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Guo X, Ji N, Guo Q, Wang M, Du H, Pan J, Xiao L, Gupta N, Feng Y, Xia N. Metabolic plasticity, essentiality and therapeutic potential of ribose-5-phosphate synthesis in Toxoplasma gondii. Nat Commun 2024; 15:2999. [PMID: 38589375 PMCID: PMC11001932 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47097-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2023] [Accepted: 03/11/2024] [Indexed: 04/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Ribose-5-phosphate (R5P) is a precursor for nucleic acid biogenesis; however, the importance and homeostasis of R5P in the intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii remain enigmatic. Here, we show that the cytoplasmic sedoheptulose-1,7-bisphosphatase (SBPase) is dispensable. Still, its co-deletion with transaldolase (TAL) impairs the double mutant's growth and increases 13C-glucose-derived flux into pentose sugars via the transketolase (TKT) enzyme. Deletion of the latter protein affects the parasite's fitness but is not lethal and is correlated with an increased carbon flux via the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway. Further, loss of TKT leads to a decline in 13C incorporation into glycolysis and the TCA cycle, resulting in a decrease in ATP levels and the inability of phosphoribosyl-pyrophosphate synthetase (PRPS) to convert R5P into 5'-phosphoribosyl-pyrophosphate and thereby contribute to the production of AMP and IMP. Likewise, PRPS is essential for the lytic cycle. Not least, we show that RuPE-mediated metabolic compensation is imperative for the survival of the ΔsbpaseΔtal strain. In conclusion, we demonstrate that multiple routes can flexibly supply R5P to enable parasite growth and identify catalysis by TKT and PRPS as critical enzymatic steps. Our work provides novel biological and therapeutic insights into the network design principles of intracellular parasitism in a clinically-relevant pathogen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuefang Guo
- State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
- Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Nuo Ji
- State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
- Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Qinghong Guo
- State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
- Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Mengting Wang
- State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
- Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Huiyu Du
- State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
- Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jiajia Pan
- State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
- Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Lihua Xiao
- State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
- Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Nishith Gupta
- Intracellular Parasite Education and Research Labs (iPEARL), Department of Biological Sciences, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani (BITS-P), Hyderabad, India.
- Department of Molecular Parasitology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Yaoyu Feng
- State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China.
- Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China.
| | - Ningbo Xia
- State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China.
- Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China.
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Samir M. Editorial: Host response to veterinary infectious diseases: role of coding and non-coding RNAs as biomarkers and disease modulators. Front Vet Sci 2023; 10:1275169. [PMID: 37711434 PMCID: PMC10497942 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2023.1275169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2023] [Accepted: 08/14/2023] [Indexed: 09/16/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Mohamed Samir
- The Immunogenetics Group, The Pirbright Institute, Woking, United Kingdom
- Department of Zoonoses, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt
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Xia N, Guo X, Guo Q, Gupta N, Ji N, Shen B, Xiao L, Feng Y. Metabolic flexibilities and vulnerabilities in the pentose phosphate pathway of the zoonotic pathogen Toxoplasma gondii. PLoS Pathog 2022; 18:e1010864. [PMID: 36121870 PMCID: PMC9521846 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010864] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2022] [Revised: 09/29/2022] [Accepted: 09/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Metabolic pathways underpin the growth and virulence of intracellular parasites and are therefore promising antiparasitic targets. The pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) is vital in most organisms, providing a reduced form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) and ribose sugar for nucleotide synthesis; however, it has not yet been studied in Toxoplasma gondii, a widespread intracellular pathogen and a model protozoan organism. Herein, we show that T. gondii has a functional PPP distributed in the cytoplasm and nucleus of its acutely-infectious tachyzoite stage. We produced eight parasite mutants disrupting seven enzymes of the PPP in T. gondii. Our data show that of the seven PPP proteins, the two glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenases (TgG6PDH1, TgG6PDH2), one of the two 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenases (Tg6PGDH1), ribulose-5-phosphate epimerase (TgRuPE) and transaldolase (TgTAL) are dispensable in vitro as well as in vivo, disclosing substantial metabolic plasticity in T. gondii. Among these, TgG6PDH2 plays a vital role in defense against oxidative stress by the pathogen. Further, we show that Tg6PGDH2 and ribulose-5-phosphate isomerase (TgRPI) are critical for tachyzoite growth. The depletion of TgRPI impairs the flux of glucose in central carbon pathways, and causes decreased expression of ribosomal, microneme and rhoptry proteins. In summary, our results demonstrate the physiological need of the PPP in T. gondii while unraveling metabolic flexibility and antiparasitic targets. Metabolic pathways are intimately associated with the survival and replication of parasitic Toxoplasma gondii and thus represent potential targets for antiparasitic strategies. Herein, we focused on the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) in T. gondii and examined its roles in supporting the growth of this ubiquitous pathogen. We found that TgG6PDH1 and TgG6PDH2 were needed to defend oxidative stress but not for pentose synthesis. We revealed that inactivation of the Tg6PGDH2 and TgRPI severely impaired the asexual reproduction of tachyzoites. We also highlighted the remarkable metabolic plasticity in tachyzoites that enables them to acquire some of the PPP intermediates from multiple routes. This study provides significant insights into the carbon metabolism properties of Toxoplasma parasites, opening avenues for targeting this pathway to develop therapeutic interventions against toxoplasmosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ningbo Xia
- Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xuefang Guo
- Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Qinghong Guo
- Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Nishith Gupta
- Department of Biological Sciences, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani (Hyderabad Campus), Hyderabad, India
- Department of Molecular Parasitology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Nuo Ji
- Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Bang Shen
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
- * E-mail: (BS); (LX); (YF)
| | - Lihua Xiao
- Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
- * E-mail: (BS); (LX); (YF)
| | - Yaoyu Feng
- Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
- * E-mail: (BS); (LX); (YF)
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Nie LB, Cong W, He JJ, Zheng WB, Zhu XQ. Global proteomic profiling of multiple organs of cats (Felis catus) and proteome-transcriptome correlation during acute Toxoplasma gondii infection. Infect Dis Poverty 2022; 11:96. [PMID: 36104766 PMCID: PMC9473462 DOI: 10.1186/s40249-022-01022-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2022] [Accepted: 09/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite which can infect almost all warm-blooded animals and humans. Understanding the differential expression of proteins and transcripts associated with T. gondii infection in its definitive host (cat) may improve our knowledge of how the parasite manipulates the molecular microenvironment of its definitive host. The aim of this study was to explore the global proteomic alterations in the major organs of cats during acute T. gondii infection. Methods iTRAQ-based quantitative proteomic profiling was performed on six organs (brain, liver, lung, spleen, heart and small intestine) of cats on day 7 post-infection by cysts of T. gondii PRU strain (Genotype II). Mascot software was used to conduct the student’s t-test. Proteins with P values < 0.05 and fold change > 1.2 or < 0.83 were considered as differentially expressed proteins (DEPs). Results A total of 32,657 proteins were identified in the six organs, including 2556 DEPs; of which 1325 were up-regulated and 1231 were down-regulated. The brain, liver, lung, spleen, heart and small intestine exhibited 125 DEPs, 463 DEPs, 255 DEPs, 283 DEPs, 855 DEPs and 575 DEPs, respectively. Gene Ontology (GO) annotation and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses of all proteins and DEPs in all organs showed that many proteins were enriched in binding, cell part, cell growth and death, signal transduction, translation, sorting and degradation, extracellular matrix remodeling, tryptophan catabolism, and immune system. Correlations between differentially expressed proteins and transcripts were detected in the liver (n = 19), small intestine (n = 17), heart (n = 9), lung (n = 9) and spleen (n = 3). Conclusions The present study identified 2556 DEPs in six cat tissues on day 7 after infection by T. gondii PRU strain, and functional enrichment analyses showed that these DEPs were associated with various cellular and metabolic processes. These findings provide a solid base for further in-depth investigation of the complex proteotranscriptomic reprogramming that mediates the dynamic interplays between T. gondii and the different feline tissues. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40249-022-01022-7.
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DU K, Lu F, Xie C, Ding H, Shen Y, Gao Y, Lu S, Zhuo X. Toxoplasma gondii infection induces cell apoptosis via multiple pathways revealed by transcriptome analysis. J Zhejiang Univ Sci B 2022; 23:315-327. [PMID: 35403386 DOI: 10.1631/jzus.b2100877] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Toxoplasma gondii is a worldwide parasite that can infect almost all kinds of mammals and cause fatal toxoplasmosis in immunocompromised patients. Apoptosis is one of the principal strategies of host cells to clear pathogens and maintain organismal homeostasis, but the mechanism of cell apoptosis induced by T. gondii remains obscure. To explore the apoptosis influenced by T. gondii, Vero cells infected or uninfected with the parasite were subjected to apoptosis detection and subsequent dual RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). Using high-throughput Illumina sequencing and bioinformatics analysis, we found that pro-apoptosis genes such as DNA damage-inducible transcript 3 (DDIT3), growth arrest and DNA damage-inducible α (GADD45A), caspase-3 (CASP3), and high-temperature requirement protease A2 (HtrA2) were upregulated, and anti-apoptosis genes such as poly(adenosine diphosphate (ADP)-ribose) polymerase family member 3 (PARP3), B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), and baculoviral inhibitor of apoptosis protein (IAP) repeat containing 5 (BIRC5) were downregulated. Besides, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor-associated factor 1 (TRAF1), TRAF2, TNF receptor superfamily member 10b (TNFRSF10b), disabled homolog 2 (DAB2)-interacting protein (DAB2IP), and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor type 3 (ITPR3) were enriched in the upstream of TNF, TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress pathways, and TRAIL-receptor 2 (TRAIL-R2) was regarded as an important membrane receptor influenced by T. gondii that had not been previously considered. In conclusion, the T. gondii RH strain could promote and mediate apoptosis through multiple pathways mentioned above in Vero cells. Our findings improve the understanding of the T. gondii infection process through providing new insights into the related cellular apoptosis mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaige DU
- School of Basic Medical Sciences and Forensic Medicine, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou 310053, China.,Shandong Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Jinan 250021, China
| | - Fei Lu
- School of Basic Medical Sciences and Forensic Medicine, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou 310053, China
| | - Chengzuo Xie
- School of Basic Medical Sciences and Forensic Medicine, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou 310053, China
| | - Haojie Ding
- School of Basic Medical Sciences and Forensic Medicine, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou 310053, China
| | - Yu Shen
- School of Basic Medical Sciences and Forensic Medicine, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou 310053, China
| | - Yafan Gao
- School of Basic Medical Sciences and Forensic Medicine, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou 310053, China
| | - Shaohong Lu
- School of Basic Medical Sciences and Forensic Medicine, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou 310053, China.
| | - Xunhui Zhuo
- School of Basic Medical Sciences and Forensic Medicine, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou 310053, China.
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Early Immune Initiation by Porcine Cells following Toxoplasma gondii Infection versus TLR Ligation. Microorganisms 2021; 9:microorganisms9091828. [PMID: 34576723 PMCID: PMC8471494 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms9091828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2021] [Revised: 08/18/2021] [Accepted: 08/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Containment of acute Toxoplasma gondii infection is dependent on an efficient interferon gamma response. However, the earliest steps of immune response initiation immediately following exposure to the parasite have not been previously characterized in pigs. Murine and human myeloid cells produce large quantities of interleukin (IL)-12 during early T. gondii infection. We therefore examined IL-12 expression by porcine peripheral blood monocytes and dendritic cell (DC) subsets following toll-like receptor (TLR) ligation and controlled T. gondii tachyzoite infection. We detected IL-12p40 expression by porcine plasmacytoid DC, but not conventional or monocyte-derived DC following TLR ligation. Unexpectedly, we also observed considerable IL-12p40 production by porcine CD3- NKp46+ cells-a classical natural killer cell phenotype-following TLR ligation. However, in response to T. gondii exposure, no IL-12 production was observed by either DC or CD3- NKp46+ cells. Despite this, IL-18 production by DC-enriched peripheral blood mononuclear cells was detected following live T. gondii tachyzoite exposure. Only combined stimulation of porcine peripheral blood mononuclear cells with recombinant IL-12p70 and IL-18 induced innate interferon gamma production by natural killer cells, while T cells and myeloid cells did not respond. Therefore, porcine CD3- NKp46+ cells serve as important IL-12 producers following TLR ligation, while IL-18 likely plays a prominent role in early immune response initiation in the pig following T. gondii infection.
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