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Schwarzer E, Skorokhod O. Post-Translational Modifications of Proteins of Malaria Parasites during the Life Cycle. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:6145. [PMID: 38892332 PMCID: PMC11173270 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25116145] [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: 05/01/2024] [Revised: 05/29/2024] [Accepted: 05/31/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Post-translational modifications (PTMs) are essential for regulating protein functions, influencing various fundamental processes in eukaryotes. These include, but are not limited to, cell signaling, protein trafficking, the epigenetic control of gene expression, and control of the cell cycle, as well as cell proliferation, differentiation, and interactions between cells. In this review, we discuss protein PTMs that play a key role in the malaria parasite biology and its pathogenesis. Phosphorylation, acetylation, methylation, lipidation and lipoxidation, glycosylation, ubiquitination and sumoylation, nitrosylation and glutathionylation, all of which occur in malarial parasites, are reviewed. We provide information regarding the biological significance of these modifications along all phases of the complex life cycle of Plasmodium spp. Importantly, not only the parasite, but also the host and vector protein PTMs are often crucial for parasite growth and development. In addition to metabolic regulations, protein PTMs can result in epitopes that are able to elicit both innate and adaptive immune responses of the host or vector. We discuss some existing and prospective results from antimalarial drug discovery trials that target various PTM-related processes in the parasite or host.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evelin Schwarzer
- Department of Oncology, University of Turin, Via Santena 5 bis, 10126 Turin, Italy;
| | - Oleksii Skorokhod
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Via Accademia Albertina, 13, 10123 Turin, Italy
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Ouologuem DT, Dara A, Kone A, Ouattara A, Djimde AA. Plasmodium falciparum Development from Gametocyte to Oocyst: Insight from Functional Studies. Microorganisms 2023; 11:1966. [PMID: 37630530 PMCID: PMC10460021 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11081966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2023] [Revised: 07/06/2023] [Accepted: 07/14/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Malaria elimination may never succeed without the implementation of transmission-blocking strategies. The transmission of Plasmodium spp. parasites from the human host to the mosquito vector depends on circulating gametocytes in the peripheral blood of the vertebrate host. Once ingested by the mosquito during blood meals, these sexual forms undergo a series of radical morphological and metabolic changes to survive and progress from the gut to the salivary glands, where they will be waiting to be injected into the vertebrate host. The design of effective transmission-blocking strategies requires a thorough understanding of all the mechanisms that drive the development of gametocytes, gametes, sexual reproduction, and subsequent differentiation within the mosquito. The drastic changes in Plasmodium falciparum shape and function throughout its life cycle rely on the tight regulation of stage-specific gene expression. This review outlines the mechanisms involved in Plasmodium falciparum sexual stage development in both the human and mosquito vector, and zygote to oocyst differentiation. Functional studies unravel mechanisms employed by P. falciparum to orchestrate the expression of stage-specific functional products required to succeed in its complex life cycle, thus providing us with potential targets for developing new therapeutics. These mechanisms are based on studies conducted with various Plasmodium species, including predominantly P. falciparum and the rodent malaria parasites P. berghei. However, the great potential of epigenetics, genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and functional genetic studies to improve the understanding of malaria as a disease remains partly untapped because of limitations in studies using human malaria parasites and field isolates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dinkorma T. Ouologuem
- Malaria Research and Training Center, Faculty of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Sciences, Techniques, and Technologies of Bamako, Bamako 1805, Mali
| | - Antoine Dara
- Malaria Research and Training Center, Faculty of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Sciences, Techniques, and Technologies of Bamako, Bamako 1805, Mali
| | - Aminatou Kone
- Malaria Research and Training Center, Faculty of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Sciences, Techniques, and Technologies of Bamako, Bamako 1805, Mali
| | - Amed Ouattara
- Malaria Research Program, Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - Abdoulaye A. Djimde
- Malaria Research and Training Center, Faculty of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Sciences, Techniques, and Technologies of Bamako, Bamako 1805, Mali
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Ramanto KN, Nurdiansyah R. Structural and immunogenicity analysis of reconstructed ancestral and consensus P48/45 for cross-species anti malaria transmission-blocking vaccine. Comput Biol Chem 2021; 92:107495. [PMID: 33940529 DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiolchem.2021.107495] [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: 02/22/2021] [Accepted: 04/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
The development of the anti-malaria vaccine holds a promising future in malaria control. One of the anti-malaria vaccine strategies known as the transmission-blocking vaccine (TBV) is to inhibit the parasite transmission between humans and mosquitoes by targeting the parasite gametocyte. Previously, we found that P48/45 included in the 6-Cysteine protein family shared by Plasmodium sp. We also detected vaccine properties possessed by all human-infecting Plasmodium and could be used as a cross-species anti-malaria vaccine. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of P48/45 through the ancestral and consensus reconstruction approach. P48/45 phylogenetic and time tree analysis was done by RAXML and BEAST2. GRASP server and Ugene software were used to reconstruct ancestral and consensus sequences, respectively. The protein structural prediction was made by using a psipred and Rosetta program. Each protein characteristic of P48/45 was analyzed by assessing hydrophobicity and Post-Translational Modification sites. Meanwhile, the Epitope sequence for B-cell, T-cell, and HLA was determined using an immunoinformatics approach. Lastly, molecular docking simulation was done to determine native binding interactions of P48/45-P230. The result showed a distinct protein characteristic of ancestral and consensus sequences. The immunogenicity analysis revealed the number of epitopes in the ancestral sequence is greater than the consensus sequence. The study also found a conserved epitope located in the binding site and consists of specific Post-Translational Modification sites. Hence, our research provides detailed insight into ancestral and consensus P48/45 efficacy for the cross-species anti-malaria vaccine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin Nathanael Ramanto
- Department of Bioinformatics, School of Life Sciences, Indonesia International Institute for Life Sciences, Jakarta, Indonesia
| | - Rizky Nurdiansyah
- Department of Bioinformatics, School of Life Sciences, Indonesia International Institute for Life Sciences, Jakarta, Indonesia.
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Nitika, Porter CM, Truman AW, Truttmann MC. Post-translational modifications of Hsp70 family proteins: Expanding the chaperone code. J Biol Chem 2020; 295:10689-10708. [PMID: 32518165 PMCID: PMC7397107 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.rev120.011666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 100] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2020] [Revised: 06/08/2020] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Cells must be able to cope with the challenge of folding newly synthesized proteins and refolding those that have become misfolded in the context of a crowded cytosol. One such coping mechanism that has appeared during evolution is the expression of well-conserved molecular chaperones, such as those that are part of the heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) family of proteins that bind and fold a large proportion of the proteome. Although Hsp70 family chaperones have been extensively examined for the last 50 years, most studies have focused on regulation of Hsp70 activities by altered transcription, co-chaperone "helper" proteins, and ATP binding and hydrolysis. The rise of modern proteomics has uncovered a vast array of post-translational modifications (PTMs) on Hsp70 family proteins that include phosphorylation, acetylation, ubiquitination, AMPylation, and ADP-ribosylation. Similarly to the pattern of histone modifications, the histone code, this complex pattern of chaperone PTMs is now known as the "chaperone code." In this review, we discuss the history of the Hsp70 chaperone code, its currently understood regulation and functions, and thoughts on what the future of research into the chaperone code may entail.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nitika
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of North Carolina, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
| | - Corey M Porter
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Andrew W Truman
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of North Carolina, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
| | - Matthias C Truttmann
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
- Geriatrics Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
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Invergo BM, Brochet M, Yu L, Choudhary J, Beltrao P, Billker O. Sub-minute Phosphoregulation of Cell Cycle Systems during Plasmodium Gamete Formation. Cell Rep 2018; 21:2017-2029. [PMID: 29141230 PMCID: PMC5700370 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2017.10.071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2017] [Revised: 09/02/2017] [Accepted: 10/18/2017] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
The transmission of malaria parasites to mosquitoes relies on the rapid induction of sexual reproduction upon their ingestion into a blood meal. Haploid female and male gametocytes become activated and emerge from their host cells, and the males enter the cell cycle to produce eight microgametes. The synchronized nature of gametogenesis allowed us to investigate phosphorylation signaling during its first minute in Plasmodium berghei via a high-resolution time course of the phosphoproteome. This revealed an unexpectedly broad response, with proteins related to distinct cell cycle events undergoing simultaneous phosphoregulation. We implicate several protein kinases in the process, and we validate our analyses on the plant-like calcium-dependent protein kinase 4 (CDPK4) and a homolog of serine/arginine-rich protein kinases (SRPK1). Mutants in these kinases displayed distinct phosphoproteomic disruptions, consistent with differences in their phenotypes. The results reveal the central role of protein phosphorylation in the atypical cell cycle regulation of a divergent eukaryote.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brandon M Invergo
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), Hinxton, Cambridgeshire CB10 1SD, UK; Malaria Programme, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire CB10 1SA, UK
| | - Mathieu Brochet
- Malaria Programme, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire CB10 1SA, UK; Department of Microbiology & Molecular Medicine, CMU, University of Geneva, 1211 Geneva 4, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Lu Yu
- Proteomics Mass Spectrometry, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire CB10 1SA, UK; The Institute of Cancer Research, Chester Betty Laboratory, London, Greater London SW7 3RP, UK
| | - Jyoti Choudhary
- Proteomics Mass Spectrometry, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire CB10 1SA, UK; The Institute of Cancer Research, Chester Betty Laboratory, London, Greater London SW7 3RP, UK.
| | - Pedro Beltrao
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), Hinxton, Cambridgeshire CB10 1SD, UK.
| | - Oliver Billker
- Malaria Programme, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire CB10 1SA, UK.
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Garcia CH, Depoix D, Queiroz RM, Souza JM, Fontes W, de Sousa MV, Santos MD, Carvalho PC, Grellier P, Charneau S. Dynamic molecular events associated to Plasmodium berghei gametogenesis through proteomic approach. J Proteomics 2018; 180:88-98. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jprot.2017.11.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2017] [Revised: 11/08/2017] [Accepted: 11/14/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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