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Woellner-Santos D, Tahira AC, Malvezzi JVM, Mesel V, Morales-Vicente DA, Trentini MM, Marques-Neto LM, Matos IA, Kanno AI, Pereira ASA, Teixeira AAR, Giordano RJ, Leite LCC, Pereira CAB, DeMarco R, Amaral MS, Verjovski-Almeida S. Schistosoma mansoni vaccine candidates identified by unbiased phage display screening in self-cured rhesus macaques. NPJ Vaccines 2024; 9:5. [PMID: 38177171 PMCID: PMC10767053 DOI: 10.1038/s41541-023-00803-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Schistosomiasis, a challenging neglected tropical disease, affects millions of people worldwide. Developing a prophylactic vaccine against Schistosoma mansoni has been hindered by the parasite's biological complexity. In this study, we utilized the innovative phage-display immunoprecipitation followed by a sequencing approach (PhIP-Seq) to screen the immune response of 10 infected rhesus macaques during self-cure and challenge-resistant phases, identifying vaccine candidates. Our high-throughput S. mansoni synthetic DNA phage-display library encoded 99.6% of 119,747 58-mer peptides, providing comprehensive coverage of the parasite's proteome. Library screening with rhesus macaques' antibodies, from the early phase of establishment of parasite infection, identified significantly enriched epitopes of parasite extracellular proteins known to be expressed in the digestive tract, shifting towards intracellular proteins during the late phase of parasite clearance. Immunization of mice with a selected pool of PhIP-Seq-enriched phage-displayed peptides from MEG proteins, cathepsins B, and asparaginyl endopeptidase significantly reduced worm burden in a vaccination assay. These findings enhance our understanding of parasite-host immune responses and provide promising prospects for developing an effective schistosomiasis vaccine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daisy Woellner-Santos
- Laboratório de Ciclo Celular, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
- Instituto de Química, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Ana C Tahira
- Laboratório de Ciclo Celular, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - João V M Malvezzi
- Laboratório de Ciclo Celular, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
- Instituto de Matemática e Estatística, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Vinicius Mesel
- Laboratório de Ciclo Celular, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - David A Morales-Vicente
- Laboratório de Ciclo Celular, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
- Instituto de Química, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Monalisa M Trentini
- Laboratório de Desenvolvimento de Vacinas, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Lázaro M Marques-Neto
- Laboratório de Desenvolvimento de Vacinas, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Isaac A Matos
- Instituto de Química, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Alex I Kanno
- Laboratório de Desenvolvimento de Vacinas, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Adriana S A Pereira
- Laboratório de Ciclo Celular, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
- Instituto de Química, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - André A R Teixeira
- Instituto de Química, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
- Institute for Protein Innovation, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Luciana C C Leite
- Laboratório de Desenvolvimento de Vacinas, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Carlos A B Pereira
- Instituto de Matemática e Estatística, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Ricardo DeMarco
- Instituto de Física de São Carlos, Universidade de São Paulo, São Carlos, SP, Brazil
| | - Murilo S Amaral
- Laboratório de Ciclo Celular, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Sergio Verjovski-Almeida
- Laboratório de Ciclo Celular, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
- Instituto de Química, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
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2
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Rinaldi G, Paz Meseguer C, Cantacessi C, Cortés A. Form and Function in the Digenea, with an Emphasis on Host-Parasite and Parasite-Bacteria Interactions. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 2024; 1454:3-45. [PMID: 39008262 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-60121-7_1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/16/2024]
Abstract
This review covers the general aspects of the anatomy and physiology of the major body systems in digenetic trematodes, with an emphasis on new knowledge of the area acquired since the publication of the second edition of this book in 2019. In addition to reporting on key recent advances in the morphology and physiology of tegumentary, sensory, neuromuscular, digestive, excretory, and reproductive systems, and their roles in host-parasite interactions, this edition includes a section discussing the known and putative roles of bacteria in digenean biology and physiology. Furthermore, a brief discussion of current trends in the development of novel treatment and control strategies based on a better understanding of the trematode body systems and associated bacteria is provided.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel Rinaldi
- Department of Life Sciences, Edward Llwyd Building, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, UK
| | - Carla Paz Meseguer
- Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology and Parasitology, School of Pharmacy and Food Sciences, Universitat de València, Valencia, Spain
| | - Cinzia Cantacessi
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Alba Cortés
- Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology and Parasitology, School of Pharmacy and Food Sciences, Universitat de València, Valencia, Spain.
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Nedvědová Š, De Stefano D, Walker O, Hologne M, Miele AE. Revisiting Schistosoma mansoni Micro-Exon Gene (MEG) Protein Family: A Tour into Conserved Motifs and Annotation. Biomolecules 2023; 13:1275. [PMID: 37759676 PMCID: PMC10526429 DOI: 10.3390/biom13091275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2023] [Revised: 08/15/2023] [Accepted: 08/18/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Genome sequencing of the human parasite Schistosoma mansoni revealed an interesting gene superfamily, called micro-exon gene (meg), that encodes secreted MEG proteins. The genes are composed of short exons (3-81 base pairs) regularly interspersed with long introns (up to 5 kbp). This article recollects 35 S. mansoni specific meg genes that are distributed over 7 autosomes and one pair of sex chromosomes and that code for at least 87 verified MEG proteins. We used various bioinformatics tools to produce an optimal alignment and propose a phylogenetic analysis. This work highlighted intriguing conserved patterns/motifs in the sequences of the highly variable MEG proteins. Based on the analyses, we were able to classify the verified MEG proteins into two subfamilies and to hypothesize their duplication and colonization of all the chromosomes. Together with motif identification, we also proposed to revisit MEGs' common names and annotation in order to avoid duplication, to help the reproducibility of research results and to avoid possible misunderstandings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Štěpánka Nedvědová
- UMR 5280 Institute of Analytical Sciences, Université de Lyon, CNRS, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 69100 Villeurbanne, France; (Š.N.); (O.W.); (M.H.)
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences, 16500 Prague, Czech Republic
- Department of Zoology and Fisheries, Center of Infectious Animal Diseases, Czech University of Life Sciences, 16500 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Davide De Stefano
- UMR 5280 Institute of Analytical Sciences, Université de Lyon, CNRS, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 69100 Villeurbanne, France; (Š.N.); (O.W.); (M.H.)
| | - Olivier Walker
- UMR 5280 Institute of Analytical Sciences, Université de Lyon, CNRS, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 69100 Villeurbanne, France; (Š.N.); (O.W.); (M.H.)
| | - Maggy Hologne
- UMR 5280 Institute of Analytical Sciences, Université de Lyon, CNRS, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 69100 Villeurbanne, France; (Š.N.); (O.W.); (M.H.)
| | - Adriana Erica Miele
- UMR 5280 Institute of Analytical Sciences, Université de Lyon, CNRS, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 69100 Villeurbanne, France; (Š.N.); (O.W.); (M.H.)
- Department of Biochemical Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
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Nedvedova S, Guillière F, Miele AE, Cantrelle FX, Dvorak J, Walker O, Hologne M. Divide, conquer and reconstruct: How to solve the 3D structure of recalcitrant Micro-Exon Gene (MEG) protein from Schistosoma mansoni. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0289444. [PMID: 37535563 PMCID: PMC10399815 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0289444] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2023] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 08/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Micro-Exon Genes are a widespread class of genes known for their high variability, widespread in the genome of parasitic trematodes such as Schistosoma mansoni. In this study, we present a strategy that allowed us to solve the structures of three alternatively spliced isoforms from the Schistoma mansoni MEG 2.1 family for the first time. All isoforms are hydrophobic, intrinsically disordered, and recalcitrant to be expressed in high yield in heterologous hosts. We resorted to the chemical synthesis of shorter pieces, before reconstructing the entire sequence. Here, we show that isoform 1 partially folds in a-helix in the presence of trifluoroethanol while isoform 2 features two rigid elbows, that maintain the peptide as disordered, preventing any structuring. Finally, isoform 3 is dominated by the signal peptide, which folds into a-helix. We demonstrated that combining biophysical techniques, like circular dichroism and nuclear magnetic resonance at natural abundance, with in silico molecular dynamics simulation for isoform 1 only, was the key to solve the structure of MEG 2.1. Our results provide a crucial piece to the puzzle of this elusive and highly variable class of proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stepanka Nedvedova
- Université de Lyon, CNRS, UCB Lyon1, Institut des Sciences Analytiques, UMR5280, 5 rue de la Doua, Villeurbanne, France
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
- Department of Zoology and Fisheries, Center of Infectious Animal Diseases, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Florence Guillière
- Université de Lyon, CNRS, UCB Lyon1, Institut des Sciences Analytiques, UMR5280, 5 rue de la Doua, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Adriana Erica Miele
- Université de Lyon, CNRS, UCB Lyon1, Institut des Sciences Analytiques, UMR5280, 5 rue de la Doua, Villeurbanne, France
- Department of Biochemical Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - François-Xavier Cantrelle
- Université de Lille, CNRS, UMR8576 -UGSF-Unité de Glycobiologie Structurale et Fonctionnelle, Lille, France
| | - Jan Dvorak
- Department of Zoology and Fisheries, Center of Infectious Animal Diseases, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia
- Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Center of Infectious Animal Diseases, Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Olivier Walker
- Université de Lyon, CNRS, UCB Lyon1, Institut des Sciences Analytiques, UMR5280, 5 rue de la Doua, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Maggy Hologne
- Université de Lyon, CNRS, UCB Lyon1, Institut des Sciences Analytiques, UMR5280, 5 rue de la Doua, Villeurbanne, France
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Basso LGM, Zeraik AE, Felizatti AP, Costa-Filho AJ. Membranotropic and biological activities of the membrane fusion peptides from SARS-CoV spike glycoprotein: The importance of the complete internal fusion peptide domain. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA. BIOMEMBRANES 2021; 1863:183697. [PMID: 34274319 PMCID: PMC8280623 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbamem.2021.183697] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2021] [Revised: 07/05/2021] [Accepted: 07/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Fusion peptides (FP) are prominent hydrophobic segments of viral fusion proteins that play critical roles in viral entry. FPs interact with and insert into the host lipid membranes, triggering conformational changes in the viral protein that leads to the viral-cell fusion. Multiple membrane-active domains from the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus (CoV) spike protein have been reported to act as the functional fusion peptide such as the peptide sequence located between the S1/S2 and S2' cleavage sites (FP1), the S2'-adjacent fusion peptide domain (FP2), and the internal FP sequence (cIFP). Using a combined biophysical approach, we demonstrated that the α-helical coiled-coil-forming internal cIFP displayed the highest membrane fusion and permeabilizing activities along with membrane ordering effect in phosphatidylcholine (PC)/phosphatidylglycerol (PG) unilamellar vesicles compared to the other two N-proximal fusion peptide counterparts. While the FP1 sequence displayed intermediate membranotropic activities, the well-conserved FP2 peptide was substantially less effective in promoting fusion, leakage, and membrane ordering in PC/PG model membranes. Furthermore, Ca2+ did not enhance the FP2-induced lipid mixing activity in PC/phosphatidylserine/cholesterol lipid membranes, despite its strong erythrocyte membrane perturbation. Nonetheless, we found that the three putative SARS-CoV membrane-active fusion peptide sequences here studied altered the physical properties of model and erythrocyte membranes to different extents. The importance of the distinct membranotropic and biological activities of all SARS-CoV fusion peptide domains and the pronounced effect of the internal fusion peptide sequence to the whole spike-mediated membrane fusion process are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Guilherme Mansor Basso
- Laboratório de Ciências Físicas, Centro de Ciência e Tecnologia, Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro, Avenida Alberto Lamego, 2000, 28013-602 Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ, Brazil; Laboratório de Biofísica Molecular, Departamento de Física, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida Bandeirantes, 3900, 14040-901 Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil.
| | - Ana Eliza Zeraik
- Laboratório de Química e Função de Proteínas e Peptídeos, Centro de Biociências e Biotecnologia, Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro, Avenida Alberto Lamego, 2000, 28013-602 Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ, Brazil; Grupo de Biofísica e Biologia Estrutural "Sérgio Mascarenhas", Instituto de Física de São Carlos, Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida Trabalhador São-carlense, 400, Centro, São Carlos, SP, Brazil
| | - Ana Paula Felizatti
- Laboratório de Produtos Naturais, Departamento de Química, Centro de Ciências Exatas e de Tecnologia, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, Rod. Washington Luiz, Km 235, Monjolinho, 13565905, São Carlos, SP, Brazil; Grupo de Biofísica e Biologia Estrutural "Sérgio Mascarenhas", Instituto de Física de São Carlos, Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida Trabalhador São-carlense, 400, Centro, São Carlos, SP, Brazil
| | - Antonio José Costa-Filho
- Laboratório de Biofísica Molecular, Departamento de Física, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida Bandeirantes, 3900, 14040-901 Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil.
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Schistosoma mansoni alter transcription of immunomodulatory gene products following in vivo praziquantel exposure. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2021; 15:e0009200. [PMID: 33657133 PMCID: PMC7959349 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0009200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2020] [Revised: 03/15/2021] [Accepted: 02/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Control of the neglected tropical disease schistosomiasis relies almost entirely on praziquantel (PZQ) monotherapy. How PZQ clears parasite infections remains poorly understood. Many studies have examined the effects of PZQ on worms cultured in vitro, observing outcomes such as muscle contraction. However, conditions worms are exposed to in vivo may vary considerably from in vitro experiments given the short half-life of PZQ and the importance of host immune system engagement for drug efficacy in animal models. Here, we investigated the effects of in vivo PZQ exposure on Schistosoma mansoni. Measurement of pro-apoptotic caspase activation revealed that worm death occurs only after parasites shift from the mesenteric vasculature to the liver, peaking 24 hours after drug treatment. This indicates that PZQ is not directly schistocidal, since PZQ’s half-life is ~2 hours in humans and ~30 minutes in mice, and focuses attention on parasite interactions with the host immune system following the shift of worms to the liver. RNA-Seq of worms harvested from mouse livers following sub-lethal PZQ treatment revealed drug-evoked changes in the expression of putative immunomodulatory and anticoagulant gene products. Several of these gene products localized to the schistosome esophagus and may be secreted into the host circulation. These include several Kunitz-type protease inhibitors, which are also found in the secretomes of other blood feeding animals. These transcriptional changes may reflect mechanisms of parasite immune-evasion in response to chemotherapy, given the role of complement-mediated attack and the host innate/humoral immune response in parasite elimination. One of these isoforms, SmKI-1, has been shown to exhibit immunomodulatory and anti-coagulant properties. These data provide insight into the effect of in vivo PZQ exposure on S. mansoni, and the transcriptional response of parasites to the stress of chemotherapy. The disease schistosomiasis is caused by parasitic worms that live within the circulatory system. While this disease infects over 200 million people worldwide, treatment relies almost entirely on one drug, praziquantel, whose mechanism is poorly understood. In this study, we analyzed the effects of praziquantel treatment on the gene expression of parasites harvested from mice treated with praziquantel chemotherapy. Despite the rapid action of the drug on worms in vitro, we found that key outcomes in vivo (measurement of cell death and changes in gene expression) occurred relatively late (12+ hours after drug administration). We found that worms increased the expression of immunomodulatory gene products in response to praziquantel, including a Kunitz-type protease inhibitor that localized to the worm esophagus and may be secreted to the external host environment. These are an intriguing class of proteins, because they display anti-coagulant and immunomodulatory properties. Up-regulation of these gene products may reflect a parasite mechanism of immune-evasion in response to chemotherapy. This research provides insight into the mechanism of praziquantel by observing the effect of this drug on worms within the context of the host immune system.
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