The triumvirate of signaling molecules controlling Toxoplasma microneme exocytosis: Cyclic GMP, calcium, and phosphatidic acid

Hayley E Bullen; Hugo Bisio; Dominique Soldati-Favre

doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1007670

The triumvirate of signaling molecules controlling Toxoplasma microneme exocytosis: Cyclic GMP, calcium, and phosphatidic acid

PLoS Pathog. 2019 May 23;15(5):e1007670. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1007670. eCollection 2019 May.

Authors

Hayley E Bullen¹, Hugo Bisio², Dominique Soldati-Favre²

Affiliations

¹ Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
² Department of Microbiology and Molecular Medicine, CMU, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.

Abstract

To elicit effective invasion and egress from infected cells, obligate intracellular parasites of the phylum Apicomplexa rely on the timely and spatially controlled exocytosis of specialized secretory organelles termed the micronemes. The effector molecules and signaling events underpinning this process are intricate; however, recent advances within the field of Toxoplasma gondii research have facilitated a broader understanding as well as a more integrated view of this complex cascade of events and have unraveled the importance of phosphatidic acid (PA) as a lipid mediator at multiple steps in this process.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Calcium / metabolism*
Cyclic GMP / metabolism*
Exocytosis / physiology*
Host-Parasite Interactions
Humans
Organelles / metabolism*
Organelles / parasitology
Phosphatidic Acids / metabolism*
Protein Transport
Protozoan Proteins / metabolism
Signal Transduction
Toxoplasma / physiology*
Toxoplasmosis / parasitology*

Substances

Phosphatidic Acids
Protozoan Proteins
Cyclic GMP
Calcium

Grants and funding

This study was supported by Swiss National Science Foundation (FN3100A0-116722 to DSF) (http://www.snf.ch/en/Pages/default.aspx). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.