Structures of Native Doublet Microtubules from <i>Trichomonas vaginalis</i> Reveal Parasite-Specific Proteins as Potential Drug Targets.

ABSTRACT: Doublet microtubules (DMTs) are flagellar components required for the protist Trichomonas vaginalis (Tv) to swim through the human genitourinary tract to cause trichomoniasis, the most common non-viral sexually transmitted disease. Lack of DMT structures has prevented structure-guided drug design to manage Tv infection. Here, we determined the cryo-EM structure of native Tv-DMTs, identifying 29 unique proteins, including 18 microtubule inner proteins and 9 microtubule outer proteins. While the A-tubule is simplistic compared to DMTs of other organisms, the B-tubule features specialized, parasite-specific proteins, such as TvFAP40 and TvFAP35 that form filaments near the inner and outer junctions, respectively, to stabilize DMTs and enable Tv

SUBMITTER: Stevens A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11398567 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature