Measuring Dynamic Glycosomal pH Changes in Living Trypanosoma brucei

Summary

We describe a method to study how pH responds to environmental cues in the glycosomes of the bloodstream form of African trypanosomes. This approach involves a pH-sensitive heritable protein sensor in combination with flow cytometry to measure pH dynamics, both as a time-course assay and in a high-throughput screen format.

Abstract

Glucose metabolism is critical for the African trypanosome, Trypanosoma brucei, as an essential metabolic process and regulator of parasite development. Little is known about the cellular responses generated when environmental glucose levels change. In both bloodstream and procyclic form (insect stage) parasites, glycosomes house most of glycolysis. These organelles are rapidly acidified in response to glucose deprivation, which likely results in the allosteric regulation of glycolytic enzymes such as hexokinase. In previous work, localizing the chemical probe used to make pH measurements was challenging, limiting its utility in other applications.

This paper describes the development and use of parasites that express glycosomally localized pHluorin2, a heritable protein pH biosensor. pHluorin2 is a ratiometric pHluorin variant that displays a pH (acid)-dependent decrease in excitation at 395 nm while simultaneously yielding an increase in excitation at 475 nm. Transgenic parasites were generated by cloning the pHluorin2 open reading frame into the trypanosome expression vector pLEW100v5, enabling inducible protein expression in either lifecycle stage. Immunofluorescence was used to confirm the glycosomal localization of the pHluorin2 biosensor, comparing the localization of the biosensor to the glycosomal resident protein aldolase. The sensor responsiveness was calibrated at differing pH levels by incubating cells in a series of buffers that ranged in pH from 4 to 8, an approach we have previously used to calibrate a fluorescein-based pH sensor. We then measured pHluorin2 fluorescence at 405 nm and 488 nm using flow cytometry to determine glycosomal pH. We validated the performance of the live transgenic pHluorin2-expressing parasites, monitoring pH over time in response to glucose deprivation, a known trigger of glycosomal acidification in PF parasites. This tool has a range of potential applications, including potentially being used in high-throughput drug screening. Beyond glycosomal pH, the sensor could be adapted to other organelles or used in other trypanosomatids to understand pH dynamics in the live cell setting.

Introduction

Parasitic kinetoplastids, like most living organisms, rely on glucose as a fundamental component of central carbon metabolism. This group includes medically important organisms, such as the African trypanosome, Trypanosoma brucei; the American trypanosome, T. cruzi; and parasites of the genus Leishmania. Glucose metabolism is critical to parasite growth in the pathogenic lifecycle stages. For example, when deprived of glucose, the bloodstream form (BSF) of the African trypanosome dies rapidly. Notably, glycolysis serves as the sole source of ATP during this stage of infection¹. Leishmania parasites are likewise d....

Protocol

Using T. brucei brucei 90-13 BSF trypanosomes, a monomorphic parasite line, requires consideration of safety as they are considered Risk Group 2 organisms that should be handled in biosafety level 2 facilities.

1. Trypanosome culture and transfection

1. Culture T. brucei brucei 90-13 BSF trypanosomes in HMI-9 medium supplemented with 10% heat-inactivated FBS and 10% Nu-Serum at 37 °C in 5% CO₂¹⁰.
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Discussion

Environmental perception and response mechanisms in the African trypanosome are poorly understood. Changes in nutrient availability are known to trigger diverse responses in the parasite, including acidification of glycosomes. Here, we have described a method to study glycosomal pH response to environmental perturbations in living cells using a heritable protein sensor, pHluorin2, and flow cytometry.

There are several critical steps in the use of the sensor. First, the characterization of tran.......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
50 mL Tissue Culture Flasks (Non-treated, sterile)	VWR	10861-572
75 cm2 Tissue Culture Flask (Non-Treated, sterile)	Corning	431464U
80 µL flat-bottom 384-well plate	BrandTech	781620
Amaxa Human T Cell Nucleofector  Kit	Lonza	VPA-1002
Attune NxT Flow Cytometer	invitrogen by Thermo Fisher Scientific	A24858	FlowJo software
BRANDplates 96-Well, flat bottom plate	Millipore Sigma	BR781662
Coloc 2 plugin of ImageJ			https://imagej.net/plugins/coloc-2
CytKick Max Auto Sampler	invitrogen by Thermo Fisher Scientific	A42973
CytoFLEX Flow Cytometer	Beckman-Coulter
Electron Microscopy Sciences 16% Paraformaldehyde Aqueous Solution, EM Grade, 10 mL Ampoule	Fisher Scientific	50-980-487
GraphPad Prism			statistical software
Nigericin (sodium salt)	Cayman Chemical	11437
Nucleofector 2b	Lonza	Discontinued Product
OP2 Liquid Handler	opentrons	OP2
poly-L-lysine, 0.1% (w/v) in H2O	Sigma Life Science	CAS:25988-63-0	Pipetting robot for HTS assay
Thiazole Red (TO-PRO-3)	biotium	#40087	We machined a custom acrylic plate stand so this brand of plate could be detected and used on our CytKick Max Auto Sampler
valinomycin	Cayman Chemical	10009152	Pipetting robot for HTS assay
			For pH calibration
			For pH calibration