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Forero-Rodríguez J, Garzón-Ospina D, Patarroyo MA. Low genetic diversity and functional constraint in loci encoding Plasmodium vivax P12 and P38 proteins in the Colombian population. Malar J 2014; 13:58. [PMID: 24533461 PMCID: PMC3930544 DOI: 10.1186/1475-2875-13-58] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2013] [Accepted: 02/13/2014] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Plasmodium vivax is one of the five species causing malaria in human beings, affecting around 391 million people annually. The development of an anti-malarial vaccine has been proposed as an alternative for controlling this disease. However, its development has been hampered by allele-specific responses produced by the high genetic diversity shown by some parasite antigens. Evaluating these antigens’ genetic diversity is thus essential when designing a completely effective vaccine. Methods The gene sequences of Plasmodium vivax p12 (pv12) and p38 (pv38), obtained from field isolates in Colombia, were used for evaluating haplotype polymorphism and distribution by population genetics analysis. The evolutionary forces generating the variation pattern so observed were also determined. Results Both pv12 and pv38 were shown to have low genetic diversity. The neutral model for pv12 could not be discarded, whilst polymorphism in pv38 was maintained by balanced selection restricted to the gene’s 5′ region. Both encoded proteins seemed to have functional/structural constraints due to the presence of s48/45 domains, which were seen to be highly conserved. Conclusions Due to the role that malaria parasite P12 and P38 proteins seem to play during invasion in Plasmodium species, added to the Pv12 and Pv38 antigenic characteristics and the low genetic diversity observed, these proteins might be good candidates to be evaluated in the design of a multistage/multi-antigen vaccine.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Manuel A Patarroyo
- Molecular Biology and Immunology Department, Fundación Instituto de Inmunología de Colombia (FIDIC), Carrera 50 No, 26-20, Bogotá, DC, Colombia.
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Annoura T, van Schaijk BCL, Ploemen IHJ, Sajid M, Lin JW, Vos MW, Dinmohamed AG, Inaoka DK, Rijpma SR, van Gemert GJ, Chevalley-Maurel S, Kiełbasa SM, Scheltinga F, Franke-Fayard B, Klop O, Hermsen CC, Kita K, Gego A, Franetich JF, Mazier D, Hoffman SL, Janse CJ, Sauerwein RW, Khan SM. Two Plasmodium 6-Cys family-related proteins have distinct and critical roles in liver-stage development. FASEB J 2014; 28:2158-70. [PMID: 24509910 DOI: 10.1096/fj.13-241570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
The 10 Plasmodium 6-Cys proteins have critical roles throughout parasite development and are targets for antimalaria vaccination strategies. We analyzed the conserved 6-cysteine domain of this family and show that only the last 4 positionally conserved cysteine residues are diagnostic for this domain and identified 4 additional "6-Cys family-related" proteins. Two of these, sequestrin and B9, are critical to Plasmodium liver-stage development. RT-PCR and immunofluorescence assays show that B9 is translationally repressed in sporozoites and is expressed after hepatocyte invasion where it localizes to the parasite plasma membrane. Mutants lacking B9 expression in the rodent malaria parasites P. berghei and P. yoelii and the human parasite P. falciparum developmentally arrest in hepatocytes. P. berghei mutants arrest in the livers of BALB/c (100%) and C57BL6 mice (>99.9%), and in cultures of Huh7 human-hepatoma cell line. Similarly, P. falciparum mutants while fully infectious to primary human hepatocytes abort development 3 d after infection. This growth arrest is associated with a compromised parasitophorous vacuole membrane a phenotype similar to, but distinct from, mutants lacking the 6-Cys sporozoite proteins P52 and P36. Our results show that 6-Cys proteins have critical but distinct roles in establishment and maintenance of a parasitophorous vacuole and subsequent liver-stage development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takeshi Annoura
- 3Leiden Malaria Research Group, Department of Parasitology, Leiden University Medical Center, 2333 ZA Leiden, the Netherlands.
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Tonkin ML, Arredondo SA, Loveless BC, Serpa JJ, Makepeace KA, Sundar N, Petrotchenko EV, Miller LH, Grigg ME, Boulanger MJ. Structural and Biochemical Characterization of Plasmodium falciparum 12 (Pf12) Reveals a Unique Interdomain Organization and the Potential for an Antiparallel Arrangement with Pf41. J Biol Chem 2013; 288:12805-17. [DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m113.455667] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
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Cowman AF, Berry D, Baum J. The cellular and molecular basis for malaria parasite invasion of the human red blood cell. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2013; 198:961-71. [PMID: 22986493 PMCID: PMC3444787 DOI: 10.1083/jcb.201206112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 218] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Malaria is a major disease of humans caused by protozoan parasites from the genus Plasmodium. It has a complex life cycle; however, asexual parasite infection within the blood stream is responsible for all disease pathology. This stage is initiated when merozoites, the free invasive blood-stage form, invade circulating erythrocytes. Although invasion is rapid, it is the only time of the life cycle when the parasite is directly exposed to the host immune system. Significant effort has, therefore, focused on identifying the proteins involved and understanding the underlying mechanisms behind merozoite invasion into the protected niche inside the human erythrocyte.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan F Cowman
- The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, University of Melbourne, Victoria, 3052, Australia.
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Taechalertpaisarn T, Crosnier C, Bartholdson SJ, Hodder AN, Thompson J, Bustamante LY, Wilson DW, Sanders PR, Wright GJ, Rayner JC, Cowman AF, Gilson PR, Crabb BS. Biochemical and functional analysis of two Plasmodium falciparum blood-stage 6-cys proteins: P12 and P41. PLoS One 2012; 7:e41937. [PMID: 22848665 PMCID: PMC3407074 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0041937] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2012] [Accepted: 06/26/2012] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The genomes of Plasmodium parasites that cause malaria in humans, other primates, birds, and rodents all encode multiple 6-cys proteins. Distinct 6-cys protein family members reside on the surface at each extracellular life cycle stage and those on the surface of liver infective and sexual stages have been shown to play important roles in hepatocyte growth and fertilization respectively. However, 6-cys proteins associated with the blood-stage forms of the parasite have no known function. Here we investigate the biochemical nature and function of two blood-stage 6-cys proteins in Plasmodium falciparum, the most pathogenic species to afflict humans. We show that native P12 and P41 form a stable heterodimer on the infective merozoite surface and are secreted following invasion, but could find no evidence that this complex mediates erythrocyte-receptor binding. That P12 and P41 do not appear to have a major role as adhesins to erythrocyte receptors was supported by the observation that antisera to these proteins did not substantially inhibit erythrocyte invasion. To investigate other functional roles for these proteins their genes were successfully disrupted in P. falciparum, however P12 and P41 knockout parasites grew at normal rates in vitro and displayed no other obvious phenotypic changes. It now appears likely that these blood-stage 6-cys proteins operate as a pair and play redundant roles either in erythrocyte invasion or in host-immune interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tana Taechalertpaisarn
- Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Cecile Crosnier
- Cell Surface Signalling Laboratory, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - S. Josefin Bartholdson
- Cell Surface Signalling Laboratory, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Anthony N. Hodder
- The Walter & Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Jenny Thompson
- The Walter & Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Leyla Y. Bustamante
- Malaria Programme, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Danny W. Wilson
- The Walter & Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | | | - Gavin J. Wright
- Cell Surface Signalling Laboratory, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Julian C. Rayner
- Malaria Programme, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Alan F. Cowman
- Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- The Walter & Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Paul R. Gilson
- Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Departments of Immunology and Medicine, Monash University, Victoria, Australia
| | - Brendan S. Crabb
- Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Departments of Immunology and Medicine, Monash University, Victoria, Australia
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- * E-mail:
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Aravind L, Anantharaman V, Zhang D, de Souza RF, Iyer LM. Gene flow and biological conflict systems in the origin and evolution of eukaryotes. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2012; 2:89. [PMID: 22919680 PMCID: PMC3417536 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2012.00089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2012] [Accepted: 06/13/2012] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The endosymbiotic origin of eukaryotes brought together two disparate genomes in the cell. Additionally, eukaryotic natural history has included other endosymbiotic events, phagotrophic consumption of organisms, and intimate interactions with viruses and endoparasites. These phenomena facilitated large-scale lateral gene transfer and biological conflicts. We synthesize information from nearly two decades of genomics to illustrate how the interplay between lateral gene transfer and biological conflicts has impacted the emergence of new adaptations in eukaryotes. Using apicomplexans as example, we illustrate how lateral transfer from animals has contributed to unique parasite-host interfaces comprised of adhesion- and O-linked glycosylation-related domains. Adaptations, emerging due to intense selection for diversity in the molecular participants in organismal and genomic conflicts, being dispersed by lateral transfer, were subsequently exapted for eukaryote-specific innovations. We illustrate this using examples relating to eukaryotic chromatin, RNAi and RNA-processing systems, signaling pathways, apoptosis and immunity. We highlight the major contributions from catalytic domains of bacterial toxin systems to the origin of signaling enzymes (e.g., ADP-ribosylation and small molecule messenger synthesis), mutagenic enzymes for immune receptor diversification and RNA-processing. Similarly, we discuss contributions of bacterial antibiotic/siderophore synthesis systems and intra-genomic and intra-cellular selfish elements (e.g., restriction-modification, mobile elements and lysogenic phages) in the emergence of chromatin remodeling/modifying enzymes and RNA-based regulation. We develop the concept that biological conflict systems served as evolutionary “nurseries” for innovations in the protein world, which were delivered to eukaryotes via lateral gene flow to spur key evolutionary innovations all the way from nucleogenesis to lineage-specific adaptations.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Aravind
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda MD, USA.
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Jones CS, Mayfield SP. Steps toward a globally available malaria vaccine: harnessing the potential of algae for future low cost vaccines. Bioengineered 2012; 4:164-7. [PMID: 23090388 DOI: 10.4161/bioe.22577] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Malaria is an infectious disease that threatens half of the world's population. This debilitating disease is caused by infection from parasites of the genus Plasmodium. Insecticides, bed nets and drug therapies have lowered the prevalence and death rate associated with malaria but this disease continues to plague many populations around the world. In recent years, many organizations have suggested developing methods for a complete eradication of malaria. The most straightforward and effective method for this potential eradication will be through the development of a low-cost vaccine. To achieve eradication, it will be necessary to develop new vaccine candidates and novel systems for both the production and delivery of these vaccines. Recently, the green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii has been used for the recombinant expression of malaria vaccine candidates including the transmission blocking vaccine candidate Pfs48/45. Here, we discuss the potential of this research on the future development of a low-cost malaria vaccine candidate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carla S Jones
- The San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology and the Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
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