Trichomonas vaginalis : analysis of a heat-inducible member of the cytosolic heat-shock-protein 70 multigene family

A 2253-nucleotide (nt) transcript for a Trichomonas vaginalis heat-shock protein 70, TVCHSP70, has been isolated that encodes for a protein of 659 amino acids with a predicted molecular weight of 71.3 kDa. TVCHSP70 has a short (10-nt) 5' untranslated region (UTR), and the 263-nt 3' UTR is the longest reported for a Trichomonas peptide. Amino-acid sequence analysis and phylogenetic comparison identifies TVCHSP70 as a member of the heat-inducible cytoplasmic HSP70 gene family. Southern-blot data indicate that T. vaginalis contains at least four members of the cytoplasmic HSP70 gene family. Members of the TVCHSP70 family are expressed as 2.3-kb transcripts at low levels during 37 degrees C culture, and their expression is significantly up-regulated at 43 degrees C. Slot-blot analysis of seven T. vaginalis clinical isolates demonstrated a 3- to 44-fold up-regulation of TVCHSP70 under conditions of heat shock (43 degrees C) or oxidative stress (500 microm H2O2) as compared with controls (37 degrees C).