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Copper metabolism in Acanthamoeba castellanii
Doležalová, Taťána ; Šuťák, Róbert (advisor) ; Mladěnka, Přemysl (referee)
Copper is an essential element that, due to its redox properties, is involved as a cofactor in many enzymes, the most well-known example is the cytochrome c oxidase. At the same time, in higher concentrations, this element shows toxic effects on several levels, it can disrupt iron-sulfur clusters, damage proteins and lead to cell death. This is the reason why this thesis studies copper metabolism in the parasitic amoeba Acanthamoeba castellanii, which causes serious diseases such as acanthamoeba keratitis or granulomatous amoebic encephalitis. Understanding how copper homeostasis is maintained in this organism could lead to targeted disruption of this balance and the exploitation of the toxic effects of copper. In this work, the function of the P-type ATPase homologous to CCC2 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, responsible for the transfer of copper ions from the cytoplasm to the Golgi apparatus, was characterized by functional complementation. Furthermore, a carrier from the Ctr family has been described that transfers copper ions presumably across the cytoplasmic membrane. The expression of these carriers was monitored in copper excess and deficiency. To get a better picture of how A. castellanii maintains copper homeostasis, the cellular accumulation of copper and the ability of this amoeba to deal...
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