An aspartyl protease defines a novel pathway for export of Toxoplasma proteins into the host cell

ABSTRACT: Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular Apicomplexan parasite capable of invading and surviving within nucleated cells in most warm-blooded animals. This remarkable task is achieved through the delivery of effector proteins from the parasite into the parasitophorous vacuole and host cell cytosol that rewire host cellular pathways, facilitating parasite evasion of the immune system. Here, we have identified a novel export pathway in Toxoplasma that involves cleavage of effector proteins by the Golgi-resident aspartyl protease 5 (ASP5) prior to translocation into the host cell. We demonstrate that ASP5 cleaves a highly constrained amino acid motif that has some similarity to the PEXEL motif of Plasmodium parasites. We show that ASP5 can mature effectors at both the N- and C-terminal e

ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens

SUBMITTER: Alexandra Garnham 

PROVIDER: E-GEOD-73986 | biostudies-arrayexpress |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-arrayexpress