporting LdMT-LdRos3 complex in Leishmania donovani affects membrane lipid asymmetry but not host cell invasion

• Published in: PloS one 2010-08, Vol.5 (8), p.e12443-e12443
• Main Authors: Weingärtner, Adrien, Drobot, Björn, Herrmann, Andreas, Sánchez-Cañete, María P, Gamarro, Francisco, Castanys, Santiago, Günther Pomorski, Thomas
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adenosine triphosphatase; Adenosine Triphosphatases - genetics; Adenosine Triphosphatases - metabolism; Asymmetry; ATPases; Biological Transport; Biology; Biophysics; Biophysics/Cell Signaling and Trafficking Structures; Cell Biology/Membranes and Sorting; Cell Line; Cell Membrane - metabolism; Cell surface; Disruption; Exposure; Gene expression; Humans; Infections; Infectious Diseases/Protozoal Infections; Infectivity; Internet; Lecithin; Leishmania; Leishmania donovani; Leishmania donovani - enzymology; Leishmania donovani - genetics; Leishmania donovani - metabolism; Leishmania donovani - pathogenicity; Leishmania major; Leishmaniasis, Visceral - parasitology; Lipids; Macrophages; Membrane proteins; Membrane Transport Proteins - genetics; Membrane Transport Proteins - metabolism; Membranes; Metabolism; Microbiology/Parasitology; Miltefosine; Parasites; Phosphatidylcholine; Phosphatidylethanolamine; Phosphatidylserine; Phospholipids; Phospholipids - metabolism; Plasma; Plasma membranes; Promastigotes; Protein Binding; Proteins; Protozoan Proteins - genetics; Protozoan Proteins - metabolism; Skewed distributions; Virulence
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0012443

Maintenance and regulation of the asymmetric lipid distribution across eukaryotic plasma membranes is governed by the concerted action of specific membrane proteins controlling lipid movement across the bilayer. Here, we show that the miltefosine transporter (LdMT), a member of the P4-ATPase subfamily in Leishmania donovani, and the Cdc50-like protein LdRos3 form a stable complex that plays an essential role in maintaining phospholipid asymmetry in the parasite plasma membrane. Loss of either LdMT or LdRos3 abolishes ATP-dependent transport of NBD-labelled phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) and phosphatidylcholine from the outer to the inner plasma membrane leaflet and results in an increased cell surface exposure of endogenous PE. We also find that promastigotes of L. donovani lack any detectable amount of phosphatidylserine (PS) but retain their infectivity in THP-1-derived macrophages. Likewise, infectivity was unchanged for parasites without LdMT-LdRos3 complexes. We conclude that exposure of PS and PE to the exoplasmic leaflet is not crucial for the infectivity of L. donovani promastigotes.