Novel insights on ENTH domain-containing proteins in apicomplexan parasites

The phylum Apicomplexa includes a large group of early branching eukaryotes having significant medical and economical importance. The molecular machinery responsible for protein trafficking is poorly understood in these apicomplexans. One of the most important proteins involved in clathrin-mediated protein trafficking is Epsin, which contains ENTH domain, a conserved domain crucial for membrane bending leading to vesicle formation. We undertook homology searching and phylogenetic analyses to produce a rigorously annotated set of Epsin homologs retrieved from diverse apicomplexan genomes. Genomic and phylogenetic comparisons revealed that apicomplexans contain unusual Epsin homologs that are distinct from those observed in mammals and yeast. Although there are four Epsin genes in mammalian system and five in the yeast genome, apicomplexan parasites consist only a single Epsin gene. The apicomplexan Epsin contains the conserved ENTH domain consisting of phosphoinositide (PtdIns)-binding sites which indicate about their functional significance in the formation of vesicles; however, the absence of ubiquitin-interacting motif (UIM) suggests a possible different mechanism for protein trafficking. The existence of dileucine motif in Plasmodium, Cryptosporidum parvum and Eimeria tenella Epsins might solve their functionality while lacking a lot of conserved motifs as this motif is known to interact with different adaptor protein complexes (AP1, AP2 and AP3). Other Epsin homologs are also shown to have different peptide motifs reported for possible interaction with alpha-ear appendage, gamma-ear appendage and EH domain present in different adaptors. Bioinformatic and phylogenetic analyses suggest that the apicomplexan Epsins have unusual functionality from that of the mammalian Epsins. This detailed study may greatly facilitate future molecular cell biological investigation for the role of Epsins in these parasites.