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Paul KC, Krolewski RC, Lucumi Moreno E, Blank J, Holton KM, Ahfeldt T, Furlong M, Yu Y, Cockburn M, Thompson LK, Kreymerman A, Ricci-Blair EM, Li YJ, Patel HB, Lee RT, Bronstein J, Rubin LL, Khurana V, Ritz B. A pesticide and iPSC dopaminergic neuron screen identifies and classifies Parkinson-relevant pesticides. Nat Commun 2023; 14:2803. [PMID: 37193692 PMCID: PMC10188516 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-38215-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2022] [Accepted: 04/20/2023] [Indexed: 05/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a complex neurodegenerative disease with etiology rooted in genetic vulnerability and environmental factors. Here we combine quantitative epidemiologic study of pesticide exposures and PD with toxicity screening in dopaminergic neurons derived from PD patient induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to identify Parkinson's-relevant pesticides. Agricultural records enable investigation of 288 specific pesticides and PD risk in a comprehensive, pesticide-wide association study. We associate long-term exposure to 53 pesticides with PD and identify co-exposure profiles. We then employ a live-cell imaging screening paradigm exposing dopaminergic neurons to 39 PD-associated pesticides. We find that 10 pesticides are directly toxic to these neurons. Further, we analyze pesticides typically used in combinations in cotton farming, demonstrating that co-exposures result in greater toxicity than any single pesticide. We find trifluralin is a driver of toxicity to dopaminergic neurons and leads to mitochondrial dysfunction. Our paradigm may prove useful to mechanistically dissect pesticide exposures implicated in PD risk and guide agricultural policy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kimberly C Paul
- Department of Neurology, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
| | - Richard C Krolewski
- Division of Movement Disorders, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Edinson Lucumi Moreno
- Division of Movement Disorders, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | | | - Kristina M Holton
- Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Tim Ahfeldt
- Recursion Pharmaceuticals, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Melissa Furlong
- University of Arizona, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Yu Yu
- UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Myles Cockburn
- Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Laura K Thompson
- Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Alexander Kreymerman
- Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | - Yu Jun Li
- Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Heer B Patel
- Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Richard T Lee
- Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 75 Francis St, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Jeff Bronstein
- Department of Neurology, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Lee L Rubin
- Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
- Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Cambridge, MA, USA.
| | - Vikram Khurana
- Division of Movement Disorders, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA.
| | - Beate Ritz
- Department of Neurology, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- Department of Epidemiology, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
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Touchell DH, Palmer IE, Ranney TG. In vitro Ploidy Manipulation for Crop Improvement. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2020; 11:722. [PMID: 32582252 PMCID: PMC7284393 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2020.00722] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2019] [Accepted: 05/06/2020] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
In vitro regeneration systems provide a powerful tool for manipulating ploidy to facilitate breeding and development of new crops. Polyploid induction can expand breeding opportunities, assist with the development of seedless triploid cultivars, enhance ornamental characteristics and environmental tolerances, increase biomass and restore fertility in wide hybrids. In vitro ploidy manipulation is commonly induced using antimitotic agents such as colchicine, oryzalin and trifluralin, while many other antimitotic agents have been relatively unexplored. Successful induction requires a synergistic pairing of efficient penetration of the antimitotic agent and may be dependent the length of exposure and concentrations of antimitotic agents, tissue types, and interactions with basal media and plant growth regulators. In vitro conditions vary among taxa and individual genera, species, and cultivars, often requiring unique treatments to maximize polyploid induction. In some taxa, the induction of polyploidy influences in vitro growth, development, and root formation. Here we provide an overview of mitotic inhibitors and their application for in vitro ploidy manipulation for plant breeding and crop improvement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Darren H. Touchell
- Mountain Crop Improvement Lab, Department of Horticultural Science, Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension Center, North Carolina State University, Mills River, NC, United States
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Zhou Y, Xu J, Zhu Y, Duan Y, Zhou M. Mechanism of Action of the Benzimidazole Fungicide on Fusarium graminearum: Interfering with Polymerization of Monomeric Tubulin But Not Polymerized Microtubule. PHYTOPATHOLOGY 2016; 106:807-813. [PMID: 26976730 DOI: 10.1094/phyto-08-15-0186-r] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Tubulins are the proposed target of clinically relevant anticancer drugs, anthelmintic, and fungicide. β2-tubulin of the plant pathogen Fusarium graminearum was considered as the target of benzimidazole compounds by homology modeling in our previous work. In this study, α1-, α2-, and β2-tubulin of F. graminearum were produced in Escherichia coli. Three benzimidazole compounds (carbendazim, benomyl, and thiabendazole) interacted with the recombinant β2-tubulin and reduced the maximum fluorescence intensity of 2 μM β2-tubulin 47, 50, and 25%, respectively, at saturation of compound-tubulin complexes. Furthermore, carbendazim significantly inhibited the polymerization of α1-/β2-tubulins and α2-/β2-tubulins 90.9 ± 0.4 and 93.5 ± 0.05%, respectively, in vitro. A similar result appeared with benomyl on the polymerization of α1-/β2-tubulins and α2-/β2-tubulins at 89.9 ± 0.1% and 92.6 ± 1.2% inhibition ratios, respectively. In addition, thiabendazole inhibited 81.6 ± 1% polymerization of α1-/β2-tubulins, whereas it had less effect on α2-/β2-tubulin polymerization, with 20.1 ± 1.9% inhibition ratio. However, the three compounds cannot destabilize the polymerized microtubule. To illuminate the issue, mapping the carbendazim binding sites and β/α subunit interface on β/α-tubulin complexes by homology modeling showed that the two domains were closed to each other. Understanding the nature of the interaction between benzimidazole compounds and F. graminearum tubulin is fundamental for the development of tubulin-specific anti-F. graminearum compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yujun Zhou
- All authors: College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Key Laboratory of Monitoring and Management of Crop Diseases and Pest Insects, Ministry of Agriculture, Nanjing, China; and second author: College of Forestry, Henan University of Science and Technology, Tianjing Rd No 70, 471003, Luoyang, People's Republic of China
| | - Jianqiang Xu
- All authors: College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Key Laboratory of Monitoring and Management of Crop Diseases and Pest Insects, Ministry of Agriculture, Nanjing, China; and second author: College of Forestry, Henan University of Science and Technology, Tianjing Rd No 70, 471003, Luoyang, People's Republic of China
| | - Yuanye Zhu
- All authors: College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Key Laboratory of Monitoring and Management of Crop Diseases and Pest Insects, Ministry of Agriculture, Nanjing, China; and second author: College of Forestry, Henan University of Science and Technology, Tianjing Rd No 70, 471003, Luoyang, People's Republic of China
| | - Yabing Duan
- All authors: College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Key Laboratory of Monitoring and Management of Crop Diseases and Pest Insects, Ministry of Agriculture, Nanjing, China; and second author: College of Forestry, Henan University of Science and Technology, Tianjing Rd No 70, 471003, Luoyang, People's Republic of China
| | - Mingguo Zhou
- All authors: College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Key Laboratory of Monitoring and Management of Crop Diseases and Pest Insects, Ministry of Agriculture, Nanjing, China; and second author: College of Forestry, Henan University of Science and Technology, Tianjing Rd No 70, 471003, Luoyang, People's Republic of China
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Kudo Y, Abe A, Ito K, Cho Y, Yotsu-Yamashita M, Konoki K. Expression of recombinant alpha and beta tubulins from the yew Taxus cuspidata and analysis of the microtubule assembly in the presence of taxol. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem 2014; 78:1887-94. [PMID: 25070196 DOI: 10.1080/09168451.2014.940837] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Taxol was originally isolated from the yew Taxus brevifolia. Because taxol inhibits the depolymerization of microtubules, the presence of a self-resistance mechanism in Taxus spp. was hypothesized. The cloning of the cDNA for alpha and beta tubulins from Taxus cuspidata and those from the human embryonic kidney cell line HEK293T revealed that the (26)Asp, (359)Arg, and (361)Leu residues in the human beta tubulin, which are important for taxol binding, were replaced with Glu, Trp, and Met in the beta tubulin of T. cuspidata, respectively. The microtubule assembly of the recombinant alpha and beta tubulins was monitored turbidimetrically, and the results clearly demonstrated that the microtubule from T. cuspidata is less sensitive to taxol than that from HEK293T cells. The Taxus microtubule composed of the wild-type alpha tubulin and the beta tubulin with the E26D mutation restored the sensitivity to taxol. We thus postulated that the mutation identified in the beta tubulin of T. cuspidata plays a role in the self-resistance of this species against taxol.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuma Kudo
- a Graduate School of Agricultural Science , Tohoku University , Sendai , Japan
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Breviario D, Gianì S, Morello L. Multiple tubulins: evolutionary aspects and biological implications. THE PLANT JOURNAL : FOR CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2013; 75:202-18. [PMID: 23662651 DOI: 10.1111/tpj.12243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2012] [Revised: 05/03/2013] [Accepted: 05/09/2013] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Plant tubulin is a dimeric protein that contributes to formation of microtubules, major intracellular structures that are involved in the control of fundamental processes such as cell division, polarity of growth, cell-wall deposition, intracellular trafficking and communications. Because it is a structural protein whose function is confined to the role of microtubule formation, tubulin may be perceived as an uninteresting gene product, but such a perception is incorrect. In fact, tubulin represents a key molecule for studying fundamental biological issues such as (i) microtubule evolution (also with reference to prokaryotic precursors and the formation of cytomotive filaments), (ii) protein structure with reference to the various biochemical features of members of the FstZ/tubulin superfamily, (iii) isoform variations contributed by the existence of multi-gene families and various kinds of post-translational modifications, (iv) anti-mitotic drug interactions and mode of action, (v) plant and cell symmetry, as determined using a series of tubulin mutants, (vi) multiple and sophisticated mechanisms of gene regulation, and (vii) intron molecular evolution. In this review, we present and discuss many of these issues, and offer an updated interpretation of the multi-tubulin hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego Breviario
- Istituto Biologia e Biotecnologia Agraria, Via Bassini 15, 20133 Milano, Italy.
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Abstract
Faithful transmission of genetic material is essential for the survival of all organisms. Eukaryotic chromosome segregation is driven by the kinetochore that assembles onto centromeric DNA to capture spindle microtubules and govern the movement of chromosomes. Its molecular mechanism has been actively studied in conventional model eukaryotes, such as yeasts, worms, flies and human. However, these organisms are closely related in the evolutionary time scale and it therefore remains unclear whether all eukaryotes use a similar mechanism. The evolutionary origins of the segregation apparatus also remain enigmatic. To gain insights into these questions, it is critical to perform comparative studies. Here, we review our current understanding of the mitotic mechanism in Trypanosoma brucei, an experimentally tractable kinetoplastid parasite that branched early in eukaryotic history. No canonical kinetochore component has been identified, and the design principle of kinetochores might be fundamentally different in kinetoplastids. Furthermore, these organisms do not appear to possess a functional spindle checkpoint that monitors kinetochore-microtubule attachments. With these unique features and the long evolutionary distance from other eukaryotes, understanding the mechanism of chromosome segregation in T. brucei should reveal fundamental requirements for the eukaryotic segregation machinery, and may also provide hints about the origin and evolution of the segregation apparatus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bungo Akiyoshi
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3RE, UK
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Dempsey E, Prudêncio M, Fennell BJ, Gomes-Santos CS, Barlow JW, Bell A. Antimitotic herbicides bind to an unidentified site on malarial parasite tubulin and block development of liver-stage Plasmodium parasites. Mol Biochem Parasitol 2013; 188:116-27. [PMID: 23523992 DOI: 10.1016/j.molbiopara.2013.03.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2012] [Revised: 03/07/2013] [Accepted: 03/14/2013] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Malarial parasites are exquisitely susceptible to a number of microtubule inhibitors but most of these compounds also affect human microtubules. Herbicides of the dinitroaniline and phosphorothioamidate classes however affect some plant and protozoal cells but not mammalian ones. We have previously shown that these herbicides block schizogony in erythrocytic parasites of the most lethal human malaria, Plasmodium falciparum, disrupt their mitotic spindles, and bind selectively to parasite tubulin. Here we show for the first time that the antimitotic herbicides also block the development of malarial parasites in the liver stage. Structure-based design of novel antimalarial agents binding to tubulin at the herbicide site, which presumably exists on (some) parasite and plant tubulins but not mammalian ones, can therefore constitute an important transmission blocking approach. The nature of this binding site is controversial, with three overlapping but non-identical locations on α-tubulin proposed in the literature. We tested the validity of the three sites by (i) using site-directed mutagenesis to introduce six amino acid changes designed to occlude them, (ii) producing the resulting tubulins recombinantly in Escherichia coli and (iii) measuring the affinity of the herbicides amiprophosmethyl and oryzalin for these proteins in comparison with wild-type tubulins by fluorescence quenching. The changes had little or no effect, with dissociation constants (Kd) no more than 1.3-fold (amiprophosmethyl) or 1.6-fold (oryzalin) higher than wild-type. We conclude that the herbicides impair Plasmodium liver stage as well as blood stage development but that the location of their binding site on malarial parasite tubulin remains to be proven.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enda Dempsey
- Department of Microbiology, School of Genetics & Microbiology, Moyne Institute of Preventive Medicine, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
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Hashim S, Jan A, Sunohara Y, Hachinohe M, Ohdan H, Matsumoto H. Mutation of alpha-tubulin genes in trifluralin-resistant water foxtail (Alopecurus aequalis). PEST MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 2012; 68:422-9. [PMID: 21972152 DOI: 10.1002/ps.2284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2011] [Revised: 08/08/2011] [Accepted: 08/08/2011] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Trifluralin-resistant biotypes of water foxtail (Alopecurus aequalis) have been identified in wheat fields from northern Kyushu, Japan. Water foxtail is a winter-annual grassy weed, causing substantial crop losses. This study reports on mutation in α-tubulin (TUA) genes from water foxtail, the site of action of trifluralin. RESULTS Two trifluralin-sensitive (S) Chikugo and Ukiha biotypes and four trifluralin-resistant (R) Asakura-1, Asakura-2, Tamana and Tosu biotypes of water foxtail were used for herbicide resistance analysis. R biotypes showed 5.7-30.7-fold trifluralin resistance compared with the S biotypes. No differences in the uptake and translocation of (14)C-trifluralin were observed between Chikugo (S) biotype and Asakura-1 (R) biotype. Most of the (14)C detected in the plant material was in the root tissue, and no substantial increases were noted in shoot tissues. Comparative TUA sequence analysis revealed two independent single amino acid changes: change of Val into Phe at position 202 in TUA1 and change of Leu into Met at position 125 in TUA3 in Asakura-1 biotype. In the Tamana (R) biotype, two amino acid changes of Leu to Phe at position 136 and Val to Phe at position 202 were observed in the predicted amino acid sequence of TUA1, compared with Chikugo (S) biotype. CONCLUSION The results provide preliminary molecular explanation for the resistance of water foxtail to trifluralin, a phenomenon that has arisen as a result of repeated exposure to this class of herbicide. This is the first report of α-tubulin mutation in water foxtail and for any Alopecurus species reported in the literature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saima Hashim
- Doctoral Program in Life Sciences and Bioengineering, Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
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Chatterji BP, Jindal B, Srivastava S, Panda D. Microtubules as antifungal and antiparasitic drug targets. Expert Opin Ther Pat 2011; 21:167-86. [PMID: 21204724 DOI: 10.1517/13543776.2011.545349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Diseases caused by fungi and parasites are major illnesses in humans as well as in animals. Microtubule-targeted drugs are highly effective for the treatment of fungal and parasitic infections; however, several human parasitic infections such as malaria, trypanosomiasis and leishmaniasis do not have effective remedial drugs. In addition, the emergence of drug-resistant fungi and parasites makes the discovery of new drugs imperative. AREAS COVERED This article describes similarities and dissimilarities between parasitic, fungal and mammalian tubulins and focuses on microtubule-targeting agents and therapeutic approaches for the treatment of fungal and parasitic diseases. New microtubule-targeted antileishmanial, antimalarial and antifungal drugs, with structures, biological activities and related patents, are described. The potential of dsRNA against tubulin to inhibit proliferation of protozoan and helminthic parasites is also discussed. Patent documents up to 2010 have been searched on USPTO, Patentscope, and Espacenet resources. EXPERT OPINION The article suggests that vaccination with tubulin may offer novel opportunities for the antiparasitic treatment. Native or recombinant tubulin used as antigen has been shown to elicit immune response and cure infection partially or fully in animals upon challenge by protozoan parasites and helminths, thus indicating the suitability of tubulin as a vaccine against parasitic diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Biswa Prasun Chatterji
- Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Powai, Mumbai-400076, India
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Jacobs RT, Nare B, Phillips MA. State of the art in African trypanosome drug discovery. Curr Top Med Chem 2011; 11:1255-74. [PMID: 21401507 PMCID: PMC3101707 DOI: 10.2174/156802611795429167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 104] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2010] [Accepted: 11/25/2010] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
African sleeping sickness is endemic in sub-Saharan Africa where the WHO estimates that 60 million people are at risk for the disease. Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) is 100% fatal if untreated and the current drug therapies have significant limitations due to toxicity and difficult treatment regimes. No new chemical agents have been approved since eflornithine in 1990. The pentamidine analog DB289, which was in late stage clinical trials for the treatment of early stage HAT recently failed due to toxicity issues. A new protocol for the treatment of late-stage T. brucei gambiense that uses combination nifurtomox/eflornithine (NECT) was recently shown to have better safety and efficacy than eflornithine alone, while being easier to administer. This breakthrough represents the only new therapy for HAT since the approval of eflornithine. A number of research programs are on going to exploit the unusual biochemical pathways in the parasite to identify new targets for target based drug discovery programs. HTS efforts are also underway to discover new chemical entities through whole organism screening approaches. A number of inhibitors with anti-trypanosomal activity have been identified by both approaches, but none of the programs are yet at the stage of identifying a preclinical candidate. This dire situation underscores the need for continued effort to identify new chemical agents for the treatment of HAT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert T. Jacobs
- SCYNEXIS, Inc., Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709-2878
| | - Bakela Nare
- SCYNEXIS, Inc., Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709-2878
| | - Margaret A. Phillips
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, 6001 Forest Park Rd, Dallas, Texas 75390-9041
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