A novel cyclophilin from parasitic and free-living nematodes with a unique substrate- and drug-binding domain

A highly diversified member of the cyclophilin family of peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerases has been isolated from the human parasite Onchocerca volvulus (OvCYP-16). This 25-kDa cyclophilin shares 43-46% similarity to other filarial cyclophilins but does not belong to any of the groups previously defined in invertebrates or vertebrates. A homolog was also isolated from Caenorhabditis elegans (CeCYP-16). Both recombinant O. volvulus and C. elegans cyclophilins were found to possess an enzyme activity with similar substrate preference and insensitivity to cyclosporin A. They represent novel cyclophilins with important differences in the composition of the drug-binding site in particular, namely, a Glu(124) (C. elegans) or Asp(123) (O. volvulus) residue present in a critical position. Site-directed mutagenesis studies and kinetic characterization demonstrated that the single residue dictates the degree of binding to substrate and cyclosporin A. CeCYP-16::GFP-expressing lines were generated with expression in the anterior and posterior distal portions of the intestine, in all larval stages and adults. An exception was found in the dauer stage, where fluorescence was observed in both the cell bodies and processes of the ventral chord motor neurons but was absent from the intestine. These studies highlight the extensive diversification of cyclophilins in an important human parasite and a closely related model organism.