Ca 2+ Regulation of Trypanosoma brucei Phosphoinositide Phospholipase C

ABSTRACT We characterized a phosphoinositide phospholipase C (PI-PLC) from the procyclic form (PCF) of Trypanosoma brucei . The protein contains a domain organization characteristic of typical PI-PLCs, such as X and Y catalytic domains, an EF-hand calcium-binding motif, and a C2 domain, but it lacks a pleckstrin homology (PH) domain. In addition, the T. brucei PI-PLC (TbPI-PLC) contains an N-terminal myristoylation consensus sequence found only in trypanosomatid PI-PLCs. A peptide containing this N-terminal domain fused to green fluorescent protein (GFP) was targeted to the plasma membrane. TbPI-PLC enzymatic activity was stimulated by Ca 2+ concentrations below the cytosolic levels in the parasite, suggesting that the enzyme is constitutively active. TbPI-PLC hydrolyzes both phosphatidylinositol (PI) and phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP 2 ), with a higher affinity for PIP 2 . We found that modification of a single amino acid in the EF-hand motif greatly affected the protein's Ca 2+ sensitivity and substrate preference, demonstrating the role of this motif in Ca 2+ regulation of TbPI-PLC. Endogenous TbPI-PLC localizes to intracellular vesicles and might be using an intracellular source of PIP 2 . Knockdown of TbPI-PLC expression by RNA interference (RNAi) did not result in growth inhibition, although enzymatic activity was still present in parasites, resulting in hydrolysis of PIP 2 and a contribution to the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP 3 )/diacylglycerol (DAG) pathway.