Ca2+ entry at the plasma membrane and uptake by acidic stores is regulated by the activity of the V‐H+‐ATPase in Toxoplasma gondii
2021
Ca2+ is a universal intracellular signal that regulates many cellular functions. In Toxoplasma gondii, the controlled influx of extracellular and intracellular Ca2+ into the cytosol initiates a signaling cascade that promotes pathogenic processes like tissue destruction and dissemination. In this work we studied the role of proton transport in cytosolic Ca2+ homeostasis and the initiation of Ca2+ signaling. We used a T. gondii mutant of the V-ATPase, a pump previously shown to transport protons to the extracellular medium, control intracellular pH and membrane potential and we show that proton gradients are important for maintaining resting cytosolic Ca2+ at physiological levels and for Ca2+ influx. Proton transport was also important for Ca2+ storage by acidic stores and, unexpectedly, the endoplasmic reticulum. Proton transport impacted the amount of polyphosphate (polyP), a phosphate polymer that binds Ca2+ and concentrate in acidocalcisomes. This was supported by the co-localization of the vacuolar transporter chaperone 4 (VTC4), the catalytic subunit of the VTC complex that synthesizes polyP, with the V-ATPase in acidocalcisomes. Our work show that proton transport regulate plasma membrane Ca2+ transport and control acidocalcisome polyP and Ca2+ content impacting Ca2+ signaling and downstream stimulation of motility and egress in T. gondii.
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