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Polyphosphate and acidocalcisomes.

Noelia Lander1, Ciro Cordeiro2, Guozhong Huang2

  • 1Center for Tropical and Global Emerging Diseases and Department of Cellular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens 30602, U.S.A. Departamento de Patología Clínica, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, São Paulo 13083-877, Brazil.

Biochemical Society Transactions
|February 11, 2016
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Inorganic polyphosphate (polyP) accumulates in cellular acidic calcium stores called acidocalcisomes. These organelles, crucial for osmoregulation and calcium signaling, rely on proton pumps and VTC complexes for polyP synthesis and transport.

Keywords:
acidocalcisomecalciumcontractile vacuoleosmoregulationpolyphosphate

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Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Inorganic polyphosphate (polyP) is found in acidocalcisomes, which are acidic calcium stores present across diverse organisms from bacteria to humans.
  • Organelle acidity is maintained by proton pumps, including vacuolar proton pyrophosphatase (V-H(+)-PPase or VP1) and vacuolar proton ATPase (V-H(+)-ATPase).
  • A vacuolar transporter chaperone (VTC) complex facilitates polyP synthesis and transport to acidocalcisomes in various eukaryotes like yeast, trypanosomatids, Apicomplexa, and algae.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To elucidate the role of inorganic polyphosphate (polyP) and acidocalcisomes in cellular functions.
  • To understand the mechanisms maintaining acidocalcisome acidity and polyP translocation.
  • To investigate the involvement of VTC complexes in polyP metabolism and organelle function.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of polyP accumulation in acidocalcisomes.
  • Investigation of proton pump activity (V-H(+)-PPase, V-H(+)-ATPase) in maintaining organelle pH.
  • Characterization of the vacuolar transporter chaperone (VTC) complex's role in polyP synthesis and translocation.
  • Studies in model organisms including yeast, trypanosomatids, Apicomplexa, and algae.

Main Results:

  • PolyP accumulates within acidocalcisomes across a wide range of species.
  • Proton pumps are essential for maintaining the acidic environment of acidocalcisomes.
  • VTC complexes are critical for the synthesis and directed movement of polyP to acidocalcisomes.
  • In trypanosomatids, polyP and acidocalcisomes play significant roles in osmoregulation and calcium signaling.

Conclusions:

  • Acidocalcisomes are conserved organelles involved in polyP storage and calcium homeostasis.
  • The interplay between proton pumps and VTC complexes is vital for polyP metabolism and acidocalcisome function.
  • PolyP and acidocalcisomes are key players in cellular processes such as osmoregulation and calcium signaling, particularly in organisms like trypanosomatids.