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Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, August 1999, p. 1919-1923, Vol. 43, No. 8
0066-4804/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Inhibition of Polyamine Synthesis Arrests Trichomonad Growth and Induces Destruction of Hydrogenosomes

Isabela A. Reis,1 Martha P. Martinez,2 Nigel Yarlett,2 Patricia J. Johnson,3 Fernando C. Silva-Filho,1 and Marcos A. Vannier-Santos4,*

Laboratório de Biologia da Superfície Celular, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro,1 and Laboratório de Biologia Celular Parasitária, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 21949-900,4 Brazil; Haskins Laboratories and Department of Chemistry and Physical Sciences, Pace University, New York, New York 10038-15022; and Department of Microbiology and Immunology and Molecular Biology Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90024-17473

Received 16 October 1998/Returned for modification 16 December 1998/Accepted 1 June 1999

Trichomonad parasites such as Tritrichomonas foetus produce large amounts of putrescine (1,4-diaminobutane), which is transported out of the cell via an antiport mechanism which results in the uptake of a molecule of spermine. The importance of putrescine to the survival of the parasite and its role in the biology of T. foetus was investigated by use of the putrescine analogue 1,4-diamino-2-butanone (DAB). Growth of T. foetus in vitro was significantly inhibited by 20 mM DAB, which was reversed by the addition of exogenous 40 mM putrescine. High-performance liquid chromatography analysis of 20 mM DAB-treated T. foetus revealed that putrescine, spermidine, and spermine levels were reduced by 89, 52, and 43%, respectively, compared to those in control cells. The DAB treatment induced several ultrastructural alterations, which were primarily observed in the redox organelles termed hydrogenosomes. These organelles were progressively degraded, giving rise to large vesicles that displayed material immunoreactive with an antibody to beta -succinyl-coenzyme A synthetase, a hydrogenosomal enzyme. A protective role for polyamines as stabilizing agents in the trichomonad hydrogenosomal membrane is proposed.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Laboratório de Biologia Celular Parasitária, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Bloco G, Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 21949-900, Brazil. Phone: 55 21 260-6963. Fax: 55 21 280-8193. E-mail: vannier{at}biof.ufrj.br.

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, August 1999, p. 1919-1923, Vol. 43, No. 8
0066-4804/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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