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Dans MG, Boulet C, Watson GM, Nguyen W, Dziekan JM, Evelyn C, Reaksudsan K, Mehra S, Razook Z, Geoghegan ND, Mlodzianoski MJ, Goodman CD, Ling DB, Jonsdottir TK, Tong J, Famodimu MT, Kristan M, Pollard H, Stewart LB, Brandner-Garrod L, Sutherland CJ, Delves MJ, McFadden GI, Barry AE, Crabb BS, de Koning-Ward TF, Rogers KL, Cowman AF, Tham WH, Sleebs BE, Gilson PR. Aryl amino acetamides prevent Plasmodium falciparum ring development via targeting the lipid-transfer protein PfSTART1. Nat Commun 2024; 15:5219. [PMID: 38890312 PMCID: PMC11189555 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49491-8] [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: 12/13/2023] [Accepted: 06/06/2024] [Indexed: 06/20/2024] Open
Abstract
With resistance to most antimalarials increasing, it is imperative that new drugs are developed. We previously identified an aryl acetamide compound, MMV006833 (M-833), that inhibited the ring-stage development of newly invaded merozoites. Here, we select parasites resistant to M-833 and identify mutations in the START lipid transfer protein (PF3D7_0104200, PfSTART1). Introducing PfSTART1 mutations into wildtype parasites reproduces resistance to M-833 as well as to more potent analogues. PfSTART1 binding to the analogues is validated using organic solvent-based Proteome Integral Solubility Alteration (Solvent PISA) assays. Imaging of invading merozoites shows the inhibitors prevent the development of ring-stage parasites potentially by inhibiting the expansion of the encasing parasitophorous vacuole membrane. The PfSTART1-targeting compounds also block transmission to mosquitoes and with multiple stages of the parasite's lifecycle being affected, PfSTART1 represents a drug target with a new mechanism of action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madeline G Dans
- Burnet Institute, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia.
- Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia.
- Institute of Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation (IMPACT) and School of Medicine, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, 3220, Australia.
- Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia.
| | - Coralie Boulet
- Burnet Institute, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, 1206, Switzerland
| | - Gabrielle M Watson
- Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia
- Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - William Nguyen
- Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia
- Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - Jerzy M Dziekan
- Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia
- Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - Cindy Evelyn
- Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia
- Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - Kitsanapong Reaksudsan
- Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia
- Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - Somya Mehra
- Burnet Institute, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia
- Institute of Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation (IMPACT) and School of Medicine, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, 3220, Australia
| | - Zahra Razook
- Burnet Institute, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia
- Institute of Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation (IMPACT) and School of Medicine, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, 3220, Australia
| | - Niall D Geoghegan
- Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia
- Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - Michael J Mlodzianoski
- Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia
- Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | | | | | - Thorey K Jonsdottir
- Burnet Institute, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia
- Department of Molecular Biology, Umeå University, Umeå, 901 87, Sweden
- The Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS), Umeå, Sweden
| | - Joshua Tong
- Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia
| | - Mufuliat Toyin Famodimu
- Department of Infection Biology, Faculty of Infectious Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, WC1E 7HT, London, UK
| | - Mojca Kristan
- Wellcome Trust Human Malaria Transmission Facility, Faculty of Infectious & Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Harry Pollard
- Wellcome Trust Human Malaria Transmission Facility, Faculty of Infectious & Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Lindsay B Stewart
- Wellcome Trust Human Malaria Transmission Facility, Faculty of Infectious & Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Luke Brandner-Garrod
- Wellcome Trust Human Malaria Transmission Facility, Faculty of Infectious & Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Colin J Sutherland
- Department of Infection Biology, Faculty of Infectious Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, WC1E 7HT, London, UK
- Wellcome Trust Human Malaria Transmission Facility, Faculty of Infectious & Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Michael J Delves
- Department of Infection Biology, Faculty of Infectious Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, WC1E 7HT, London, UK
| | - Geoffrey I McFadden
- School of Biosciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - Alyssa E Barry
- Burnet Institute, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia
- Institute of Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation (IMPACT) and School of Medicine, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, 3220, Australia
| | - Brendan S Crabb
- Burnet Institute, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia
- Monash University, 3800, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Tania F de Koning-Ward
- Institute of Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation (IMPACT) and School of Medicine, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, 3220, Australia
| | - Kelly L Rogers
- Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia
- Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - Alan F Cowman
- Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia
- Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - Wai-Hong Tham
- Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia
- Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - Brad E Sleebs
- Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia
- Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - Paul R Gilson
- Burnet Institute, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia.
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia.
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2
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Ghosh A, Varshney A, Narwal SK, Nirdosh, Gupta R, Mishra S. The novel Plasmodium berghei protein S14 is essential for sporozoite gliding motility and infectivity. J Cell Sci 2024; 137:jcs261857. [PMID: 38832798 DOI: 10.1242/jcs.261857] [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: 11/30/2023] [Accepted: 05/09/2024] [Indexed: 06/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Plasmodium sporozoites are the infective forms of the malaria parasite in the mosquito and vertebrate host. Gliding motility allows sporozoites to migrate and invade mosquito salivary glands and mammalian hosts. Motility and invasion are powered by an actin-myosin motor complex linked to the glideosome, which contains glideosome-associated proteins (GAPs), MyoA and the myosin A tail-interacting protein (MTIP). However, the role of several proteins involved in gliding motility remains unknown. We identified that the S14 gene is upregulated in sporozoite from transcriptome data of Plasmodium yoelii and further confirmed its transcription in P. berghei sporozoites using real-time PCR. C-terminal 3×HA-mCherry tagging revealed that S14 is expressed and localized on the inner membrane complex of the sporozoites. We disrupted S14 in P. berghei and demonstrated that it is essential for sporozoite gliding motility, and salivary gland and hepatocyte invasion. The gliding and invasion-deficient S14 knockout sporozoites showed normal expression and organization of inner membrane complex and surface proteins. Taken together, our data show that S14 plays a role in the function of the glideosome and is essential for malaria transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ankit Ghosh
- Division of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow 226031, India
| | - Aastha Varshney
- Division of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow 226031, India
| | - Sunil Kumar Narwal
- Division of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow 226031, India
| | - Nirdosh
- Division of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow 226031, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad 201002, India
| | - Roshni Gupta
- Division of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow 226031, India
| | - Satish Mishra
- Division of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow 226031, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad 201002, India
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3
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Jennison C, Armstrong JM, Dankwa DA, Hertoghs N, Kumar S, Abatiyow BA, Naung M, Minkah NK, Swearingen KE, Moritz R, Barry AE, Kappe SHI, Vaughan AM. Plasmodium GPI-anchored micronemal antigen is essential for parasite transmission through the mosquito host. Mol Microbiol 2024; 121:394-412. [PMID: 37314965 PMCID: PMC11076100 DOI: 10.1111/mmi.15078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2022] [Revised: 05/03/2023] [Accepted: 05/08/2023] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Plasmodium parasites, the eukaryotic pathogens that cause malaria, feature three distinct invasive forms tailored to the host environment they must navigate and invade for life cycle progression. One conserved feature of these invasive forms is the micronemes, apically oriented secretory organelles involved in egress, motility, adhesion, and invasion. Here we investigate the role of GPI-anchored micronemal antigen (GAMA), which shows a micronemal localization in all zoite forms of the rodent-infecting species Plasmodium berghei. ∆GAMA parasites are severely defective for invasion of the mosquito midgut. Once formed, oocysts develop normally, however, sporozoites are unable to egress and exhibit defective motility. Epitope-tagging of GAMA revealed tight temporal expression late during sporogony and showed that GAMA is shed during sporozoite gliding motility in a similar manner to circumsporozoite protein. Complementation of P. berghei knockout parasites with full-length P. falciparum GAMA partially restored infectivity to mosquitoes, indicating conservation of function across Plasmodium species. A suite of parasites with GAMA expressed under the promoters of CTRP, CAP380, and TRAP, further confirmed the involvement of GAMA in midgut infection, motility, and vertebrate infection. These data show GAMA's involvement in sporozoite motility, egress, and invasion, implicating GAMA as a regulator of microneme function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlie Jennison
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Washington, Seattle, USA
| | - Janna M. Armstrong
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Washington, Seattle, USA
| | - Dorender A. Dankwa
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Washington, Seattle, USA
| | - Nina Hertoghs
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Washington, Seattle, USA
| | - Sudhir Kumar
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Washington, Seattle, USA
| | - Biley A. Abatiyow
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Washington, Seattle, USA
| | - Myo Naung
- Population Health and Immunity Division, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Victoria, Parkville, Australia
- Department of Medical Biology, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Carlton, Australia
- Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Washington, Seattle, USA
| | - Nana K. Minkah
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Washington, Seattle, USA
| | - Kristian E. Swearingen
- Institute of Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation (IMPACT), School of Medicine, Deakin University, Victoria, Geelong, Australia
| | - Robert Moritz
- Institute of Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation (IMPACT), School of Medicine, Deakin University, Victoria, Geelong, Australia
| | - Alyssa E. Barry
- Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Washington, Seattle, USA
- Institute for Systems Biology, Washington, Seattle, USA
| | - Stefan H. I. Kappe
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Washington, Seattle, USA
- Burnet Institute, Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Washington, Seattle, USA
| | - Ashley M. Vaughan
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Washington, Seattle, USA
- Burnet Institute, Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Washington, Seattle, USA
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4
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Scheiner M, Burda PC, Ingmundson A. Moving on: How malaria parasites exit the liver. Mol Microbiol 2024; 121:328-340. [PMID: 37602900 DOI: 10.1111/mmi.15141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2023] [Revised: 08/03/2023] [Accepted: 08/04/2023] [Indexed: 08/22/2023]
Abstract
An essential step in the life cycle of malaria parasites is their egress from hepatocytes, which enables the transition from the asymptomatic liver stage to the pathogenic blood stage of infection. To exit the liver, Plasmodium parasites first disrupt the parasitophorous vacuole membrane that surrounds them during their intracellular replication. Subsequently, parasite-filled structures called merosomes emerge from the infected cell. Shrouded by host plasma membrane, like in a Trojan horse, parasites enter the vasculature undetected by the host immune system and travel to the lung where merosomes rupture, parasites are released, and the blood infection stage begins. This complex, multi-step process must be carefully orchestrated by the parasite and requires extensive manipulation of the infected host cell. This review aims to outline the known signaling pathways that trigger exit, highlight Plasmodium proteins that contribute to the release of liver-stage merozoites, and summarize the accompanying changes to the hepatic host cell.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mattea Scheiner
- Molecular Parasitology, Humboldt University Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Paul-Christian Burda
- Centre for Structural Systems Biology, Hamburg, Germany
- Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany
- University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
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5
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Segbefia SP, Asandem DA, Amoah LE, Kusi KA. Cytokine gene polymorphisms implicated in the pathogenesis of Plasmodium falciparum infection outcome. Front Immunol 2024; 15:1285411. [PMID: 38404582 PMCID: PMC10884311 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1285411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2023] [Accepted: 01/24/2024] [Indexed: 02/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Cytokines play a critical role in the immune mechanisms involved in fighting infections including malaria. Polymorphisms in cytokine genes may affect immune responses during an infection with Plasmodium parasites and immunization outcomes during routine administration of malaria vaccines. These polymorphisms can increase or reduce susceptibility to this deadly infection, and this may affect the physiologically needed balance between anti-inflammatory and pro-inflammatory cytokines. The purpose of this review is to present an overview of the effect of selected cytokine gene polymorphisms on immune responses against malaria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Selorm Philip Segbefia
- Department of Immunology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
- Department of Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine and Dentistry, College of Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana
| | - Diana Asema Asandem
- Department of Virology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
- West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens, Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
| | - Linda Eva Amoah
- Department of Immunology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
- West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens, Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
| | - Kwadwo Asamoah Kusi
- Department of Immunology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
- West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens, Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
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6
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Vigetti L, Tardieux I. Fostering innovation to solve the biomechanics of microbe-host interactions: Focus on the adhesive forces underlying Apicomplexa parasite biology. Biol Cell 2023; 115:e202300016. [PMID: 37227253 DOI: 10.1111/boc.202300016] [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: 02/22/2023] [Revised: 05/19/2023] [Accepted: 05/22/2023] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
The protozoa, Toxoplasma gondii and Plasmodium spp., are preeminent members of the Apicomplexa parasitic phylum in large part due to their public health and economic impact. Hence, they serve as model unicellular eukaryotes with which to explore the repertoire of molecular and cellular strategies that specific developmental morphotypes deploy to timely adjust to their host(s) in order to perpetuate. In particular, host tissue- and cell-invasive morphotypes termed zoites alternate extracellular and intracellular lifestyles, thereby sensing and reacting to a wealth of host-derived biomechanical cues over their partnership. In the recent years, biophysical tools especially related to real time force measurement have been introduced, teaching us how creative are these microbes to shape a unique motility system that powers fast gliding through a variety of extracellular matrices, across cellular barriers, in vascular systems or into host cells. Equally performant was this toolkit to start illuminating how parasites manipulate their hosting cell adhesive and rheological properties to their advantage. In this review, besides highlighting major discoveries along the way, we discuss the most promising development, synergy, and multimodal integration in active noninvasive force microscopy methods. These should in the near future unlock current limitations and allow capturing, from molecules to tissues, the many biomechanical and biophysical interplays over the dynamic host and microbe partnership.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Vigetti
- Team Biomechanics of Host-Parasite Interactions, Institute for Advanced Biosciences, CNRS UMR5309, INSERM U1209, University of Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France
| | - Isabelle Tardieux
- Team Biomechanics of Host-Parasite Interactions, Institute for Advanced Biosciences, CNRS UMR5309, INSERM U1209, University of Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France
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7
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Plasmodium 6-cysteine proteins determine the commitment of sporozoites to liver-infection. Parasitol Int 2023; 93:102700. [PMID: 36403748 DOI: 10.1016/j.parint.2022.102700] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2022] [Revised: 11/11/2022] [Accepted: 11/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Plasmodium sporozoites travel a long way from the site where they are released by a mosquito bite to the liver, where they infect hepatocytes and develop into erythrocyte-invasive forms. The success of this infection depends on the ability of the sporozoites to correctly recognize the hepatocyte as a target and change their behavior from migration to infection. However, how this change is accomplished remains incompletely understood. In this paper, we report that 6-cysteine protein family members expressed in sporozoites including B9 are responsible for this ability. Experiments on parasites using double knockouts of B9 and SPECT2, which is essential for sporozoite to migrate through the hepatocyte, showed that the parasites lacked the capacity to stop migration. This finding suggests that interactions between these parasite proteins and hepatocyte-specific cell surface ligands mediate correct recognition of hepatocytes by sporozoites, which is an essential step in malaria transmission to humans.
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8
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Romano PS, Akematsu T, Besteiro S, Bindschedler A, Carruthers VB, Chahine Z, Coppens I, Descoteaux A, Alberto Duque TL, He CY, Heussler V, Le Roch KG, Li FJ, de Menezes JPB, Menna-Barreto RFS, Mottram JC, Schmuckli-Maurer J, Turk B, Tavares Veras PS, Salassa BN, Vanrell MC. Autophagy in protists and their hosts: When, how and why? AUTOPHAGY REPORTS 2023; 2:2149211. [PMID: 37064813 PMCID: PMC10104450 DOI: 10.1080/27694127.2022.2149211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2022] [Accepted: 11/15/2022] [Indexed: 03/12/2023]
Abstract
Pathogenic protists are a group of organisms responsible for causing a variety of human diseases including malaria, sleeping sickness, Chagas disease, leishmaniasis, and toxoplasmosis, among others. These diseases, which affect more than one billion people globally, mainly the poorest populations, are characterized by severe chronic stages and the lack of effective antiparasitic treatment. Parasitic protists display complex life-cycles and go through different cellular transformations in order to adapt to the different hosts they live in. Autophagy, a highly conserved cellular degradation process, has emerged as a key mechanism required for these differentiation processes, as well as other functions that are crucial to parasite fitness. In contrast to yeasts and mammals, protist autophagy is characterized by a modest number of conserved autophagy-related proteins (ATGs) that, even though, can drive the autophagosome formation and degradation. In addition, during their intracellular cycle, the interaction of these pathogens with the host autophagy system plays a crucial role resulting in a beneficial or harmful effect that is important for the outcome of the infection. In this review, we summarize the current state of knowledge on autophagy and other related mechanisms in pathogenic protists and their hosts. We sought to emphasize when, how, and why this process takes place, and the effects it may have on the parasitic cycle. A better understanding of the significance of autophagy for the protist life-cycle will potentially be helpful to design novel anti-parasitic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia Silvia Romano
- Laboratorio de Biología de Trypanosoma cruzi y de la célula hospedadora. Instituto de Histología y Embriología de Mendoza. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. (IHEM-CONICET-UNCUYO). Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Av. Libertador 80 (5500), Mendoza, Argentina
| | - Takahiko Akematsu
- Department of Biosciences, College of Humanities and Sciences, Nihon University, Tokyo, Japan
| | | | | | - Vern B Carruthers
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Michigan School of Medicine, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Zeinab Chahine
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, University of California Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Isabelle Coppens
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology. Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology. Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute. Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. Baltimore 21205, MD, USA
| | - Albert Descoteaux
- Centre Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie, Institut national de la recherche scientifique, Laval, QC
| | - Thabata Lopes Alberto Duque
- Autophagy Inflammation and Metabolism Center, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, USA; Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Cynthia Y He
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Volker Heussler
- Institute of Cell Biology.University of Bern. Baltzerstr. 4 3012 Bern
| | - Karine G Le Roch
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, University of California Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Feng-Jun Li
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | | | | | - Jeremy C Mottram
- York Biomedical Research Institute, Department of Biology, University of York, York, UK
| | | | - Boris Turk
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular and Structural Biology, Jožef Stefan Institute, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Patricia Sampaio Tavares Veras
- Laboratory of Host-Parasite Interaction and Epidemiology, Gonçalo Moniz Institute, Fiocruz-Bahia
- National Institute of Science and Technology of Tropical Diseases - National Council for Scientific Research and Development (CNPq)
| | - Betiana Nebai Salassa
- Laboratorio de Biología de Trypanosoma cruzi y de la célula hospedadora. Instituto de Histología y Embriología de Mendoza. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. (IHEM-CONICET-UNCUYO). Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Av. Libertador 80 (5500), Mendoza, Argentina
| | - María Cristina Vanrell
- Laboratorio de Biología de Trypanosoma cruzi y de la célula hospedadora. Instituto de Histología y Embriología de Mendoza. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. (IHEM-CONICET-UNCUYO). Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Av. Libertador 80 (5500), Mendoza, Argentina
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9
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Loubens M, Marinach C, Paquereau CE, Hamada S, Hoareau-Coudert B, Akbar D, Franetich JF, Silvie O. The claudin-like apicomplexan microneme protein is required for gliding motility and infectivity of Plasmodium sporozoites. PLoS Pathog 2023; 19:e1011261. [PMID: 36928686 PMCID: PMC10047546 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1011261] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2022] [Revised: 03/28/2023] [Accepted: 03/02/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Invasion of host cells by apicomplexan parasites such as Toxoplasma and Plasmodium spp requires the sequential secretion of the parasite apical organelles, the micronemes and the rhoptries. The claudin-like apicomplexan microneme protein (CLAMP) is a conserved protein that plays an essential role during invasion by Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites and in Plasmodium falciparum asexual blood stages. CLAMP is also expressed in Plasmodium sporozoites, the mosquito-transmitted forms of the malaria parasite, but its role in this stage is still unknown. CLAMP is essential for Plasmodium blood stage growth and is refractory to conventional gene deletion. To circumvent this obstacle and study the function of CLAMP in sporozoites, we used a conditional genome editing strategy based on the dimerisable Cre recombinase in the rodent malaria model parasite P. berghei. We successfully deleted clamp gene in P. berghei transmission stages and analyzed the functional consequences on sporozoite infectivity. In mosquitoes, sporozoite development and egress from oocysts was not affected in conditional mutants. However, invasion of the mosquito salivary glands was dramatically reduced upon deletion of clamp gene. In addition, CLAMP-deficient sporozoites were impaired in cell traversal and productive invasion of mammalian hepatocytes. This severe phenotype was associated with major defects in gliding motility and with reduced shedding of the sporozoite adhesin TRAP. Expansion microscopy revealed partial colocalization of CLAMP and TRAP in a subset of micronemes, and a distinct accumulation of CLAMP at the apical tip of sporozoites. Collectively, these results demonstrate that CLAMP is essential across invasive stages of the malaria parasite, and support a role of the protein upstream of host cell invasion, possibly by regulating the secretion or function of adhesins in Plasmodium sporozoites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manon Loubens
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Centre d’Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses, CIMI-Paris, Paris, France
| | - Carine Marinach
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Centre d’Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses, CIMI-Paris, Paris, France
| | - Clara-Eva Paquereau
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Centre d’Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses, CIMI-Paris, Paris, France
| | - Soumia Hamada
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, UMS PASS, Plateforme Post-génomique de la Pitié Salpêtrière (P3S), Paris, France
| | - Bénédicte Hoareau-Coudert
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, UMS PASS, Plateforme de cytométrie de la Pitié-Salpêtrière (CyPS), Paris, France
| | - David Akbar
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Hôpital de la Pitié Salpêtrière, Paris Brain Institute, ICM Quant Cell imaging Core Facility, Paris, France
| | - Jean-François Franetich
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Centre d’Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses, CIMI-Paris, Paris, France
| | - Olivier Silvie
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Centre d’Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses, CIMI-Paris, Paris, France
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10
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Schepis A, Kumar S, Kappe SHI. Malaria parasites harness Rho GTPase signaling and host cell membrane ruffling for productive invasion of hepatocytes. Cell Rep 2023; 42:111927. [PMID: 36640315 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111927] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2022] [Revised: 09/06/2022] [Accepted: 12/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Plasmodium sporozoites are the motile forms of the malaria parasites that infect hepatocytes. The initial invasion of hepatocytes is thought to be actively driven by sporozoites, but host cell processes might also play a role. Sporozoite invasion triggers a host plasma membrane invagination that forms a vacuole around the intracellular parasite, which is critical for subsequent intracellular parasite replication. Using fast live confocal microscopy, we observed that the initial interactions between sporozoites and hepatocytes induce plasma membrane ruffles and filopodia extensions. Importantly, we find that these host cell processes facilitate invasion and that Rho GTPase signaling, which regulates membrane ruffling and filopodia extension, is critical for productive infection. Interestingly, sporozoite cell traversal stimulates these processes, suggesting that it increases hepatocyte susceptibility to productive infection. Our study identifies host cell signaling events involved in plasma membrane dynamics as a critical host component of successful malaria parasite infection of hepatocytes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonino Schepis
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, 307 Westlake Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Sudhir Kumar
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, 307 Westlake Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Stefan H I Kappe
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, 307 Westlake Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98109, USA; Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98105, USA; Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98105, USA.
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11
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Fernandes P, Loubens M, Marinach C, Coppée R, Baron L, Grand M, Andre TP, Hamada S, Langlois AC, Briquet S, Bun P, Silvie O. Plasmodium sporozoites require the protein B9 to invade hepatocytes. iScience 2023; 26:106056. [PMID: 36761022 PMCID: PMC9906020 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Revised: 11/16/2022] [Accepted: 01/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Plasmodium sporozoites are transmitted to a mammalian host during blood feeding by an infected mosquito and invade hepatocytes for initial replication of the parasite into thousands of erythrocyte-invasive merozoites. Here we report that the B9 protein, a member of the 6-cysteine domain protein family, is secreted from sporozoite micronemes and is required for productive invasion of hepatocytes. The N-terminus of B9 forms a beta-propeller domain structurally related to CyRPA, a cysteine-rich protein forming an essential invasion complex in Plasmodium falciparum merozoites. The beta-propeller domain of B9 is essential for sporozoite infectivity and interacts with the 6-cysteine proteins P36 and P52 in a heterologous expression system. Our results suggest that, despite using distinct sets of parasite and host entry factors, Plasmodium sporozoites and merozoites may share common structural modules to assemble protein complexes for invasion of host cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Priyanka Fernandes
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Centre d’Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses, CIMI-Paris, Paris, France
| | - Manon Loubens
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Centre d’Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses, CIMI-Paris, Paris, France
| | - Carine Marinach
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Centre d’Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses, CIMI-Paris, Paris, France
| | - Romain Coppée
- Université de Paris, UMR 261 MERIT, IRD, 75006 Paris, France
| | - Ludivine Baron
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Centre d’Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses, CIMI-Paris, Paris, France
| | - Morgane Grand
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Centre d’Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses, CIMI-Paris, Paris, France
| | - Thanh-Phuc Andre
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Centre d’Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses, CIMI-Paris, Paris, France
| | - Soumia Hamada
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Centre d’Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses, CIMI-Paris, Paris, France
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, UMS PASS, Plateforme Post-génomique de la Pitié Salpêtrière (P3S), 75013 Paris, France
| | - Anne-Claire Langlois
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Centre d’Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses, CIMI-Paris, Paris, France
| | - Sylvie Briquet
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Centre d’Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses, CIMI-Paris, Paris, France
| | - Philippe Bun
- INSERM U1266, NeurImag Facility, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurosciences of Paris, Paris, France
| | - Olivier Silvie
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Centre d’Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses, CIMI-Paris, Paris, France
- Corresponding author
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12
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Chandley P, Ranjan R, Kumar S, Rohatgi S. Host-parasite interactions during Plasmodium infection: Implications for immunotherapies. Front Immunol 2023; 13:1091961. [PMID: 36685595 PMCID: PMC9845897 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1091961] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2022] [Accepted: 12/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Malaria is a global infectious disease that remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the developing world. Multiple environmental and host and parasite factors govern the clinical outcomes of malaria. The host immune response against the Plasmodium parasite is heterogenous and stage-specific both in the human host and mosquito vector. The Plasmodium parasite virulence is predominantly associated with its ability to evade the host's immune response. Despite the availability of drug-based therapies, Plasmodium parasites can acquire drug resistance due to high antigenic variations and allelic polymorphisms. The lack of licensed vaccines against Plasmodium infection necessitates the development of effective, safe and successful therapeutics. To design an effective vaccine, it is important to study the immune evasion strategies and stage-specific Plasmodium proteins, which are targets of the host immune response. This review provides an overview of the host immune defense mechanisms and parasite immune evasion strategies during Plasmodium infection. Furthermore, we also summarize and discuss the current progress in various anti-malarial vaccine approaches, along with antibody-based therapy involving monoclonal antibodies, and research advancements in host-directed therapy, which can together open new avenues for developing novel immunotherapies against malaria infection and transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pankaj Chandley
- Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, India
| | - Ravikant Ranjan
- Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, India
| | - Sudhir Kumar
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Soma Rohatgi
- Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, India,*Correspondence: Soma Rohatgi,
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13
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Overexpression of hepatocyte EphA2 enhances liver-stage infection by Plasmodium vivax. Sci Rep 2022; 12:21542. [PMID: 36513700 PMCID: PMC9746569 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-25281-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The liver is the first destination of malaria parasites in humans. After reaching the liver by the blood stream, Plasmodium sporozoites cross the liver sinusoid epithelium, enter and exit several hepatocytes, and eventually invade a final hepatocyte host cell. At present, the mechanism of hepatocyte invasion is only partially understood, presenting a key research gap with opportunities for the development of new therapeutics. Recently, human EphA2, a membrane-bound receptor tyrosine kinase, was implicated in hepatocyte infection by the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum and the rodent parasite Plasmodium yoelii, but its role is not known for Plasmodium vivax, a major human parasite whose liver infection poses a specific challenge for malaria treatment and elimination. In this study, the role of EphA2 in P. vivax infection was investigated. It was found that surface expression of several recombinant fragments of EphA2 enhanced the parasite infection rate, thus establishing its role in P. vivax infection. Furthermore, a new permanent cell line (EphA2Extra-HC04) expressing the whole extracellular domain of EphA2 was generated. This cell line supports a higher rate of P. vivax infection and is a valuable tool for P. vivax liver-stage research.
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14
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Vijayan K, Arang N, Wei L, Morrison R, Geiger R, Parks KR, Lewis AJ, Mast FD, Douglass AN, Kain HS, Aitchison JD, Johnson JS, Aderem A, Kaushansky A. A genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 screen identifies CENPJ as a host regulator of altered microtubule organization during Plasmodium liver infection. Cell Chem Biol 2022; 29:1419-1433.e5. [PMID: 35738280 PMCID: PMC9481707 DOI: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2022.06.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2021] [Revised: 02/03/2022] [Accepted: 06/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Prior to initiating symptomatic malaria, a single Plasmodium sporozoite infects a hepatocyte and develops into thousands of merozoites, in part by scavenging host resources, likely delivered by vesicles. Here, we demonstrate that host microtubules (MTs) dynamically reorganize around the developing liver stage (LS) parasite to facilitate vesicular transport to the parasite. Using a genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 screen, we identified host regulators of cytoskeleton organization, vesicle trafficking, and ER/Golgi stress that regulate LS development. Foci of γ-tubulin localized to the parasite periphery; depletion of centromere protein J (CENPJ), a novel regulator identified in the screen, exacerbated this re-localization and increased infection. We demonstrate that the Golgi acts as a non-centrosomal MT organizing center (ncMTOC) by positioning γ-tubulin and stimulating MT nucleation at parasite periphery. Together, these data support a model where the Plasmodium LS recruits host Golgi to form MT-mediated conduits along which host organelles are recruited to PVM and support parasite development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kamalakannan Vijayan
- Center for Infectious Disease Research, Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Nadia Arang
- Center for Infectious Disease Research, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Ling Wei
- Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Robert Morrison
- Center for Infectious Disease Research, Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Rechel Geiger
- MSTP Program, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - K Rachael Parks
- Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Adam J Lewis
- Center for Infectious Disease Research, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Fred D Mast
- Center for Infectious Disease Research, Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Alyse N Douglass
- Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Heather S Kain
- Center for Infectious Disease Research, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - John D Aitchison
- Center for Infectious Disease Research, Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA, USA; Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA; Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | - Alan Aderem
- Center for Infectious Disease Research, Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA, USA; Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Alexis Kaushansky
- Center for Infectious Disease Research, Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA, USA; Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA; Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA; Brotman Baty Institute for Precision Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA.
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15
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Wang F, Song J, Yan Y, Zhou Q, Li X, Wang P, Yang Z, Zhang Q, Zhang H. Integrated Network Pharmacology Analysis and Serum Metabolomics to Reveal the Anti-malaria Mechanism of Artesunate. ACS OMEGA 2022; 7:31482-31494. [PMID: 36092633 PMCID: PMC9453802 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.2c04157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2022] [Accepted: 08/15/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Artesunate is a widely used drug in clinical treatment of malaria. The aim of this study was to investigate the therapeutic mechanism of artesunate on malaria using an integrated strategy of network pharmacology and serum metabolomics. The mice models of malaria were established using 2 × 107 red blood cells infected with Plasmodium berghei ANKA injection. Giemsa and hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining were used to evaluate the efficacy of artesunate on malaria. Next, network pharmacology analysis was applied to identify target genes. Then, a metabolomics strategy has been developed to find the possible significant serum metabolites and metabolic pathways induced by artesunate. Additionally, two parts of the results were integrated to confirm each other. Giemsa and HE staining results showed that artesunate significantly inhibited the proliferation of Plasmodium and reduced liver and spleen inflammation. Based on metabolomics, 18 differential endogenous metabolites were identified as potential biomarkers related to the artesunate for treating malaria. These metabolites were mainly involved in the relevant pathways of biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids; aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis; valine, leucine, and isoleucine biosynthesis; and phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan biosynthesis. The results of the network pharmacology analysis showed 125 potential target genes related to the treatment of malaria with artesunate. The functional enrichment was mainly associated with lipid and atherosclerosis; pathways of prostate cancer and proteoglycans in cancer; and PI3K-Akt, apoptosis, NF-κB, Th17 cell, and AGE-RAGE signaling pathways. These findings were partly consistent with the findings of the metabolism. Our results further suggested that artesunate could correct the inflammatory response caused by malaria through Th17 cell and NF-κB pathways. Meanwhile, our work revealed that cholesterol needed by Plasmodium berghei came directly from serum. Cholesterol and palmitic acid may be essential in the growth and reproduction of Plasmodium berghei. In summary, artesunate may have an effect on anti-malarial properties through multiple targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feiran Wang
- Shandong
University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan 250355, P. R. China
- Shandong
Academy of Chinese Medicine, Jinan 250014, P. R. China
| | - Jian Song
- Shandong
University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan 250355, P. R. China
| | - Yingying Yan
- Shandong
University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan 250355, P. R. China
| | - Qian Zhou
- Shandong
Academy of Chinese Medicine, Jinan 250014, P. R. China
| | - Xiaojing Li
- Shandong
Academy of Chinese Medicine, Jinan 250014, P. R. China
| | - Ping Wang
- Shandong
Academy of Chinese Medicine, Jinan 250014, P. R. China
| | - Zongtong Yang
- Shandong
Academy of Chinese Medicine, Jinan 250014, P. R. China
| | - Qiuhong Zhang
- Jinan
Center for Food and Drug Control, Jinan 250102, P. R. China
| | - Huimin Zhang
- Shandong
Academy of Chinese Medicine, Jinan 250014, P. R. China
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16
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Kehrer J, Formaglio P, Muthinja JM, Weber S, Baltissen D, Lance C, Ripp J, Grech J, Meissner M, Funaya C, Amino R, Frischknecht F. Plasmodium
sporozoite disintegration during skin passage limits malaria parasite transmission. EMBO Rep 2022; 23:e54719. [PMID: 35403820 PMCID: PMC9253755 DOI: 10.15252/embr.202254719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2022] [Revised: 03/17/2022] [Accepted: 03/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
During transmission of malaria‐causing parasites from mosquitoes to mammals, Plasmodium sporozoites migrate rapidly in the skin to search for a blood vessel. The high migratory speed and narrow passages taken by the parasites suggest considerable strain on the sporozoites to maintain their shape. Here, we show that the membrane‐associated protein, concavin, is important for the maintenance of the Plasmodium sporozoite shape inside salivary glands of mosquitoes and during migration in the skin. Concavin‐GFP localizes at the cytoplasmic periphery and concavin(−) sporozoites progressively round up upon entry of salivary glands. Rounded concavin(−) sporozoites fail to pass through the narrow salivary ducts and are rarely ejected by mosquitoes, while normally shaped concavin(−) sporozoites are transmitted. Strikingly, motile concavin(−) sporozoites disintegrate while migrating through the skin leading to parasite arrest or death and decreased transmission efficiency. Collectively, we suggest that concavin contributes to cell shape maintenance by riveting the plasma membrane to the subtending inner membrane complex. Interfering with cell shape maintenance pathways might hence provide a new strategy to prevent a malaria infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Kehrer
- Integrative Parasitology Center for Infectious Diseases Heidelberg University Medical School Heidelberg Germany
- Infectious Diseases Imaging Platform Center for Infectious Diseases Heidelberg University Medical School Heidelberg Germany
| | - Pauline Formaglio
- Malaria Infection and Immunity Unit Department of Parasites and Insect Vectors Institut Pasteur Paris France
| | - Julianne Mendi Muthinja
- Integrative Parasitology Center for Infectious Diseases Heidelberg University Medical School Heidelberg Germany
| | - Sebastian Weber
- Electron Microscopy Core Facility Heidelberg University Heidelberg Germany
| | - Danny Baltissen
- Integrative Parasitology Center for Infectious Diseases Heidelberg University Medical School Heidelberg Germany
| | - Christopher Lance
- Integrative Parasitology Center for Infectious Diseases Heidelberg University Medical School Heidelberg Germany
| | - Johanna Ripp
- Integrative Parasitology Center for Infectious Diseases Heidelberg University Medical School Heidelberg Germany
| | - Janessa Grech
- Experimental Parasitology Ludwig Maximilian University Munich Planegg‐Martinsried Germany
| | - Markus Meissner
- Experimental Parasitology Ludwig Maximilian University Munich Planegg‐Martinsried Germany
| | - Charlotta Funaya
- Electron Microscopy Core Facility Heidelberg University Heidelberg Germany
| | - Rogerio Amino
- Malaria Infection and Immunity Unit Department of Parasites and Insect Vectors Institut Pasteur Paris France
| | - Friedrich Frischknecht
- Integrative Parasitology Center for Infectious Diseases Heidelberg University Medical School Heidelberg Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Heidelberg Heidelberg Germany
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17
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Schroeder EA, Chirgwin ME, Derbyshire ER. Plasmodium's fight for survival: escaping elimination while acquiring nutrients. Trends Parasitol 2022; 38:544-557. [PMID: 35534377 PMCID: PMC9187605 DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2022.04.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2022] [Revised: 04/10/2022] [Accepted: 04/10/2022] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Plasmodium parasites extensively alter their host hepatocyte to evade host detection and support an unprecedented replication rate. Host cell manipulation includes association with the host early and late endomembrane systems, where Plasmodium accesses nutrients while suppressing cellular immune processes. Early endomembrane organelles provide an opportunity to sequester an abundance of lipids and proteins, but the association with late endomembrane organelles also risks autophagy-mediated elimination. While not all parasites survive, those that do benefit from a plethora of nutrients provided through this pathway. In this review, we discuss recent advances in our understanding of how Plasmodium parasites balance the need for host nutrients while avoiding elimination during the liver stage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin A Schroeder
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | | | - Emily R Derbyshire
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA; Department of Chemistry, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
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18
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Lachat J, Pascault A, Thibaut D, Le Borgne R, Verbavatz JM, Weiner A. Trans-cellular tunnels induced by the fungal pathogen Candida albicans facilitate invasion through successive epithelial cells without host damage. Nat Commun 2022; 13:3781. [PMID: 35773250 PMCID: PMC9246882 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31237-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2021] [Accepted: 06/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The opportunistic fungal pathogen Candida albicans is normally commensal, residing in the mucosa of most healthy individuals. In susceptible hosts, its filamentous hyphal form can invade epithelial layers leading to superficial or severe systemic infection. Although invasion is mainly intracellular, it causes no apparent damage to host cells at early stages of infection. Here, we investigate C. albicans invasion in vitro using live-cell imaging and the damage-sensitive reporter galectin-3. Quantitative single cell analysis shows that invasion can result in host membrane breaching at different stages and host cell death, or in traversal of host cells without membrane breaching. Membrane labelling and three-dimensional 'volume' electron microscopy reveal that hyphae can traverse several host cells within trans-cellular tunnels that are progressively remodelled and may undergo 'inflations' linked to host glycogen stores. Thus, C. albicans early invasion of epithelial tissues can lead to either host membrane breaching or trans-cellular tunnelling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joy Lachat
- Sorbonne Université, Inserm, CNRS, Centre d'Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses, Cimi-Paris, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Alice Pascault
- Sorbonne Université, Inserm, CNRS, Centre d'Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses, Cimi-Paris, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Delphine Thibaut
- Sorbonne Université, Inserm, CNRS, Centre d'Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses, Cimi-Paris, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Rémi Le Borgne
- Université Paris Cité, CNRS, Institut Jacques Monod, 75013, Paris, France
| | | | - Allon Weiner
- Sorbonne Université, Inserm, CNRS, Centre d'Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses, Cimi-Paris, 75013, Paris, France.
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19
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Fernandes P, Loubens M, Le Borgne R, Marinach C, Ardin B, Briquet S, Vincensini L, Hamada S, Hoareau-Coudert B, Verbavatz JM, Weiner A, Silvie O. The AMA1-RON complex drives Plasmodium sporozoite invasion in the mosquito and mammalian hosts. PLoS Pathog 2022; 18:e1010643. [PMID: 35731833 PMCID: PMC9255738 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010643] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2022] [Revised: 07/05/2022] [Accepted: 06/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Plasmodium sporozoites that are transmitted by blood-feeding female Anopheles mosquitoes invade hepatocytes for an initial round of intracellular replication, leading to the release of merozoites that invade and multiply within red blood cells. Sporozoites and merozoites share a number of proteins that are expressed by both stages, including the Apical Membrane Antigen 1 (AMA1) and the Rhoptry Neck Proteins (RONs). Although AMA1 and RONs are essential for merozoite invasion of erythrocytes during asexual blood stage replication of the parasite, their function in sporozoites was still unclear. Here we show that AMA1 interacts with RONs in mature sporozoites. By using DiCre-mediated conditional gene deletion in P. berghei, we demonstrate that loss of AMA1, RON2 or RON4 in sporozoites impairs colonization of the mosquito salivary glands and invasion of mammalian hepatocytes, without affecting transcellular parasite migration. Three-dimensional electron microscopy data showed that sporozoites enter salivary gland cells through a ring-like structure and by forming a transient vacuole. The absence of a functional AMA1-RON complex led to an altered morphology of the entry junction, associated with epithelial cell damage. Our data establish that AMA1 and RONs facilitate host cell invasion across Plasmodium invasive stages, and suggest that sporozoites use the AMA1-RON complex to efficiently and safely enter the mosquito salivary glands to ensure successful parasite transmission. These results open up the possibility of targeting the AMA1-RON complex for transmission-blocking antimalarial strategies. Malaria is caused by Plasmodium parasites, which are transmitted by mosquitoes. Infectious stages of the parasite known as sporozoites colonize the mosquito salivary glands and are injected into the host when the insect probes the skin for blood feeding. Sporozoites rapidly migrate to the host liver, invade hepatocytes and differentiate into the next invasive forms, the merozoites, which invade and replicate inside red blood cells. Merozoites invade cells through a specialized structure, known as the moving junction, formed by proteins called AMA1 and RONs. The role of these proteins in sporozoites remains unclear. Here we used conditional genome editing in a rodent malaria model to generate AMA1- and RON-deficient sporozoites. Phenotypic analysis of the mutants revealed that sporozoites use the AMA1-RON complex twice, first in the mosquito to safely enter the salivary glands and ensure successful parasite transmission, then in the mammalian host liver to establish a replicative niche. Our data establish that AMA1 and RONs facilitate host cell invasion across Plasmodium invasive stages, and might represent potential targets for transmission-blocking antimalarial strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Priyanka Fernandes
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Centre d’Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses, Paris, France
| | - Manon Loubens
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Centre d’Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses, Paris, France
| | - Rémi Le Borgne
- Institut Jacques Monod, Université Paris Cité, CNRS, UMR 7592, Paris, France
| | - Carine Marinach
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Centre d’Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses, Paris, France
| | - Béatrice Ardin
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Centre d’Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses, Paris, France
| | - Sylvie Briquet
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Centre d’Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses, Paris, France
| | - Laetitia Vincensini
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Centre d’Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses, Paris, France
| | - Soumia Hamada
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Centre d’Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses, Paris, France
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, UMS PASS, Plateforme Post-génomique de la Pitié Salpêtrière (P3S), Paris, France
| | - Bénédicte Hoareau-Coudert
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, UMS PASS, Plateforme de cytométrie de la Pitié-Salpêtrière (CyPS), Paris, France
| | - Jean-Marc Verbavatz
- Institut Jacques Monod, Université Paris Cité, CNRS, UMR 7592, Paris, France
| | - Allon Weiner
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Centre d’Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses, Paris, France
| | - Olivier Silvie
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Centre d’Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses, Paris, France
- * E-mail:
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20
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Huynh MH, Carruthers VB. Toxoplasma gondii excretion of glycolytic products is associated with acidification of the parasitophorous vacuole during parasite egress. PLoS Pathog 2022; 18:e1010139. [PMID: 35512005 PMCID: PMC9113570 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2021] [Revised: 05/17/2022] [Accepted: 03/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The Toxoplasma gondii lytic cycle is a repetition of host cell invasion, replication, egress, and re-invasion into the next host cell. While the molecular players involved in egress have been studied in greater detail in recent years, the signals and pathways for triggering egress from the host cell have not been fully elucidated. A perforin-like protein, PLP1, has been shown to be necessary for permeabilizing the parasitophorous vacuole (PV) membrane or exit from the host cell. In vitro studies indicated that PLP1 is most active in acidic conditions, and indirect evidence using superecliptic pHluorin indicated that the PV pH drops prior to parasite egress. Using ratiometric pHluorin, a GFP variant that responds to changes in pH with changes in its bimodal excitation spectrum peaks, allowed us to directly measure the pH in the PV prior to and during egress by live-imaging microscopy. A statistically significant change was observed in PV pH during ionomycin or zaprinast induced egress in both wild-type RH and Δplp1 vacuoles compared to DMSO-treated vacuoles. Interestingly, if parasites are chemically paralyzed, a pH drop is still observed in RH but not in Δplp1 tachyzoites. This indicates that the pH drop is dependent on the presence of PLP1 or motility. Efforts to determine transporters, exchangers, or pumps that could contribute to the drop in PV pH identified two formate-nitrite transporters (FNTs). Auxin induced conditional knockdown and knockouts of FNT1 and FNT2 reduced the levels of lactate and pyruvate released by the parasites and lead to an abatement of vacuolar acidification. While additional transporters and molecules are undoubtedly involved, we provide evidence of a definitive reduction in vacuolar pH associated with induced and natural egress and characterize two transporters that contribute to the acidification. Toxoplasma gondii is a single celled intracellular parasite that infects many different animals, and it is thought to infect up to one third of the human population. This parasite must rupture out of its replicative compartment and the host cell to spread from one cell to another. Previous studies indicated that a decrease in pH occurs within the replicative compartment near the time of parasite exit from host cells, an event termed egress. However, it remained unknown whether the decrease in pH is directly tied to egress and, if so, what is responsible for the decrease in pH. Here we used a fluorescent reporter protein to directly measure pH within the replicative compartment during parasite egress. We found that pH decreases immediately prior to parasite egress and that this decrease is linked to parasite disruption of membranes. We also identified a family of transporters that release acidic products from parasite use of glucose for energy as contributing to the decrease in pH during egress. Our findings provide new insight that connects parasite glucose metabolism to acidification of its replicative compartment during egress from infected cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- My-Hang Huynh
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Vern B. Carruthers
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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21
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Williams SI, Yu X, Ni T, Gilbert RJ, Stansfeld PJ. Structural, functional and computational studies of membrane recognition by Plasmodium Perforin-Like Proteins 1 and 2. J Mol Biol 2022; 434:167642. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2022.167642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2022] [Revised: 05/06/2022] [Accepted: 05/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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22
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Arias CF, Acosta FJ, Fernandez-Arias C. Killing the competition: a theoretical framework for liver-stage malaria. Open Biol 2022; 12:210341. [PMID: 35350863 PMCID: PMC8965401 DOI: 10.1098/rsob.210341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The first stage of malaria infections takes place inside the host's hepatocytes. Remarkably, Plasmodium parasites do not infect hepatocytes immediately after reaching the liver. Instead, they migrate through several hepatocytes before infecting their definitive host cells, thus increasing their chances of immune destruction. Considering that malaria can proceed normally without cell traversal, this is indeed a puzzling behaviour. In fact, the role of hepatocyte traversal remains unknown to date, implying that the current understanding of malaria is incomplete. In this work, we hypothesize that the parasites traverse hepatocytes to actively trigger an immune response in the host. This behaviour would be part of a strategy of superinfection exclusion aimed to reduce intraspecific competition during the blood stage of the infection. Based on this hypothesis, we formulate a comprehensive theory of liver-stage malaria that integrates all the available knowledge about the infection. The interest of this new paradigm is not merely theoretical. It highlights major issues in the current empirical approach to the study of Plasmodium and suggests new strategies to fight malaria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clemente F. Arias
- Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas (CSIC), Madrid, Spain,Grupo Interdisciplinar de Sistemas Complejos de Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Cristina Fernandez-Arias
- Departamento de Inmunología, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain,Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal
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23
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Glennon EKK, Tongogara T, Primavera VI, Reeder SM, Wei L, Kaushansky A. Elucidating Spatially-Resolved Changes in Host Signaling During Plasmodium Liver-Stage Infection. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2022; 11:804186. [PMID: 35111697 PMCID: PMC8801743 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2021.804186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2021] [Accepted: 12/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Upon transmission to the human host, Plasmodium sporozoites exit the skin, are taken up by the blood stream, and then travel to the liver where they infect and significantly modify a single hepatocyte. Low infection rates within the liver have made proteomic studies of infected hepatocytes challenging, particularly in vivo, and existing studies have been largely unable to consider how protein and phosphoprotein differences are altered at different spatial locations within the heterogeneous liver. Using digital spatial profiling, we characterized changes in host signaling during Plasmodium yoelii infection in vivo without disrupting the liver tissue. Moreover, we measured alterations in protein expression around infected hepatocytes and identified a subset of CD163+ Kupffer cells that migrate towards infected cells during infection. These data offer the first insight into the heterogeneous microenvironment that surrounds the infected hepatocyte and provide insights into how the parasite may alter its milieu to influence its survival and modulate immunity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth K. K. Glennon
- Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Tinotenda Tongogara
- Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle, WA, United States
- Grinnell College, Grinnell, IA, United States
| | - Veronica I. Primavera
- Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Sophia M. Reeder
- Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Ling Wei
- Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Alexis Kaushansky
- Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle, WA, United States
- Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
- Brotman Baty Institute for Precision Medicine, Seattle, WA, United States
- *Correspondence: Alexis Kaushansky,
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24
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Abstract
Host-directed therapy (HDT) is gaining traction as a strategy to combat infectious diseases caused by viruses and intracellular bacteria, but its implementation in the context of parasitic diseases has received less attention. Here, we provide a brief overview of this field and advocate HDT as a promising strategy for antimalarial intervention based on untapped targets. HDT provides a basis from which repurposed drugs could be rapidly deployed and is likely to strongly limit the emergence of resistance. This strategy can be applied to any intracellular pathogen and is particularly well placed in situations in which rapid identification of treatments is needed, such as emerging infections and pandemics, as starkly illustrated by the current COVID-19 crisis.
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25
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Poole J, Hartley-Tassell LE, Day CJ, Stanisic DI, Groves PL, Chakravarty S, Lee Sim BK, Hoffman SL, Tiralongo J, Bovin N, Doolan DL, Jennings MP. Identification of the Glycan Binding Profile of Human and Rodent Plasmodium Sporozoites. ACS Infect Dis 2021; 7:2383-2389. [PMID: 34170120 DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.1c00084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
The transmission of Plasmodium spp. sporozoites to the mammalian host is the first step in the initiation of the mosquito-borne disease known as malaria. The exact route of transmission from the bloodstream to the liver is still not clearly elucidated, and identification of the host glycan structures bound by the sporozoites may inform as to which host cells are involved. Here, we provide a comprehensive analysis of the glycan structures that sporozoites from the human pathogen, P. falciparum, and the rodent pathogen, P. yoelii, recognize and bind. Glycan array analysis was used to profile the glycans bound by the sporozoites, and the binding affinities of these sporozoite-glycan interactions were then determined by surface plasmon resonance. Data showed that the different Plasmodium spp. bind different classes of glycans. P. falciparum was observed to bind to glycans with terminal N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) or Galactose (Gal) linked to a GalNAc, and the highest-affinity observed was with the GalNAc monosaccharide (12.5 nM). P. yoelii bound glycosaminoglycans, mannosyl glycans, Gal linked to N-acetylglucosamine structures, and the αGal epitope. The highest-affinity interaction for P. yoelii was with the αGal epitope (31.4 nM). This is the first study to identify the key host glycan structures recognized by human and rodent Plasmodium spp. sporozoites. An understanding of how Plasmodium sporozoites interact with the specific glycan structures identified here may provide further insight into this infectious disease that could help direct the design of an effective therapeutic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Poole
- Institute for Glycomics, Griffith University, Southport 4222, Queensland Australia
| | | | - Christopher J. Day
- Institute for Glycomics, Griffith University, Southport 4222, Queensland Australia
| | - Danielle I. Stanisic
- Institute for Glycomics, Griffith University, Southport 4222, Queensland Australia
| | - Penny L. Groves
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston 4029, Queensland Australia
| | | | - B. Kim Lee Sim
- Sanaria Inc, Rockville, Maryland 20852, United States of America
| | | | - Joe Tiralongo
- Institute for Glycomics, Griffith University, Southport 4222, Queensland Australia
| | - Nicolai Bovin
- Shemyakin Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 117997, Russia
| | - Denise L. Doolan
- Centre for Molecular Therapeutics, Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University, Cairns 4878, Queensland Australia
| | - Michael P. Jennings
- Institute for Glycomics, Griffith University, Southport 4222, Queensland Australia
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26
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Chulanetra M, Chaicumpa W. Revisiting the Mechanisms of Immune Evasion Employed by Human Parasites. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2021; 11:702125. [PMID: 34395313 PMCID: PMC8358743 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2021.702125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2021] [Accepted: 06/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
For the establishment of a successful infection, i.e., long-term parasitism and a complete life cycle, parasites use various diverse mechanisms and factors, which they may be inherently bestowed with, or may acquire from the natural vector biting the host at the infection prelude, or may take over from the infecting host, to outmaneuver, evade, overcome, and/or suppress the host immunity, both innately and adaptively. This narrative review summarizes the up-to-date strategies exploited by a number of representative human parasites (protozoa and helminths) to counteract the target host immune defense. The revisited information should be useful for designing diagnostics and therapeutics as well as vaccines against the respective parasitic infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monrat Chulanetra
- Center of Research Excellence on Therapeutic Proteins and Antibody Engineering, Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Wanpen Chaicumpa
- Center of Research Excellence on Therapeutic Proteins and Antibody Engineering, Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
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27
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Vijayan K, Wei L, Glennon EKK, Mattocks C, Bourgeois N, Staker B, Kaushansky A. Host-targeted Interventions as an Exciting Opportunity to Combat Malaria. Chem Rev 2021; 121:10452-10468. [PMID: 34197083 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.1c00062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Terminal and benign diseases alike in adults, children, pregnant women, and others are successfully treated by pharmacological inhibitors that target human enzymes. Despite extensive global efforts to fight malaria, the disease continues to be a massive worldwide health burden, and new interventional strategies are needed. Current drugs and vector control strategies have contributed to the reduction in malaria deaths over the past 10 years, but progress toward eradication has waned in recent years. Resistance to antimalarial drugs is a substantial and growing problem. Moreover, targeting dormant forms of the malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax is only possible with two approved drugs, which are both contraindicated for individuals with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency and in pregnant women. Plasmodium parasites are obligate intracellular parasites and thus have specific and absolute requirements of their hosts. Growing evidence has described these host necessities, paving the way for opportunities to pharmacologically target host factors to eliminate Plasmodium infection. Here, we describe progress in malaria research and adjacent fields and discuss key challenges that remain in implementing host-directed therapy against malaria.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ling Wei
- Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
| | | | - Christa Mattocks
- Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Natasha Bourgeois
- Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States.,Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Bart Staker
- Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States
| | - Alexis Kaushansky
- Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States.,Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States.,Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98105, United States.,Brotman Baty Institute for Precision Medicine, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
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28
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Loubens M, Vincensini L, Fernandes P, Briquet S, Marinach C, Silvie O. Plasmodium sporozoites on the move: Switching from cell traversal to productive invasion of hepatocytes. Mol Microbiol 2021; 115:870-881. [PMID: 33191548 PMCID: PMC8247013 DOI: 10.1111/mmi.14645] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2020] [Revised: 11/10/2020] [Accepted: 11/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Parasites of the genus Plasmodium, the etiological agent of malaria, are transmitted through the bite of anopheline mosquitoes, which deposit sporozoites into the host skin. Sporozoites migrate through the dermis, enter the bloodstream, and rapidly traffic to the liver. They cross the liver sinusoidal barrier and traverse several hepatocytes before switching to productive invasion of a final one for replication inside a parasitophorous vacuole. Cell traversal and productive invasion are functionally independent processes that require proteins secreted from specialized secretory organelles known as micronemes. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of how sporozoites traverse through cells and productively invade hepatocytes, and discuss the role of environmental sensing in switching from a migratory to an invasive state. We propose that timely controlled secretion of distinct microneme subsets could play a key role in successful migration and infection of hepatocytes. A better understanding of these essential biological features of the Plasmodium sporozoite may contribute to the development of new strategies to fight against the very first and asymptomatic stage of malaria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manon Loubens
- Centre d’Immunologie et des Maladies InfectieusesSorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, CIMI‐ParisParisFrance
| | - Laetitia Vincensini
- Centre d’Immunologie et des Maladies InfectieusesSorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, CIMI‐ParisParisFrance
| | - Priyanka Fernandes
- Centre d’Immunologie et des Maladies InfectieusesSorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, CIMI‐ParisParisFrance
| | - Sylvie Briquet
- Centre d’Immunologie et des Maladies InfectieusesSorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, CIMI‐ParisParisFrance
| | - Carine Marinach
- Centre d’Immunologie et des Maladies InfectieusesSorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, CIMI‐ParisParisFrance
| | - Olivier Silvie
- Centre d’Immunologie et des Maladies InfectieusesSorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, CIMI‐ParisParisFrance
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29
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Arez F, Rodrigues AF, Brito C, Alves PM. Bioengineered Liver Cell Models of Hepatotropic Infections. Viruses 2021; 13:773. [PMID: 33925701 PMCID: PMC8146083 DOI: 10.3390/v13050773] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2021] [Revised: 04/22/2021] [Accepted: 04/23/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis viruses and liver-stage malaria are within the liver infections causing higher morbidity and mortality rates worldwide. The highly restricted tropism of the major human hepatotropic pathogens-namely, the human hepatitis B and C viruses and the Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax parasites-has hampered the development of disease models. These models are crucial for uncovering the molecular mechanisms underlying the biology of infection and governing host-pathogen interaction, as well as for fostering drug development. Bioengineered cell models better recapitulate the human liver microenvironment and extend hepatocyte viability and phenotype in vitro, when compared with conventional two-dimensional cell models. In this article, we review the bioengineering tools employed in the development of hepatic cell models for studying infection, with an emphasis on 3D cell culture strategies, and discuss how those tools contributed to the level of recapitulation attained in the different model layouts. Examples of host-pathogen interactions uncovered by engineered liver models and their usefulness in drug development are also presented. Finally, we address the current bottlenecks, trends, and prospect toward cell models' reliability, robustness, and reproducibility.
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MESH Headings
- Animals
- Bioengineering/methods
- Cell Culture Techniques
- Disease Models, Animal
- Disease Susceptibility
- Drug Discovery
- Hepatitis/drug therapy
- Hepatitis/etiology
- Hepatitis/metabolism
- Hepatitis/pathology
- Hepatitis, Viral, Human/etiology
- Hepatitis, Viral, Human/metabolism
- Hepatitis, Viral, Human/pathology
- Hepatocytes/metabolism
- Hepatocytes/parasitology
- Hepatocytes/virology
- Host-Pathogen Interactions
- Humans
- Liver/metabolism
- Liver/parasitology
- Liver/virology
- Liver Diseases, Parasitic/etiology
- Liver Diseases, Parasitic/metabolism
- Liver Diseases, Parasitic/pathology
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Affiliation(s)
- Francisca Arez
- iBET, Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica, Apartado 12, 2781-901 Oeiras, Portugal; (F.A.); (A.F.R.); (C.B.)
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Av. da República, 2780-157 Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Ana F. Rodrigues
- iBET, Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica, Apartado 12, 2781-901 Oeiras, Portugal; (F.A.); (A.F.R.); (C.B.)
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Av. da República, 2780-157 Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Catarina Brito
- iBET, Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica, Apartado 12, 2781-901 Oeiras, Portugal; (F.A.); (A.F.R.); (C.B.)
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Av. da República, 2780-157 Oeiras, Portugal
- The Discoveries Centre for Regenerative and Precision Medicine, Lisbon Campus, Av. da República, 2780-157 Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Paula M. Alves
- iBET, Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica, Apartado 12, 2781-901 Oeiras, Portugal; (F.A.); (A.F.R.); (C.B.)
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Av. da República, 2780-157 Oeiras, Portugal
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30
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Paoletta MS, Laughery JM, Arias LSL, Ortiz JMJ, Montenegro VN, Petrigh R, Ueti MW, Suarez CE, Farber MD, Wilkowsky SE. The key to egress? Babesia bovis perforin-like protein 1 (PLP1) with hemolytic capacity is required for blood stage replication and is involved in the exit of the parasite from the host cell. Int J Parasitol 2021; 51:643-658. [PMID: 33753093 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2020.12.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2020] [Revised: 11/27/2020] [Accepted: 12/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Bovine babesiosis is a tick-borne disease caused by apicomplexan parasites of the Babesia genus that represents a major constraint to livestock production worldwide. Currently available vaccines are based on live parasites which have archetypal limitations. Our goal is to identify candidate antigens so that new and effective vaccines against Babesia may be developed. The perforin-like protein (PLP) family has been identified as a key player in cell traversal and egress in related apicomplexans and it was also identified in Babesia, but its function in this parasite remains unknown. The aim of this work was to define the PLP family in Babesia and functionally characterize PLP1, a representative member of the family in Babesia bovis. Bioinformatic analyses demonstrate a variable number of plp genes (four to eight) in the genomes of six different Babesia spp. and conservation of the family members at the secondary and tertiary structure levels. We demonstrate here that Babesia PLPs contain the critical domains present in other apicomplexan PLPs to display the lytic capacity. We then focused on the functional characterization of PLP1 of B. bovis, both in vitro and in vivo. PLP1 is expressed and exposed to the host immune system during infection and has high hemolytic capacity under a wide range of conditions in vitro. A B. bovis plp1 knockout line displayed a decreased growth rate in vitro compared with the wild type strain and a peculiar phenotype consisting of multiple parasites within a single red blood cell, although at low frequency. This phenotype suggests that the lack of PLP1 has a negative impact on the mechanism of egression of the parasite and, therefore, on its capacity to proliferate. It is possible that PLP1 is associated with other proteins in the processes of invasion and egress, which were found to have redundant mechanisms in related apicomplexans. Future work will be focused on unravelling the network of proteins involved in these essential parasite functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martina Soledad Paoletta
- Instituto de Agrobiotecnología y Biología Molecular (IABIMO) INTA - CONICET, De Los Reseros y Dr. Nicolás Repetto s/n, P.O. Box 25 (B1712WAA), Castelar, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Jacob Michael Laughery
- Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA
| | - Ludmila Sol López Arias
- Instituto de Agrobiotecnología y Biología Molecular (IABIMO) INTA - CONICET, De Los Reseros y Dr. Nicolás Repetto s/n, P.O. Box 25 (B1712WAA), Castelar, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - José Manuel Jaramillo Ortiz
- Instituto de Agrobiotecnología y Biología Molecular (IABIMO) INTA - CONICET, De Los Reseros y Dr. Nicolás Repetto s/n, P.O. Box 25 (B1712WAA), Castelar, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Valeria Noely Montenegro
- Instituto de Agrobiotecnología y Biología Molecular (IABIMO) INTA - CONICET, De Los Reseros y Dr. Nicolás Repetto s/n, P.O. Box 25 (B1712WAA), Castelar, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Romina Petrigh
- Instituto de Agrobiotecnología y Biología Molecular (IABIMO) INTA - CONICET, De Los Reseros y Dr. Nicolás Repetto s/n, P.O. Box 25 (B1712WAA), Castelar, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Massaro W Ueti
- Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA; Animal Disease Research Unit, USDA-ARS, Washington State University, 3003 ADBF, P.O. Box 646630, Pullman, WA 99164, USA
| | - Carlos Esteban Suarez
- Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA; Animal Disease Research Unit, USDA-ARS, Washington State University, 3003 ADBF, P.O. Box 646630, Pullman, WA 99164, USA
| | - Marisa Diana Farber
- Instituto de Agrobiotecnología y Biología Molecular (IABIMO) INTA - CONICET, De Los Reseros y Dr. Nicolás Repetto s/n, P.O. Box 25 (B1712WAA), Castelar, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Silvina Elizabeth Wilkowsky
- Instituto de Agrobiotecnología y Biología Molecular (IABIMO) INTA - CONICET, De Los Reseros y Dr. Nicolás Repetto s/n, P.O. Box 25 (B1712WAA), Castelar, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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31
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Rogers KJ, Vijay R, Butler NS. Anti-malarial humoral immunity: the long and short of it. Microbes Infect 2021; 23:104807. [PMID: 33684519 DOI: 10.1016/j.micinf.2021.104807] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2021] [Revised: 02/28/2021] [Accepted: 02/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Humoral immunity is critical for limiting Plasmodium parasite infections and the severity of malaria. Naturally acquired immunity against malaria occurs inefficiently and protection is relatively short-lived. Here we review recent advances and explore emerging hypotheses regarding the molecular and cellular pathways that regulate Plasmodium parasite-specific B cell responses and durable anti-malarial humoral immunity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai J Rogers
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Rahul Vijay
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Noah S Butler
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA; Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Immunology, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA.
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32
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Ruberto AA, Bourke C, Merienne N, Obadia T, Amino R, Mueller I. Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals developmental heterogeneity among Plasmodium berghei sporozoites. Sci Rep 2021; 11:4127. [PMID: 33619283 PMCID: PMC7900125 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-82914-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2020] [Accepted: 01/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
In the malaria-causing parasite's life cycle, Plasmodium sporozoites must travel from the midgut of a mosquito to the salivary glands before they can infect a mammalian host. However, only a fraction of sporozoites complete the journey. Since salivary gland invasion is required for transmission of sporozoites, insights at the molecular level can contribute to strategies for malaria prevention. Recent advances in single-cell RNA sequencing provide an opportunity to assess sporozoite heterogeneity at a resolution unattainable by bulk RNA sequencing methods. In this study, we use a droplet-based single-cell RNA sequencing workflow to analyze the transcriptomes of over 8000 Plasmodium berghei sporozoites derived from the midguts and salivary glands of Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes. The detection of known marker genes confirms the successful capture and sequencing of samples composed of a mixed population of sporozoites. Using data integration, clustering, and trajectory analyses, we reveal differences in gene expression profiles of individual sporozoites, and identify both annotated and unannotated markers associated with sporozoite development. Our work highlights the utility of a high-throughput workflow for the transcriptomic profiling of Plasmodium sporozoites, and provides new insights into gene usage during the parasite's development in the mosquito.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony A Ruberto
- Department of Parasites and Insect Vectors, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
| | - Caitlin Bourke
- Division of Population Health and Immunity, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, VIC, Australia
- Department of Medical Biology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Nicolas Merienne
- Department of Parasites and Insect Vectors, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
| | - Thomas Obadia
- Department of Parasites and Insect Vectors, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
- Hub de Bioinformatique et Biostatistique - Département Biologie Computationnelle, Institut Pasteur, 75015, Paris, France
| | - Rogerio Amino
- Department of Parasites and Insect Vectors, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
| | - Ivo Mueller
- Department of Parasites and Insect Vectors, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
- Division of Population Health and Immunity, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, VIC, Australia.
- Department of Medical Biology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
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33
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Arredondo SA, Schepis A, Reynolds L, Kappe SHI. Secretory Organelle Function in the Plasmodium Sporozoite. Trends Parasitol 2021; 37:651-663. [PMID: 33589364 DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2021.01.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2020] [Revised: 01/20/2021] [Accepted: 01/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Plasmodium sporozoites exhibit a complex infection biology in the mosquito and mammalian hosts. The sporozoite apical secretory organelles, the micronemes and rhoptries, store protein mediators of parasite/host/vector interactions and must secrete them in a temporally and spatially well orchestrated manner. Micronemal proteins are critical for sporozoite motility throughout its journey from the mosquito midgut oocyst to the mammalian liver, and also for cell traversal (CT) and hepatocyte invasion. Rhoptry proteins, until recently thought to be only important for hepatocyte invasion, appear to also play an unexpected role in motility and in the interaction with mosquito tissue. Therefore, navigating the different microenvironments with secretion likely requires the sporozoite to have a more complex system of secretory organelles than previously appreciated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia A Arredondo
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Antonino Schepis
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Laura Reynolds
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Stefan H I Kappe
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA 98109, USA; Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98105, USA; Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98105, USA.
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34
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Nambou K, Nie X, Tong Y, Anakpa M. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis and drug-gene interaction bioinformatics uncover key genes associated with various presentations of malaria infection in African children and major drug candidates. INFECTION GENETICS AND EVOLUTION 2021; 89:104723. [PMID: 33444859 DOI: 10.1016/j.meegid.2021.104723] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2020] [Revised: 01/04/2021] [Accepted: 01/08/2021] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Malaria is a fatal parasitic disease with unelucidated pathogenetic mechanism. Herein, we aimed to uncover genes associated with different clinical aspects of malaria based on the GSE1124 dataset that is publicly accessible by using WGCNA. We obtained 16 co-expression modules and their correlations with clinical features. Using the MCODE tool, we identified THEM4, STYX, VPS36, LCOR, KIAA1143, EEA1, RAPGEF6, LOC439994, ZBTB33, PTPN22, ESCO1, and KLF3 as hub genes positively associated with Plasmodium falciparum infection (ASPF). These hub genes were involved in the biological processes of endosomal transport, regulation of natural killer cell proliferation, and KEGG pathways of endocytosis and fatty acid elongation. For the purple module negatively correlated with ASPF, we identified 19 hub genes that were involved in the biological processes of positive regulation of cellular protein catabolic process and KEGG pathways of other glycan degradation. For the salmon module positively correlated with severe malaria anemia (SMA), we identified 17 hub genes that were among those driving the biological processes of positive regulation of erythrocyte differentiation. For the brown module positively correlated with cerebral malaria (CM), we identified eight hub genes and these genes participated in phagolysosome assembly and positive regulation of exosomal secretion, and animal mitophagy pathway. For the tan module negatively correlated with CM, we identified four hub genes that were involved in CD8-positive, alpha-beta T cell differentiation and notching signaling pathway. These findings may provide new insights into the pathogenesis of malaria and help define new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for malaria patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Komi Nambou
- Shenzhen Nambou1 Biotech Company Limited, West Silicon Valley, No. 5010 Bao'an Avenue, Shenzhen 518000, Guangdong Province, China.
| | - Xiaoling Nie
- Shenzhen Nambou1 Biotech Company Limited, West Silicon Valley, No. 5010 Bao'an Avenue, Shenzhen 518000, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Yin Tong
- Shenzhen Nambou1 Biotech Company Limited, West Silicon Valley, No. 5010 Bao'an Avenue, Shenzhen 518000, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Manawa Anakpa
- Key Laboratory of Trustworthy Distributed Computing and Service, School of Computer Science (National Pilot Software Engineering School), Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Ministry of Education, Beijing 100876, China
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35
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Ferluga J, Singh I, Rout S, Al-Qahtani A, Yasmin H, Kishore U. Immune Responses in Malaria and Vaccine Strategies. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 2021; 1313:273-291. [PMID: 34661899 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-67452-6_12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Malaria is a pandemic with nearly half of global population at risk, caused by parasite Plasmodium species, particularly P. falciparum with a high morbidity and mortality, especially among children. There is an urgent need for development of population protective vaccines, such as in sub-Saharan low-income countries, where P. falciparum malaria is endemic. After years of endeavour with children and adults for safety and efficacy clinical trials, the P. falciparum circumsporozoite protein antigen, is targeted by specific antibodies induced by recombinant vaccine, called TRS,S. TRS,S has been authorized by WHO and Malawi Government to be the first malaria vaccine for up to 2 years of aged children for protection against malaria. Other malaria vaccines in clinical trials are also very promising candidates, including the original live, X-ray attenuated P-sporozoite vaccine, inducing antigen-specific T cell immunity at liver stage. Malaria parasite at blood symptomatic stage is targeted by specific antibodies to parasite-infected erythrocytes, which are important against pathogenic placenta-infected erythrocyte sequestration. Here, the demographic distribution of Plasmodium species and their pathogenicity in infected people are discussed. The role of innate phagocytic cells and malaria antigen specific T cell immunity, as well as that of specific antibody production by B cells are highlighted. The paramount role of cytotoxic CD8+ T cellular immunity in malaria people protection is also included.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janez Ferluga
- Biosciences, College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Brunel University London, Uxbridge, UK
| | - Iesha Singh
- National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Sashmita Rout
- Department of Physiology, All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar, India
| | - Ahmed Al-Qahtani
- Department of Infection and Immunity, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Hadida Yasmin
- Immunology and Cell Biology Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Cooch Behar Panchanan Barma University, Cooch Behar, West Bengal, India
| | - Uday Kishore
- Biosciences, College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Brunel University London, Uxbridge, UK
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36
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Uboldi AD, Wilde ML, Bader SM, Tonkin CJ. Environmental sensing and regulation of motility in Toxoplasma. Mol Microbiol 2020; 115:916-929. [PMID: 33278047 DOI: 10.1111/mmi.14661] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2020] [Revised: 11/27/2020] [Accepted: 12/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Toxoplasma and other apicomplexan parasites undergo a unique form of cellular locomotion referred to as "gliding motility." Gliding motility is crucial for parasite survival as it powers tissue dissemination, host cell invasion and egress. Distinct environmental cues lead to activation of gliding motility and have become a prominent focus of recent investigation. Progress has been made toward understanding what environmental cues are sensed and how these signals are transduced in order to regulate the machinery and cellular events powering gliding motility. In this review, we will discuss new findings and integrate these into our current understanding to propose a model of how environmental sensing is achieved to regulate gliding motility in Toxoplasma. Collectively, these findings also have implications for the understanding of gliding motility across Apicomplexa more broadly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro D Uboldi
- Division of Infectious Disease and Immune Defense, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.,The Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Mary-Louise Wilde
- Division of Infectious Disease and Immune Defense, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.,The Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Stefanie M Bader
- Division of Infectious Disease and Immune Defense, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Christopher J Tonkin
- Division of Infectious Disease and Immune Defense, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.,The Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
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37
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Mello-Vieira J, Enguita FJ, de Koning-Ward TF, Zuzarte-Luís V, Mota MM. Plasmodium translocon component EXP2 facilitates hepatocyte invasion. Nat Commun 2020; 11:5654. [PMID: 33159090 PMCID: PMC7648069 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-19492-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2020] [Accepted: 10/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Plasmodium parasites possess a translocon that exports parasite proteins into the infected erythrocyte. Although the translocon components are also expressed during the mosquito and liver stage of infection, their function remains unexplored. Here, using a combination of genetic and chemical assays, we show that the translocon component Exported Protein 2 (EXP2) is critical for invasion of hepatocytes. EXP2 is a pore-forming protein that is secreted from the sporozoite upon contact with the host cell milieu. EXP2-deficient sporozoites are impaired in invasion, which can be rescued by the exogenous administration of recombinant EXP2 and alpha-hemolysin (an S. aureus pore-forming protein), as well as by acid sphingomyelinase. The latter, together with the negative impact of chemical and genetic inhibition of acid sphingomyelinase on invasion, reveals that EXP2 pore-forming activity induces hepatocyte membrane repair, which plays a key role in parasite invasion. Overall, our findings establish a novel and critical function for EXP2 that leads to an active participation of the host cell in Plasmodium sporozoite invasion, challenging the current view of the establishment of liver stage infection. While the role of Plasmodium EXP2 protein as translocon component of blood stage parasites is established, its functional role in liver stage parasites remains unclear. Here, Mello-Vieira et al. reveal that EXP2 pore-forming activity induces hepatocyte membrane repair and hence is critical for hepatocyte invasion.
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Affiliation(s)
- João Mello-Vieira
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-028, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Francisco J Enguita
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-028, Lisboa, Portugal
| | | | - Vanessa Zuzarte-Luís
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-028, Lisboa, Portugal.
| | - Maria M Mota
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-028, Lisboa, Portugal.
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38
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Sassmannshausen J, Pradel G, Bennink S. Perforin-Like Proteins of Apicomplexan Parasites. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2020; 10:578883. [PMID: 33042876 PMCID: PMC7522308 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2020.578883] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2020] [Accepted: 08/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Perforins are secreted proteins of eukaryotes, which possess a membrane attack complex/perforin (MACPF) domain enabling them to form pores in the membranes of target cells. In higher eukaryotes, they are assigned to immune defense mechanisms required to kill invading microbes or infected cells. Perforin-like proteins (PLPs) are also found in apicomplexan parasites. Here they play diverse roles during lifecycle progression of the intracellularly replicating protozoans. The apicomplexan PLPs are best studied in Plasmodium and Toxoplasma, the causative agents of malaria and toxoplasmosis, respectively. The PLPs are expressed in the different lifecycle stages of the pathogens and can target and lyse a variety of cell membranes of the invertebrate and mammalian hosts. The PLPs thereby either function in host cell destruction during exit or in overcoming epithelial barriers during tissue passage. In this review, we summarize the various PLPs known for apicomplexan parasites and highlight their roles in Plasmodium and Toxoplasma lifecycle progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliane Sassmannshausen
- Division of Cellular and Applied Infection Biology, Institute of Zoology, Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Gabriele Pradel
- Division of Cellular and Applied Infection Biology, Institute of Zoology, Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Sandra Bennink
- Division of Cellular and Applied Infection Biology, Institute of Zoology, Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
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39
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Abuga KM, Jones-Warner W, Hafalla JCR. Immune responses to malaria pre-erythrocytic stages: Implications for vaccine development. Parasite Immunol 2020; 43:e12795. [PMID: 32981095 PMCID: PMC7612353 DOI: 10.1111/pim.12795] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2020] [Revised: 08/26/2020] [Accepted: 09/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Radiation-attenuated sporozoites induce sterilizing immunity and remain the 'gold standard' for malaria vaccine development. Despite practical challenges in translating these whole sporozoite vaccines to large-scale intervention programmes, they have provided an excellent platform to dissect the immune responses to malaria pre-erythrocytic (PE) stages, comprising both sporozoites and exoerythrocytic forms. Investigations in rodent models have provided insights that led to the clinical translation of various vaccine candidates-including RTS,S/AS01, the most advanced candidate currently in a trial implementation programme in three African countries. With advances in immunology, transcriptomics and proteomics, and application of lessons from past failures, an effective, long-lasting and wide-scale malaria PE vaccine remains feasible. This review underscores the progress in PE vaccine development, focusing on our understanding of host-parasite immunological crosstalk in the tissue environments of the skin and the liver. We highlight possible gaps in the current knowledge of PE immunity that can impact future malaria vaccine development efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelvin Mokaya Abuga
- Department of Infection Biology, Faculty of Infectious Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.,Department of Epidemiology and Demography, KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Kilifi, Kenya
| | - William Jones-Warner
- Department of Infection Biology, Faculty of Infectious Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Julius Clemence R Hafalla
- Department of Infection Biology, Faculty of Infectious Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
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40
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Bindschedler A, Wacker R, Egli J, Eickel N, Schmuckli-Maurer J, Franke-Fayard BM, Janse CJ, Heussler VT. Plasmodium berghei sporozoites in nonreplicative vacuole are eliminated by a PI3P-mediated autophagy-independent pathway. Cell Microbiol 2020; 23:e13271. [PMID: 32979009 PMCID: PMC7757174 DOI: 10.1111/cmi.13271] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2020] [Revised: 09/17/2020] [Accepted: 09/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
The protozoan parasite Plasmodium, causative agent of malaria, invades hepatocytes by invaginating the host cell plasma membrane and forming a parasitophorous vacuole membrane (PVM). Surrounded by this PVM, the parasite undergoes extensive replication. Parasites inside a PVM provoke the Plasmodium‐associated autophagy‐related (PAAR) response. This is characterised by a long‐lasting association of the autophagy marker protein LC3 with the PVM, which is not preceded by phosphatidylinositol 3‐phosphate (PI3P)‐labelling. Prior to productive invasion, sporozoites transmigrate several cells and here we describe that a proportion of traversing sporozoites become trapped in a transient traversal vacuole, provoking a host cell response that clearly differs from the PAAR response. These trapped sporozoites provoke PI3P‐labelling of the surrounding vacuolar membrane immediately after cell entry, followed by transient LC3‐labelling and elimination of the parasite by lysosomal acidification. Our data suggest that this PI3P response is not only restricted to sporozoites trapped during transmigration but also affects invaded parasites residing in a compromised vacuole. Thus, host cells can employ a pathway distinct from the previously described PAAR response to efficiently recognise and eliminate Plasmodium parasites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annina Bindschedler
- Institute of Cell Biology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.,Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Rahel Wacker
- Institute of Cell Biology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.,Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Jessica Egli
- Institute of Cell Biology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Nina Eickel
- Institute of Cell Biology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.,Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | | | - Blandine M Franke-Fayard
- Leiden malaria group, Department of Parasitology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Chris J Janse
- Leiden malaria group, Department of Parasitology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
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41
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Govindasamy K, Bhanot P. Overlapping and distinct roles of CDPK family members in the pre-erythrocytic stages of the rodent malaria parasite, Plasmodium berghei. PLoS Pathog 2020; 16:e1008131. [PMID: 32866196 PMCID: PMC7485973 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1008131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2019] [Revised: 09/11/2020] [Accepted: 07/08/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Invasion of hepatocytes by Plasmodium sporozoites initiates the pre-erythrocytic step of a malaria infection. Subsequent development of the parasite within hepatocytes and exit from them is essential for starting the disease-causing erythrocytic cycle. Identification of signaling pathways that operate in pre-erythrocytic stages provides insight into a critical step of infection and potential targets for chemoprotection from malaria. We demonstrate that P. berghei homologs of Calcium Dependent Protein Kinase 1 (CDPK1), CDPK4 and CDPK5 play overlapping but distinct roles in sporozoite invasion and parasite egress from hepatocytes. All three kinases are expressed in sporozoites. All three are required for optimal motility of sporozoites and consequently their invasion of hepatocytes. Increased cGMP can compensate for the functional loss of CDPK1 and CDPK5 during sporozoite invasion but cannot overcome loss of CDPK4. CDPK1 and CDPK5 expression is downregulated after sporozoite invasion. CDPK5 reappears in a subset of late stage liver stages and is present in all merosomes. Chemical inhibition of CDPK4 and depletion of CDPK5 in liver stages implicate these kinases in the formation and/or release of merosomes from mature liver stages. Furthermore, depletion of CDPK5 in merosomes significantly delays initiation of the erythrocytic cycle without affecting infectivity of hepatic merozoites. These data suggest that CDPK5 may be required for the rupture of merosomes. Our work provides evidence that sporozoite invasion requires CDPK1 and CDPK5, and suggests that CDPK5 participates in the release of hepatic merozoites. The malaria-parasite Plasmodium begins its mammalian cycle by infecting hepatocytes in the liver. A single parasite differentiates into tens of thousands of hepatic merozoites which exit the host cell in vesicles called merosomes. Hepatic merozoites initiate the first round of erythrocytic infection that eventually causes disease. We show that optimal invasion of liver cells by Plasmodium requires the action of three closely-related parasite kinases, CDPK1, 4 and 5. Loss of any of the three enzymes in the parasite significantly reduces infection of liver cells. Furthermore, CDPK5 is likely required for release of hepatic merozoites from merosomes and therefore for initiation of the erythrocytic cycle. A better understanding of how these kinases function could lead to drugs that prevent malaria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kavitha Govindasamy
- Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Department of Microbiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Newark, New Jersey, United States of America
| | - Purnima Bhanot
- Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Department of Microbiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Newark, New Jersey, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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42
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Tartarelli I, Tinari A, Possenti A, Cherchi S, Falchi M, Dubey JP, Spano F. During host cell traversal and cell-to-cell passage, Toxoplasma gondii sporozoites inhabit the parasitophorous vacuole and posteriorly release dense granule protein-associated membranous trails. Int J Parasitol 2020; 50:1099-1115. [PMID: 32882286 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2020.06.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2020] [Revised: 05/21/2020] [Accepted: 06/23/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Toxoplasma gondii has a worldwide distribution and infects virtually all warm-blooded animals, including humans. Ingestion of the environmentally resistant oocyst stage, excreted only in the feces of cats, is central to transmission of this apicomplexan parasite. There is vast literature on the host and T. gondii tachyzoite (proliferative stage of the parasite) but little is known of the host-parasite interaction and conversion of the free-living stage (sporozoite inside the oocyst) to the parasitic stage. Here, we present events that follow invasion of host cells with T. gondii sporozoites by using immunofluorescence (IF) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Several human type cell cultures were infected with T. gondii sporozoites of the two genotypes (Type II, ME49 and Type III, VEG) most prevalent worldwide. For the first known time, using anti-rhoptry neck protein 4 (RON4) antibodies, the moving junction was visualized in sporozoites during the invasion process and shortly after its completion. Surprisingly, IF and TEM evaluation revealed that intracellular sporozoites release, at their posterior end, long membranous tails, herein named sporozoite-specific trails (SSTs). Differential permeabilization and IF experiments showed that the SSTs are associated with several dense granule proteins (GRAs) and that their membranous component is of parasite origin. Furthermore, TEM observations demonstrated that SST-associated sporozoites are delimited by a typical parasitophorous vacuole, which is retained during parasite exit from the host cell and during cell-to-cell passage. Our data strongly suggest that host cell traversal by T. gondii sporozoites relies on a novel force-producing mechanism, based on the massive extrusion at the parasite posterior pole of GRA-associated membranous material derived from the same pool of membranes forming the intravacuolar network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Tartarelli
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Antonella Tinari
- Center for Gender-Specific Medicine, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Alessia Possenti
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Simona Cherchi
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Mario Falchi
- National AIDS Center, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Jitender P Dubey
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland 20705, United States
| | - Furio Spano
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy.
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43
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De Niz M, Carvalho T, Penha-Gonçalves C, Agop-Nersesian C. Intravital imaging of host-parasite interactions in organs of the thoracic and abdominopelvic cavities. Cell Microbiol 2020; 22:e13201. [PMID: 32149435 DOI: 10.1111/cmi.13201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2019] [Revised: 03/03/2020] [Accepted: 03/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Infections with protozoan and helminthic parasites affect multiple organs in the mammalian host. Imaging pathogens in their natural environment takes a more holistic view on biomedical aspects of parasitic infections. Here, we focus on selected organs of the thoracic and abdominopelvic cavities most commonly affected by parasites. Parasitic infections of these organs are often associated with severe medical complications or have health implications beyond the infected individual. Intravital imaging has provided a more dynamic picture of the host-parasite interplay and contributed not only to our understanding of the various disease pathologies, but has also provided fundamental insight into the biology of the parasites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariana De Niz
- Institute of Cell Biology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.,Instituto de Medicina Molecular - João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Tânia Carvalho
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular - João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
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44
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Arévalo-Pinzón G, Garzón-Ospina D, Pulido FA, Bermúdez M, Forero-Rodríguez J, Rodríguez-Mesa XM, Reyes-Guarín LP, Suárez CF, Patarroyo MA. Plasmodium vivax Cell Traversal Protein for Ookinetes and Sporozoites (CelTOS) Functionally Restricted Regions Are Involved in Specific Host-Pathogen Interactions. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2020; 10:119. [PMID: 32266169 PMCID: PMC7105572 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2020.00119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2019] [Accepted: 03/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Following the injection of Plasmodium sporozoites by a female Anopheles mosquito into the dermis, they become engaged on a long journey to hepatic tissue where they must migrate through different types of cell to become established in parasitophorous vacuoles in hepatocytes. Studies have shown that proteins such as cell traversal protein for Plasmodium ookinetes and sporozoites (CelTOS) play a crucial role in cell-traversal ability. Although CelTOS has been extensively studied in various species and included in pre-clinical assays it remains unknown which P. vivax CelTOS (PvCelTOS) regions are key in its interaction with traversed or target cells (Kupffer or hepatocytes) and what type of pressure, association and polymorphism these important regions could have to improve their candidacy as important vaccine antigens. This work has described producing a recombinant PvCelTOS which was recognized by ~30% P. vivax-infected individuals, thereby confirming its ability for inducing a natural immune response. PvCelTOS' genetic diversity in Colombia and its ability to interact with HeLa (traversal cell) and/or HepG2 cell (target cell) external membrane have been assessed. One region in the PvCelTOS amino-terminal region and another in its C-terminus were seen to be participating in host-pathogen interactions. These regions had important functional constraint signals (ω < 0.3 and several sites under negative selection) and were able to inhibit specific rPvCelTOS binding to HeLa cells. This led to suggesting that sequences between aa 41-60 (40833) and 141-160 (40838) represent promising candidates for an anti-P. vivax subunit-based vaccine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriela Arévalo-Pinzón
- Receptor-Ligand Department, Fundacion Instituto de Inmunologia de Colombia (FIDIC), Bogota, Colombia.,School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universidad del Rosario, Bogota, Colombia
| | - Diego Garzón-Ospina
- PhD Programme in Biomedical and Biological Sciences, Universidad del Rosario, Bogota, Colombia
| | - Fredy A Pulido
- Receptor-Ligand Department, Fundacion Instituto de Inmunologia de Colombia (FIDIC), Bogota, Colombia
| | - Maritza Bermúdez
- Receptor-Ligand Department, Fundacion Instituto de Inmunologia de Colombia (FIDIC), Bogota, Colombia
| | - Johanna Forero-Rodríguez
- Molecular Biology and Immunology Department, Fundacion Instituto de Immunologia de Colombia (FIDIC), Bogota, Colombia
| | - Xandy M Rodríguez-Mesa
- Molecular Biology and Immunology Department, Fundacion Instituto de Immunologia de Colombia (FIDIC), Bogota, Colombia
| | - Leidy P Reyes-Guarín
- Molecular Biology and Immunology Department, Fundacion Instituto de Immunologia de Colombia (FIDIC), Bogota, Colombia
| | - Carlos F Suárez
- School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universidad del Rosario, Bogota, Colombia.,Biomathematics Department, Fundacion Instituto de Immunologia de Colombia (FIDIC), Bogota, Colombia
| | - Manuel A Patarroyo
- School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universidad del Rosario, Bogota, Colombia.,Molecular Biology and Immunology Department, Fundacion Instituto de Immunologia de Colombia (FIDIC), Bogota, Colombia
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45
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Ghartey-Kwansah G, Aboagye B, Adu-Nti F, Opoku YK, Abu EK. Clearing or subverting the enemy: Role of autophagy in protozoan infections. Life Sci 2020; 247:117453. [PMID: 32088215 DOI: 10.1016/j.lfs.2020.117453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2020] [Revised: 02/17/2020] [Accepted: 02/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The protozoan parasites are evolutionarily divergent, unicellular eukaryotic pathogens representing one of the essential sources of parasitic diseases. These parasites significantly affect the economy and cause public health burdens globally. Protozoan parasites share many cellular features and pathways with their respective host cells. This includes autophagy, a process responsible for self-degradation of the cell's components. There is conservation of the central structural and functional machinery for autophagy in most of the eukaryotic phyla, however, Plasmodium and Toxoplasma possess a decreased number of recognizable autophagy-related proteins (ATG). Plasmodium noticeably lacks clear orthologs of the initiating kinase ATG1/ULK1/2, and both Plasmodium and Toxoplasma lack proteins involved in the nucleation of autophagosomes. These organisms have essential apicoplast, a plastid-like non-photosynthetic organelle, which is an adaptation that is used in penetrating the host cell. Furthermore, available evidence suggests that Leishmania, an intracellular protozoan parasite, induces autophagy in macrophages. The autophagic pathway in Trypanosoma cruzi is activated during metacyclogenesis, a process responsible for the infective forms of parasites. Therefore, numerous pathogens have developed strategies to impair the autophagic mechanism in phagocytes. Regulating autophagy is essential to maintain cellular health as adjustments in the autophagy pathway have been linked to the progression of several physiological and pathological conditions in humans. In this review, we report current advances in autophagy in parasites and their host cells, focusing on the ramifications of these studies in the design of potential anti-protozoan therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- George Ghartey-Kwansah
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Health and Allied Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana; College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710119, China.
| | - Benjamin Aboagye
- Department of Forensic Sciences, College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana
| | - Frank Adu-Nti
- College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710119, China
| | - Yeboah Kwaku Opoku
- Department of Biology Education, Faculty of Science, University of Education, Winneba, Ghana
| | - Emmanuel Kwasi Abu
- Department of Optometry and Vision Science, College of Health and Allied Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana
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46
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Abstract
The LS of Plasmodium infection is an asymptomatic yet necessary stage for producing blood-infective parasites, the causative agents of malaria. Blocking the liver stage of the life cycle can prevent clinical malaria, but relatively less is known about the parasite’s biology at this stage. Using the rodent model P. berghei, we investigated whole-transcriptome changes occurring as early as 2 hpi of hepatocytes. The transcriptional profiles of early time points (2, 4, 12, and 18 hpi) have not been accessible before due to the technical challenges associated with liver-stage infections. Our data now provide insights into these early parasite fluxes that may facilitate establishment of infection, transformation, and replication in the liver. The apicomplexan parasites Plasmodium spp. are the causative agents of malaria, a disease that poses a significant global health burden. Plasmodium spp. initiate infection of the human host by transforming and replicating within hepatocytes. This liver stage (LS) is poorly understood compared to other Plasmodium life stages, which has hindered our ability to target these parasites for disease prevention. We conducted an extensive transcriptome sequencing (RNA-Seq) analysis throughout the Plasmodium berghei LS, covering as early as 2 h postinfection (hpi) and extending to 48 hpi. Our data revealed that hundreds of genes are differentially expressed at 2 hpi and that multiple genes shown to be important for later infection are upregulated as early as 12 hpi. Using hierarchical clustering along with coexpression analysis, we identified clusters functionally enriched for important liver-stage processes such as interactions with the host cell and redox homeostasis. Furthermore, some of these clusters were highly correlated to the expression of ApiAP2 transcription factors, while showing enrichment of mostly uncharacterized DNA binding motifs. This finding indicates potential LS targets for these transcription factors, while also hinting at alternative uncharacterized DNA binding motifs and transcription factors during this stage. Our work presents a window into the previously undescribed transcriptome of Plasmodium upon host hepatocyte infection to enable a comprehensive view of the parasite’s LS. These findings also provide a blueprint for future studies that extend hypotheses concerning LS gene function in P. berghei to human-infective Plasmodium parasites.
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47
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Deslyper G, Doherty DG, Carolan JC, Holland CV. The role of the liver in the migration of parasites of global significance. Parasit Vectors 2019; 12:531. [PMID: 31703729 PMCID: PMC6842148 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-019-3791-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2019] [Accepted: 11/04/2019] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Many parasites migrate through different tissues during their life-cycle, possibly with the aim to enhance their fitness. This is true for species of three parasite genera of global importance, Ascaris, Schistosoma and Plasmodium, which cause significant global morbidity and mortality. Interestingly, these parasites all incorporate the liver in their life-cycle. The liver has a special immune status being able to preferentially induce tolerance over immunity. This function may be exploited by parasites to evade host immunity, with Plasmodium spp. in particular using this organ for its multiplication. However, hepatic larval attrition occurs in both ascariasis and schistosomiasis. A better understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in hepatic infection could be useful in developing novel vaccines and therapies for these parasites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gwendoline Deslyper
- Department of Zoology, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland.
| | - Derek G Doherty
- School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - James C Carolan
- Department of Biology, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Co. Kildare, Ireland
| | - Celia V Holland
- Department of Zoology, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
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48
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Arez F, Rebelo SP, Fontinha D, Simão D, Martins TR, Machado M, Fischli C, Oeuvray C, Badolo L, Carrondo MJT, Rottmann M, Spangenberg T, Brito C, Greco B, Prudêncio M, Alves PM. Flexible 3D Cell-Based Platforms for the Discovery and Profiling of Novel Drugs Targeting Plasmodium Hepatic Infection. ACS Infect Dis 2019; 5:1831-1842. [PMID: 31479238 DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.9b00144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
The restricted pipeline of drugs targeting the liver stage of Plasmodium infection reflects the scarcity of cell models that mimic the human hepatic phenotype and drug metabolism, as well as Plasmodium hepatic infection. Using stirred-tank culture systems, spheroids of human hepatic cell lines were generated, sustaining a stable hepatic phenotype over 4 weeks of culture. Spheroids were employed in the establishment of 3D Plasmodium berghei infection platforms that relied on static or dynamic culture conditions. P. berghei invasion and development were recapitulated in the hepatic spheroids, yielding blood-infective merozoites. The translational potential of the 3D platforms was demonstrated by comparing the in vitro minimum inhibitory concentration of M5717, a compound under clinical development, with in vivo plasma concentrations that clear liver stage P. berghei in mice. Our results show that the 3D platforms are flexible and scalable and can predict the efficacy of antiplasmodial therapies, constituting a powerful tool for integration in drug discovery programs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francisca Arez
- iBET, Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica, Apartado 12, 2780-901 Oeiras, Portugal
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Avenida da República, 2780-157 Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Sofia P. Rebelo
- iBET, Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica, Apartado 12, 2780-901 Oeiras, Portugal
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Avenida da República, 2780-157 Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Diana Fontinha
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-028 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Daniel Simão
- iBET, Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica, Apartado 12, 2780-901 Oeiras, Portugal
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Avenida da República, 2780-157 Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Tatiana R. Martins
- iBET, Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica, Apartado 12, 2780-901 Oeiras, Portugal
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Avenida da República, 2780-157 Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Marta Machado
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-028 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Christoph Fischli
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel 4051, Switzerland
- University of Basel, Basel 4003, Switzerland
| | - Claude Oeuvray
- Global Health Institute of Merck, Ares Trading S.A., a subsidiary of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, 1262 Eysins, Switzerland
| | - Lassina Badolo
- Discovery and Development Technologies, Merck Healthcare KGaA, Frankfurter Strasse 250, 64293 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Manuel J. T. Carrondo
- iBET, Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica, Apartado 12, 2780-901 Oeiras, Portugal
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Avenida da República, 2780-157 Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Matthias Rottmann
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel 4051, Switzerland
- University of Basel, Basel 4003, Switzerland
| | - Thomas Spangenberg
- Global Health Institute of Merck, Ares Trading S.A., a subsidiary of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, 1262 Eysins, Switzerland
| | - Catarina Brito
- iBET, Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica, Apartado 12, 2780-901 Oeiras, Portugal
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Avenida da República, 2780-157 Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Beatrice Greco
- Global Health Institute of Merck, Ares Trading S.A., a subsidiary of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, 1262 Eysins, Switzerland
| | - Miguel Prudêncio
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-028 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Paula M. Alves
- iBET, Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica, Apartado 12, 2780-901 Oeiras, Portugal
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Avenida da República, 2780-157 Oeiras, Portugal
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49
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Goswami D, Minkah NK, Kappe SHI. Designer Parasites: Genetically Engineered Plasmodium as Vaccines To Prevent Malaria Infection. THE JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY 2019; 202:20-28. [PMID: 30587570 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.1800727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2018] [Accepted: 08/21/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
A highly efficacious malaria vaccine that prevents disease and breaks the cycle of infection remains an aspirational goal of medicine. Whole parasite vaccines based on the sporozoite forms of the parasite that target the clinically silent pre-erythrocytic stages of infection have emerged as one of the leading candidates. In animal models of malaria, these vaccines elicit potent neutralizing Ab responses against the sporozoite stage and cytotoxic T cells that eliminate parasite-infected hepatocytes. Among whole-sporozoite vaccines, immunization with live, replication-competent whole parasites engenders superior immunity and protection when compared with live replication-deficient sporozoites. As such, the genetic design of replication-competent vaccine strains holds the promise for a potent, broadly protective malaria vaccine. In this report, we will review the advances in whole-sporozoite vaccine development with a particular focus on genetically attenuated parasites both as malaria vaccine candidates and also as valuable tools to interrogate protective immunity against Plasmodium infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Debashree Goswami
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA 98109; and
| | - Nana K Minkah
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA 98109; and
| | - Stefan H I Kappe
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA 98109; and .,Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195
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50
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Vijayan K, Cestari I, Mast FD, Glennon EKK, McDermott SM, Kain HS, Brokaw AM, Aitchison JD, Stuart K, Kaushansky A. Plasmodium Secretion Induces Hepatocyte Lysosome Exocytosis and Promotes Parasite Entry. iScience 2019; 21:603-611. [PMID: 31731198 PMCID: PMC6889558 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2019.10.054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2019] [Revised: 10/17/2019] [Accepted: 10/24/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The invasion of a suitable host hepatocyte by Plasmodium sporozoites is an essential step in malaria infection. We demonstrate that in infected hepatocytes, lysosomes are redistributed away from the nucleus, and surface exposure of lysosome-associated membrane protein 1 (LAMP1) is increased. Lysosome exocytosis in infected cells occurs independently of sporozoite traversal. Instead, a sporozoite-secreted factor is sufficient for the process. Knockdown of SNARE proteins involved in lysosome-plasma membrane fusion reduces lysosome exocytosis and Plasmodium infection. In contrast, promoting fusion between the lysosome and plasma membrane dramatically increases infection. Our work demonstrates parallels between Plasmodium sporozoite entry of hepatocytes and infection by the excavate pathogen Trypanosoma cruzi and raises the question of whether convergent evolution has shaped host cell invasion by divergent pathogens. Plasmodium sporozoites induce host lysosome exocytosis during invasion Hepatocyte lysosome exocytosis occurs in a SPECT2-independent manner Inhibition of lysosome-plasma membrane fusion inhibits sporozoite invasion Secreted parasite factors are sufficient to induce lysosome exocytosis
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Affiliation(s)
- Kamalakannan Vijayan
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, 307 Westlake Avenue, N. Suite 500, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Igor Cestari
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, 307 Westlake Avenue, N. Suite 500, Seattle, WA 98109, USA; Institute of Parasitology, McGill University, Ste Anne de Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9, Canada
| | - Fred D Mast
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, 307 Westlake Avenue, N. Suite 500, Seattle, WA 98109, USA; Institute for Systems Biology, 401 Terry Avenue, N, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Elizabeth K K Glennon
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, 307 Westlake Avenue, N. Suite 500, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Suzanne M McDermott
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, 307 Westlake Avenue, N. Suite 500, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Heather S Kain
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, 307 Westlake Avenue, N. Suite 500, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Alyssa M Brokaw
- Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Harris Hydraulics Laboratory Box 357965, Seattle, WA 98195-7965, USA
| | - John D Aitchison
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, 307 Westlake Avenue, N. Suite 500, Seattle, WA 98109, USA; Institute for Systems Biology, 401 Terry Avenue, N, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Kenneth Stuart
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, 307 Westlake Avenue, N. Suite 500, Seattle, WA 98109, USA; Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Harris Hydraulics Laboratory Box 357965, Seattle, WA 98195-7965, USA
| | - Alexis Kaushansky
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, 307 Westlake Avenue, N. Suite 500, Seattle, WA 98109, USA; Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Harris Hydraulics Laboratory Box 357965, Seattle, WA 98195-7965, USA.
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