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Updated: Jul 8, 2026

Investigating the Phagocytosis of Leishmania using Confocal Microscopy
Published on: July 29, 2021
Interaction of Leishmania PTS2 receptor peroxin 7 with the glycosomal protein import machinery
Ana Victoria C Pilar1, Kleber P Madrid, Armando Jardim
1Institute of Parasitology, McGill University, MacDonald Campus, Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Quebec, Canada.
Abstract:
Leishmania proteins containing a peroxisomal targeting signal sequence 2 (PTS2) are selectively trafficked to the glycosome by associating with the peroxin 7 receptor protein (PEX7). The L. major PEX7 (LmPEX7) encodes a approximately 41 kDa protein that exhibits limited sequence identity with PEX7 homologues from other eukaryotic organisms. Functional characterization of recombinant and native LmPEX7 revealed that this receptor bound the PTS2 protein fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase. Moreover, LmPEX7 also formed a tight association with the Leishmania PEX5, the cytosolic PTS1 receptor, and PEX14, a glycosomal peripheral membrane protein required for protein import into the glycosome. Mapping studies revealed that the Leishmania PEX7 binds to a domain on LdPEX5 encompassing residues 111-148 and to a site on LdPEX14 spanning residues 120-148. Finally, subcellular localization studies revealed that Leishmania PEX7 has a dual distribution within the cytosolic compartment and glycosomal lumen.
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