Comparative proteomic analysis of metronidazole-sensitive and resistant Trichomonas vaginalis suggests a novel mode of metronidazole action and resistance

The microaerophilic parasite Trichomonas vaginalis occurs worldwide and causes inflammation of the urogenital tract, especially in women. With 156 million infections annually, trichomoniasis is the most prevalent non-viral sexually transmitted disease. Trichomoniasis is treated with 5-nitroimidazoles, especially metronidazole, which are prodrugs that have to be reduced at their nitro group to be activated. Resistance rates to metronidazole have remained comparably low, but they can be higher in certain areas leading to an increase of refractory cases. Metronidazole resistance in T. vaginalis can develop in vivo in clinical isolates, or it can be induced in the laboratory. Both types of resistance share certain characteristics but differ with regard to the dependence of ambient oxygen to become manifest. Although several candidate factors for metronidazole resistance have been described in the past, e.g. pyruvate:ferredoxin oxidoreductase and ferredoxin or thioredoxin reductase, open questions regarding their role in resistance have remained.

In order to address these questions, we performed a proteomic study with metronidazole-sensitive and –resistant laboratory strains, as well as with clinical strains, in order to identify factors causative for resistance. The list of proteins consistently associated with resistance was surprisingly short. Resistant laboratory and clinical strains only shared the downregulation of flavin reductase 1 (FR1), an enzyme previously identified to be involved in resistance. Originally, FR1 was believed to be an oxygen scavenging enzyme, but here we identified it as a ferric iron reductase which produces ferrous iron. Based on this finding and on further experimental evidence as presented herein, we propose a novel mechanism of metronidazole activation which is based on ferrous iron binding to proteins, thereby rendering them susceptible to complex formation with metronidazole. Upon resolution of iron-protein-metronidazole complexes, metronidazole radicals are formed which quickly react with thiols or proteins in the direct vicinity, leading to breaks in the peptide backbone.