Identification and functional expression of a glutamate- and avermectin-gated chloride channel from Caligus rogercresseyi, a southern Hemisphere sea louse affecting farmed fish.

Parasitic sea lice represent a major sanitary threat to marine salmonid aquaculture, an industry accounting for 7% of world fish production. Caligus rogercresseyi is the principal sea louse species infesting farmed salmon and trout in the southern hemisphere. Most effective control of Caligus has be...

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Main Authors: Isabel Cornejo, Olga Andrini, María Isabel Niemeyer, Vanessa Marabolí, F Danilo González-Nilo, Jacques Teulon, Francisco V Sepúlveda, L Pablo Cid
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2014-09-01
Series:PLoS Pathogens
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4177951?pdf=render
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author Isabel Cornejo
Olga Andrini
María Isabel Niemeyer
Vanessa Marabolí
F Danilo González-Nilo
Jacques Teulon
Francisco V Sepúlveda
L Pablo Cid
author_facet Isabel Cornejo
Olga Andrini
María Isabel Niemeyer
Vanessa Marabolí
F Danilo González-Nilo
Jacques Teulon
Francisco V Sepúlveda
L Pablo Cid
author_sort Isabel Cornejo
collection DOAJ
description Parasitic sea lice represent a major sanitary threat to marine salmonid aquaculture, an industry accounting for 7% of world fish production. Caligus rogercresseyi is the principal sea louse species infesting farmed salmon and trout in the southern hemisphere. Most effective control of Caligus has been obtained with macrocyclic lactones (MLs) ivermectin and emamectin. These drugs target glutamate-gated chloride channels (GluCl) and act as irreversible non-competitive agonists causing neuronal inhibition, paralysis and death of the parasite. Here we report the cloning of a full-length CrGluClα receptor from Caligus rogercresseyi. Expression in Xenopus oocytes and electrophysiological assays show that CrGluClα is activated by glutamate and mediates chloride currents blocked by the ligand-gated anion channel inhibitor picrotoxin. Both ivermectin and emamectin activate CrGluClα in the absence of glutamate. The effects are irreversible and occur with an EC(50) value of around 200 nM, being cooperative (n(H) = 2) for ivermectin but not for emamectin. Using the three-dimensional structure of a GluClα from Caenorabditis elegans, the only available for any eukaryotic ligand-gated anion channel, we have constructed a homology model for CrGluClα. Docking and molecular dynamics calculations reveal the way in which ivermectin and emamectin interact with CrGluClα. Both drugs intercalate between transmembrane domains M1 and M3 of neighbouring subunits of a pentameric structure. The structure displays three H-bonds involved in this interaction, but despite similarity in structure only of two these are conserved from the C. elegans crystal binding site. Our data strongly suggest that CrGluClα is an important target for avermectins used in the treatment of sea louse infestation in farmed salmonids and open the way for ascertaining a possible mechanism of increasing resistance to MLs in aquaculture industry. Molecular modeling could help in the design of new, more efficient drugs whilst functional expression of the receptor allows a first stage of testing of their efficacy.
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spelling doaj.art-9a1e2cafc05646e8a6773295611eeaf32022-12-21T23:41:50ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Pathogens1553-73661553-73742014-09-01109e100440210.1371/journal.ppat.1004402Identification and functional expression of a glutamate- and avermectin-gated chloride channel from Caligus rogercresseyi, a southern Hemisphere sea louse affecting farmed fish.Isabel CornejoOlga AndriniMaría Isabel NiemeyerVanessa MarabolíF Danilo González-NiloJacques TeulonFrancisco V SepúlvedaL Pablo CidParasitic sea lice represent a major sanitary threat to marine salmonid aquaculture, an industry accounting for 7% of world fish production. Caligus rogercresseyi is the principal sea louse species infesting farmed salmon and trout in the southern hemisphere. Most effective control of Caligus has been obtained with macrocyclic lactones (MLs) ivermectin and emamectin. These drugs target glutamate-gated chloride channels (GluCl) and act as irreversible non-competitive agonists causing neuronal inhibition, paralysis and death of the parasite. Here we report the cloning of a full-length CrGluClα receptor from Caligus rogercresseyi. Expression in Xenopus oocytes and electrophysiological assays show that CrGluClα is activated by glutamate and mediates chloride currents blocked by the ligand-gated anion channel inhibitor picrotoxin. Both ivermectin and emamectin activate CrGluClα in the absence of glutamate. The effects are irreversible and occur with an EC(50) value of around 200 nM, being cooperative (n(H) = 2) for ivermectin but not for emamectin. Using the three-dimensional structure of a GluClα from Caenorabditis elegans, the only available for any eukaryotic ligand-gated anion channel, we have constructed a homology model for CrGluClα. Docking and molecular dynamics calculations reveal the way in which ivermectin and emamectin interact with CrGluClα. Both drugs intercalate between transmembrane domains M1 and M3 of neighbouring subunits of a pentameric structure. The structure displays three H-bonds involved in this interaction, but despite similarity in structure only of two these are conserved from the C. elegans crystal binding site. Our data strongly suggest that CrGluClα is an important target for avermectins used in the treatment of sea louse infestation in farmed salmonids and open the way for ascertaining a possible mechanism of increasing resistance to MLs in aquaculture industry. Molecular modeling could help in the design of new, more efficient drugs whilst functional expression of the receptor allows a first stage of testing of their efficacy.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4177951?pdf=render
spellingShingle Isabel Cornejo
Olga Andrini
María Isabel Niemeyer
Vanessa Marabolí
F Danilo González-Nilo
Jacques Teulon
Francisco V Sepúlveda
L Pablo Cid
Identification and functional expression of a glutamate- and avermectin-gated chloride channel from Caligus rogercresseyi, a southern Hemisphere sea louse affecting farmed fish.
PLoS Pathogens
title Identification and functional expression of a glutamate- and avermectin-gated chloride channel from Caligus rogercresseyi, a southern Hemisphere sea louse affecting farmed fish.
title_full Identification and functional expression of a glutamate- and avermectin-gated chloride channel from Caligus rogercresseyi, a southern Hemisphere sea louse affecting farmed fish.
title_fullStr Identification and functional expression of a glutamate- and avermectin-gated chloride channel from Caligus rogercresseyi, a southern Hemisphere sea louse affecting farmed fish.
title_full_unstemmed Identification and functional expression of a glutamate- and avermectin-gated chloride channel from Caligus rogercresseyi, a southern Hemisphere sea louse affecting farmed fish.
title_short Identification and functional expression of a glutamate- and avermectin-gated chloride channel from Caligus rogercresseyi, a southern Hemisphere sea louse affecting farmed fish.
title_sort identification and functional expression of a glutamate and avermectin gated chloride channel from caligus rogercresseyi a southern hemisphere sea louse affecting farmed fish
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4177951?pdf=render
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