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Genes encoding putative biogenic amine receptors in the parasitic nematode Brugia malayi

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Invertebrate Neuroscience

Abstract

Filarial nematodes, such as Brugia malayi, cause major health problems worldwide. The lack of a vaccine against B. malayi, combined with ineffective chemotherapy against the adult has prompted the examination of biogenic amine receptors (BARs) as possible targets for drug discovery. We employed bioinformatics to identify genes encoding putative B. malayi BARs. Surprisingly, the B. malayi genome contains half of the genes predicted to encode BARs in the genomes of free-living nematodes such as Caenorhabditis elegans or C. briggsae; however, all of the predicted B. malayi receptors have clear orthologues in C. elegans. The B. malayi genes encode each of the major BAR subclasses, including three serotonin, two dopamine and two tyramine/octopamine receptors and the structure of orthologous BAR genes is conserved. We find that potential G-protein coupling and ligand-specificity of individual BARs may be predicted by phylogenetic comparisons. Our results provide a framework for how G-protein coupled receptors may be targeted for drug development in medically important parasitic nematodes.

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Abbreviations

5-HT:

5-Hydroxytyramine (Serotonin)

aa:

Amino acids

BA:

Biogenic amine

BAR:

Biogenic amine receptor

DA:

Dopamine

GPCR:

G-Protein coupled receptor

MSA:

Multiple sequence alignment

OA:

Octopamine

RACE:

Rapid amplification of cDNA ends

TA:

Tyramine

TM:

Transmembrane

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by NIH (National Institutes of Health) grant AI045147 to RWK.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toledo, 2801 West Bancroft Street, Toledo, Ohio, 43606, USA

    Katherine A. Smith, Richard W. Komuniecki & John Gray

  2. Parasite and Virus Genomics, The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR), Rockville, Maryland, 20850, USA

    Elodie Ghedin & David Spiro

  3. Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA

    Elodie Ghedin

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  1. Katherine A. Smith
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Correspondence to John Gray.

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Smith, K.A., Komuniecki, R.W., Ghedin, E. et al. Genes encoding putative biogenic amine receptors in the parasitic nematode Brugia malayi . Invert Neurosci 7, 227–244 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10158-007-0058-y

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