The trichomonad cysteine proteinase TVCP4 transcript contains an iron‐responsive element

Abstract

The differential expression of the Trichomonas vaginalis cysteine proteinase TVCP4 by iron at the protein synthesis level and the prediction of an iron-responsive element (IRE)-like stem-loop structure at the 5'-region of the T. vaginalis cysteine proteinase 4 gene (tvcp4) mRNA suggest a post-transcriptional mechanism of iron regulation in trichomonads mediated by an IRE/IRP-like system. Gel-shifting, UV cross-linking and competition experiments demonstrated that this IRE-like structure specifically bound to human iron regulatory protein-1. IRP-like cytoplasmic proteins that bound human ferritin IRE sequence transcripts at low-iron conditions were also found in trichomonads. Thus, a post-transcriptional regulatory mechanism by iron for tvcp4 mediated by IRE/IRP-like interactions was found.