1
|
Díaz-Pérez L, Salusso A, Patolsky R, Mayol G, Quassollo G, Feliziani C, Touz MC, Rópolo AS. Lysine methyltransferase 2 plays a key role in the encystation process in the parasite Giardia lamblia. Acta Trop 2024; 257:107295. [PMID: 38906362 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2024.107295] [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: 04/24/2024] [Revised: 06/11/2024] [Accepted: 06/18/2024] [Indexed: 06/23/2024]
Abstract
Histone post-translational modifications are extensively studied for their role in regulating gene transcription and cellular environmental adaptation. Research into these modifications has recently begun in the protozoan parasite Giardia lamblia, focusing on histone-modifying enzymes and specific post-translational changes. In the transformation from the trophozoite to the cyst form in the life cycle of this parasite, significant morphological and genetic alterations occur, culminating in the synthesis of cyst wall proteins responsible for forming the protective cyst wall. It has been previously demonstrated that histone deacetylation is required during encystation and that the enzyme lysine methyltransferase 1 is involved in the upregulation of encystation. Our study aims to extend the analysis to lysine methyltransferase 2 (GlKMT2) function. For this, two constructs were generated: one that downregulate the expression of GLKMT2 via antisense (glkmt2-as transgenic cells) and the other overexpressing GlKMT2 (glkmt2-ha transgenic cells). We found that the glktm2-as transgenic cells showed an arrest in progress at the late encystation stage. Consequently, the number of cysts produced was lower than that of the control cells. On the other hand, we found that the overexpression of GlKMT2 acts as a negative mutant of the enzyme. In this way, these glktm2-ha transgenic cells showed the same behavior during growth and encystation as glkmt2-as transgenic cells. This interplay between different enzymes acting during encystation reveals the complex process behind the differentiation of the parasite. Understanding how these enzymes play their role during the encystation of the parasite would allow the design of inhibitors to control the parasite.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Luciano Díaz-Pérez
- Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra, INIMEC - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Agostina Salusso
- Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra, INIMEC - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Rocío Patolsky
- Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra, INIMEC - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Gonzalo Mayol
- Departamento de Química Biológica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires (FCEyN-UBA) - Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (IQUIBICEN) CONICET, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Gonzalo Quassollo
- Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra, INIMEC - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Constanza Feliziani
- Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra, INIMEC - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - María Carolina Touz
- Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra, INIMEC - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Andrea S Rópolo
- Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra, INIMEC - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Giallourou N, Arnold J, McQuade ETR, Awoniyi M, Becket RVT, Walsh K, Herzog J, Gulati AS, Carroll IM, Montgomery S, Quintela PH, Faust AM, Singer SM, Fodor AA, Ahmad T, Mahfuz M, Mduma E, Walongo T, Guerrant RL, Balfour Sartor R, Swann JR, Kosek MN, Bartelt LA. Giardia hinders growth by disrupting nutrient metabolism independent of inflammatory enteropathy. Nat Commun 2023; 14:2840. [PMID: 37202423 PMCID: PMC10195804 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-38363-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2021] [Accepted: 04/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Giardia lamblia (Giardia) is among the most common intestinal pathogens in children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Although Giardia associates with early-life linear growth restriction, mechanistic explanations for Giardia-associated growth impairments remain elusive. Unlike other intestinal pathogens associated with constrained linear growth that cause intestinal or systemic inflammation or both, Giardia seldom associates with chronic inflammation in these children. Here we leverage the MAL-ED longitudinal birth cohort and a model of Giardia mono-association in gnotobiotic and immunodeficient mice to propose an alternative pathogenesis of this parasite. In children, Giardia results in linear growth deficits and gut permeability that are dose-dependent and independent of intestinal markers of inflammation. The estimates of these findings vary between children in different MAL-ED sites. In a representative site, where Giardia associates with growth restriction, infected children demonstrate broad amino acid deficiencies, and overproduction of specific phenolic acids, byproducts of intestinal bacterial amino acid metabolism. Gnotobiotic mice require specific nutritional and environmental conditions to recapitulate these findings, and immunodeficient mice confirm a pathway independent of chronic T/B cell inflammation. Taken together, we propose a new paradigm that Giardia-mediated growth faltering is contingent upon a convergence of this intestinal protozoa with nutritional and intestinal bacterial factors.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Natasa Giallourou
- Division of Digestive Diseases, Department of Metabolism, Digestion, and Reproduction, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, UK.
- Centre of Excellence in Biobanking and Biomedical Research, Molecular Medicine Research Center, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus.
| | - Jason Arnold
- Center for Gastrointestinal Biology and Disease, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke Microbiome Center, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, 27710, USA
| | | | - Muyiwa Awoniyi
- Center for Gastrointestinal Biology and Disease, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Rose Viguna Thomas Becket
- Departments of Pediatrics and Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Kenneth Walsh
- Institute for Infectious Diseases and Global Health and the Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Jeremy Herzog
- Center for Gastrointestinal Biology and Disease, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Ajay S Gulati
- Departments of Pediatrics and Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Ian M Carroll
- Department of Nutrition, Gillings School of Public Health, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Stephanie Montgomery
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | | | | | - Steven M Singer
- Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Anthony A Fodor
- The University of North Carolina Charlotte, Department of Bioinformatics and Genomics, Charlotte, USA
| | - Tahmeed Ahmad
- International Center for Diarrheal Disease Research, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Mustafa Mahfuz
- International Center for Diarrheal Disease Research, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Esto Mduma
- Haydom Global Health Research Centre, Haydom Lutheran Hospital, Haydom, Tanzania
| | - Thomas Walongo
- Haydom Global Health Research Centre, Haydom Lutheran Hospital, Haydom, Tanzania
| | - Richard L Guerrant
- Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health, Department of Medicine, The University of Virginia Charlottesville, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - R Balfour Sartor
- Center for Gastrointestinal Biology and Disease, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Jonathan R Swann
- School of Human Development and Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Margaret N Kosek
- Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health, Department of Medicine, The University of Virginia Charlottesville, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Luther A Bartelt
- Center for Gastrointestinal Biology and Disease, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
- Institute for Infectious Diseases and Global Health and the Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Suarez P, Alonso JL, Gómez G, Vidal G. Performance of sewage treatment technologies for the removal of Cryptosporidium sp. and Giardia sp.: Toward water circularity. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2022; 324:116320. [PMID: 36183529 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.116320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2022] [Revised: 08/31/2022] [Accepted: 09/16/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Cryptosporidium sp. and Giardia sp. are parasites that cause diseases in the population. Most of parasite diseases regarding the consumption of drinking water polluted with sewage are caused by Cryptosporidium sp. or Giardia sp. it is because of the incomplete disinfection of the wastewater treatment. Therefore, in this work the removal or inactivation efficiency of different treatment technologies presented by around 40 scientific studies was evaluated, with a view to water circularity. For Cryptosporidium sp., we conclude that the most efficient secondary technologies are aerobic technologies, which remove between 0.00 and 2.17 log units (Ulog), with activated sludge presenting the greatest efficiency, and that the tertiary technologies with the greatest removal are those that use ultrasound, which reach removal values of 3.17 Ulog. In the case of Giardia sp., the secondary technologies with the greatest removal are anaerobic technologies, with values between 0.00 and 3.80 Ulog, and the tertiary technologies with the greatest removal are those that combine filtration with UV or a chemical disinfection agent. Despite the removal values obtained, the greatest concern remains detecting and quantifying the infectious forms of both parasites in effluents; therefore, although the technologies perform adequately, discharge effluents must be monitored with more sensitive techniques, above all aiming for circularity of the treated water in a context of the water scarcity that affects some parts of the world.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pilar Suarez
- Environmental Engineering & Biotechnology Group (GIBA-UDEC), Environmental Science Faculty, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, 4070386, Chile
| | - José Luis Alonso
- Instituto de Ingeniería del Agua y Medio Ambiente, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera 14, P.O. Box 46022, Valencia, Spain
| | - Gloria Gómez
- Environmental Engineering & Biotechnology Group (GIBA-UDEC), Environmental Science Faculty, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, 4070386, Chile
| | - Gladys Vidal
- Environmental Engineering & Biotechnology Group (GIBA-UDEC), Environmental Science Faculty, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, 4070386, Chile.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Dougherty M, Bartelt LA. Giardia and growth impairment in children in high-prevalence settings: consequence or co-incidence? Curr Opin Infect Dis 2022; 35:417-423. [PMID: 35980005 PMCID: PMC10373467 DOI: 10.1097/qco.0000000000000877] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Giardia is a common intestinal parasite worldwide, and infection can be associated with clear, and sometimes persistent symptomatology. However, in children in high-prevalence settings, it is most often not associated with or is perhaps even protective against acute diarrhea. Nonetheless, recent longitudinal studies in high-prevalence settings increasingly identify an association with long-term outcomes that has been difficult to discern. RECENT FINDINGS Recent studies have made progress in disentangling this apparent paradox. First, prospective, well characterized cohort studies have repeatedly identified associations between Giardia infection, gut function, and child growth. Second, experimental animal and in-vitro models have further characterized the biological plausibility that Giardia could impair intestinal function and subsequently child development through different pathways, depending upon biological and environmental factors. Finally, new work has shed light on the potential for Giardia conspiring with specific other gut microbes, which may explain discrepant findings in the literature, help guide future higher resolution analyses of this pathogen, and inform new opportunities for intervention. SUMMARY Recent prospective studies have confirmed a high, if not universal, prevalence of persistent Giardia infections in low-and-middle income countries associated with child-growth shortfalls and altered gut permeability. However, the predominance of subclinical infections limits understanding of the true clinical impact of endemic pediatric giardiasis, and global disease burdens remain uncalculated. Integrating the role of Giardia in multipathogen enteropathies and how nutritional, microbial, metabolic, and pathogen-strain variables influence Giardia infection outcomes could sharpen delineations between pathogenic and potentially beneficial attributes of this enigmatic parasite.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michael Dougherty
- Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Rex Digestive Healthcare, UNC REX Healthcare, Raleigh
| | - Luther A. Bartelt
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
High-fat diet increases the severity of Giardia infection in association with low-grade inflammation and gut microbiota dysbiosis. Sci Rep 2021; 11:18842. [PMID: 34552170 PMCID: PMC8458452 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-98262-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2021] [Accepted: 09/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Exogenous factors that may influence the pathophysiology of Giardia infection remain incompletely understood. We have investigated the role of dietary fat in the pathogenesis of Giardia infection. Male 3 to 4-week-old C57BL/6 mice were fed either a low fat (LF) or a high fat (HF) diet for 12 days and challenged with G. duodenalis. In infected animals, the trophozoite burden was higher in HF + Giardia mice compared to the LF + Giardia group at day 7 post infection. Fatty acids exerted direct pro-growth effects on Giardia trophozoites. Analysis of disease parameters showed that HF + Giardia mice exhibited more mucosal infiltration by inflammatory cells, decreased villus/crypt ratios, goblet cell hyperplasia, mucus disruption, increased gut motility, and elevated fecal water content compared with LF + Giardia. HF diet-dependent exacerbation of Giardia-induced goblet cell hyperplasia was associated with elevated Atoh1 and Muc2 gene expression. Gut microbiota analysis revealed that the HF diet alone induces a taxonomic shift. HF + Giardia mice exhibited microbiota dysbiosis characterized by an increase of Firmicutes and a decrease of Bacteroidetes and significant changes in α- and β-diversity metrics. Taken together, the findings suggest that a HF diet exacerbates the outcome of Giardia infection. The data demonstrate that elevated dietary fat represents an important exogenous factor promoting the pathophysiology of giardiasis.
Collapse
|