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Madusanka RK, Karunaweera ND, Silva H, Selvapandiyan A. Antimony resistance and gene expression in Leishmania: spotlight on molecular and proteomic aspects. Parasitology 2024; 151:1-14. [PMID: 38012864 PMCID: PMC10941051 DOI: 10.1017/s0031182023001129] [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: 08/22/2023] [Revised: 11/04/2023] [Accepted: 11/09/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023]
Abstract
Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne parasitic disease caused by Leishmania parasites with a spectrum of clinical manifestations, ranging from skin lesions to severe visceral complications. Treatment of this infection has been extremely challenging with the concurrent emergence of drug resistance. The differential gene expression and the discrepancies in protein functions contribute to the appearance of 2 distinct phenotypes: resistant and sensitive, but the current diagnostic tools fail to differentiate between them. The identification of gene expression patterns and molecular mechanisms coupled with antimony (Sb) resistance can be leveraged to prompt diagnosis and select the most effective treatment methods. The present study attempts to use comparative expression of Sb resistance-associated genes in resistant and sensitive Leishmania, to disclose their relative abundance in clinical or in vitro selected isolates to gain an understanding of the molecular mechanisms of Sb response/resistance. Data suggest that the analysis of resistance gene expression would verify the Sb resistance or susceptibility only to a certain extent; however, none of the individual expression patterns of the studied genes was diagnostic as a biomarker of Sb response of Leishmania. The findings highlighted will be useful in bridging the knowledge gap and discovering innovative diagnostic tools and novel therapeutic targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rajamanthrilage Kasun Madusanka
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, No. 25, Kynsey Road, Colombo 8, Sri Lanka
- Department of Molecular Medicine, School of Interdisciplinary Sciences and Technology, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi 110062, India
| | - Nadira D. Karunaweera
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, No. 25, Kynsey Road, Colombo 8, Sri Lanka
| | - Hermali Silva
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, No. 25, Kynsey Road, Colombo 8, Sri Lanka
| | - Angamuthu Selvapandiyan
- Department of Molecular Medicine, School of Interdisciplinary Sciences and Technology, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi 110062, India
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Kamran M, Bhattacharjee R, Das S, Mukherjee S, Ali N. The paradigm of intracellular parasite survival and drug resistance in leishmanial parasite through genome plasticity and epigenetics: Perception and future perspective. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2023; 13:1001973. [PMID: 36814446 PMCID: PMC9939536 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2023.1001973] [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: 07/24/2022] [Accepted: 01/16/2023] [Indexed: 02/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Leishmania is an intracellular, zoonotic, kinetoplastid eukaryote with more than 1.2 million cases all over the world. The leishmanial chromosomes are divided into polymorphic chromosomal ends, conserved central domains, and antigen-encoding genes found in telomere-proximal regions. The genome flexibility of chromosomal ends of the leishmanial parasite is known to cause drug resistance and intracellular survival through the evasion of host defense mechanisms. Therefore, in this review, we discuss the plasticity of Leishmania genome organization which is the primary cause of drug resistance and parasite survival. Moreover, we have not only elucidated the causes of such genome plasticity which includes aneuploidy, epigenetic factors, copy number variation (CNV), and post-translation modification (PTM) but also highlighted their impact on drug resistance and parasite survival.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Sonali Das
- Infectious Diseases and Immunology Division, Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
| | - Sohitri Mukherjee
- Infectious Diseases and Immunology Division, Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
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New Vistas in the Biology of the Flagellum—Leishmania Parasites. Pathogens 2022; 11:pathogens11040447. [PMID: 35456123 PMCID: PMC9024700 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens11040447] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2022] [Revised: 04/04/2022] [Accepted: 04/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Like other kinetoplastid protozoa, the flagellum in Leishmania parasites plays central roles throughout the life cycle. Discoveries over the past decade have begun to elucidate flagellar functions at the molecular level in both the insect vector stage promastigotes and intra-macrophage amastigotes. This focused review will highlight recent advances that contribute to understanding flagellar function in the various biological contexts encountered by Leishmania parasites.
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Potvin JE, Leprohon P, Queffeulou M, Sundar S, Ouellette M. Mutations in an Aquaglyceroporin as a Proven Marker of Antimony Clinical Resistance in the Parasite Leishmania donovani. Clin Infect Dis 2021; 72:e526-e532. [PMID: 32827255 DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciaa1236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2020] [Accepted: 08/17/2020] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Antimonial drugs have long been the mainstay to treat visceral leishmaniasis. Their use has been discontinued in the Indian subcontinent because of drug resistance, but they are still clinically useful elsewhere. The goal of this study was to find markers of antimony resistance in Leishmania donovani clinical isolates and validate experimentally their role in resistance. METHODS The genomes of sensitive and antimony-resistant clinical isolates were sequenced. The role of a specific gene in contributing to resistance was studied by CRISPR-Cas9-mediated gene editing and intracellular drug sensitivity assays. RESULTS Both gene copy number variations and single nucleotide variants were associated with antimony resistance. A homozygous insertion of 2 nucleotides was found in the gene coding for the aquaglyceroporin AQP1 in both resistant isolates. Restoring the wild-type AQP1 open reading frame re-sensitized the 2 independent resistant isolates to antimonials. Alternatively, editing the genome of a sensitive isolate by incorporating the 2-nucleotide insertion in its AQP1 gene led to antimony-resistant parasites. CONCLUSIONS Through genomic analysis and CRISPR-Cas9-mediated genome editing we have proven the role of the AQP1 mutations in antimony clinical resistance in L. donovani.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jade-Eva Potvin
- Division of Infectious Disease and Immunity, CHU de Quebec Research Center and Department of Microbiology, Infectious Disease, and Immunology, University Laval, Quebec, Canada
| | - Philippe Leprohon
- Division of Infectious Disease and Immunity, CHU de Quebec Research Center and Department of Microbiology, Infectious Disease, and Immunology, University Laval, Quebec, Canada
| | - Marine Queffeulou
- Division of Infectious Disease and Immunity, CHU de Quebec Research Center and Department of Microbiology, Infectious Disease, and Immunology, University Laval, Quebec, Canada
| | - Shyam Sundar
- Department of Medicine, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India
| | - Marc Ouellette
- Division of Infectious Disease and Immunity, CHU de Quebec Research Center and Department of Microbiology, Infectious Disease, and Immunology, University Laval, Quebec, Canada
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Tunes LG, Ascher DB, Pires DEV, Monte-Neto RL. The mutation G133D on Leishmania guyanensis AQP1 is highly destabilizing as revealed by molecular modeling and hypo-osmotic shock assay. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-BIOMEMBRANES 2021; 1863:183682. [PMID: 34175297 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbamem.2021.183682] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2021] [Revised: 06/11/2021] [Accepted: 06/14/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
The Leishmania aquaglyceroporin 1 (AQP1) plays an important role in osmoregulation and antimony (Sb) uptake, being determinant for resistance to antimony. We have previously demonstrated that G133D mutation on L. guyanensis AQP1 (LgAQP1) leads to reduced Sb uptake. Here, we investigated the effects of G133D mutation on LgAQP1 structure, associated with Sb uptake and alterations in osmoregulation capacity. High confidence molecular models of wild-type LgAQP1 as well as the LgAQP1::G133D mutant were constructed and optimized via comparative homology modeling. Computational methods from the mCSM platform were used to evaluate the effects on protein stability and on its ability to bind to glycerol. Functional validation of the disruptive effect of the mutation on LgAQP1 was done by challenging the parasites with hypo-osmotic chock. Glycine 133 is on transmembrane helix 3, buried in the membrane in both open and closed conformation. G133D mutation was predicted to be highly destabilizing, as it alters the helical bundling arrangement in order to accommodate the aspartic acid side chain. The shift in helices also resulted in fewer favorable contacts with glycerol in the channel, which would explain the reduced affinity for similar small molecules as SbO3. Under hypo-osmotic condition, L. guyanensis AQP1G133D presented a 3-fold increase in cellular volume and pronounced delay to recover osmosis homeostasis when compared to the wild-type, a profile that was enhanced in LgAQP1-/- mutants. In conclusion, G133D is a highly disruptive mutation that will destabilize the monomer, compromise tetramer formation and alter pore conformation, leading to reduced Sb uptake and deficient osmoregulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luiza G Tunes
- Biotechnology Applied to Pathogens Instituto René Rachou, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz Minas), Av. Augusto de Lima, 1715, Belo Horizonte 30190-009, MG, Brazil; The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd, 75390-8511 Dallas, TX, USA.
| | - David B Ascher
- Structural Biology and Bioinformatics, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Melbourne, Bio21 Institute, 30 Flemington Rd, Parkville, VIC 3052, Melbourne, Australia; Computational Biology and Clinical Informatics, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, VIC 3004, Melbourne, Australia.
| | - Douglas E V Pires
- Structural Biology and Bioinformatics, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Melbourne, Bio21 Institute, 30 Flemington Rd, Parkville, VIC 3052, Melbourne, Australia; Computational Biology and Clinical Informatics, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, VIC 3004, Melbourne, Australia; School of Computing and Information Systems, The University of Melbourne, Doug McDonell Building, VIC 3010, Parkville, Melbourne, Australia.
| | - Rubens L Monte-Neto
- Biotechnology Applied to Pathogens Instituto René Rachou, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz Minas), Av. Augusto de Lima, 1715, Belo Horizonte 30190-009, MG, Brazil.
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Douanne N, Wagner V, Roy G, Leprohon P, Ouellette M, Fernandez-Prada C. MRPA-independent mechanisms of antimony resistance in Leishmania infantum. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR PARASITOLOGY-DRUGS AND DRUG RESISTANCE 2020; 13:28-37. [PMID: 32413766 PMCID: PMC7225602 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpddr.2020.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2020] [Revised: 03/25/2020] [Accepted: 03/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Control of both human and canine leishmaniasis is based on a very short list of chemotherapeutic agents, headed by antimonial derivatives (Sb). The utility of these molecules is severely threatened by high rates of drug resistance. The ABC transporter MRPA is one of the few key Sb resistance proteins described to date, whose role in detoxification has been thoroughly studied in Leishmania parasites. Nonetheless, its rapid amplification during drug selection complicates the discovery of other mechanisms potentially involved in Sb resistance. In this study, stepwise drug-resistance selection and next-generation sequencing were combined in the search for novel Sb-resistance mechanisms deployed by parasites when MRPA is abolished by targeted gene disruption. The gene mrpA is not essential in L. infantum, and its disruption leads to an Sb hypersensitive phenotype in both promastigotes and amastigotes. Five independent mrpA-/- mutants were selected for antimony resistance. These mutants displayed major changes in their ploidy, as well as extrachromosomal linear amplifications of the subtelomeric region of chromosome 23, which includes the genes coding for ABCC1 and ABCC2. Overexpression of ABCC2, but not of ABCC1, resulted in increased Sb tolerance in the mrpA-/- mutant. SNP analyses revealed three different heterozygous mutations in the gene coding for a serine acetyltransferase (SAT) involved in de novo cysteine synthesis in Leishmania. Overexpression of satQ390K, satG321R and satG325R variants led to a 2-3.2 -fold increase in Sb resistance in mrpA-/- parasites. Only satG321R and satG325R induced increased Sb resistance in wild-type parasites. These results reinforce and expand knowledge on the complex nature of Sb resistance in Leishmania parasites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noélie Douanne
- Département de Pathologie et Microbiologie, Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire Université de Montréal, Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec, Canada
| | - Victoria Wagner
- Département de Pathologie et Microbiologie, Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire Université de Montréal, Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec, Canada
| | - Gaetan Roy
- Centre de Recherche en Infectiologie du Centre de Recherche du CHU Québec and Département de Microbiologie, Infectiologie et Immunologie, Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada
| | - Philippe Leprohon
- Centre de Recherche en Infectiologie du Centre de Recherche du CHU Québec and Département de Microbiologie, Infectiologie et Immunologie, Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada
| | - Marc Ouellette
- Centre de Recherche en Infectiologie du Centre de Recherche du CHU Québec and Département de Microbiologie, Infectiologie et Immunologie, Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada
| | - Christopher Fernandez-Prada
- Département de Pathologie et Microbiologie, Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire Université de Montréal, Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec, Canada; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada.
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Oliaee RT, Sharifi I, Afgar A, Kareshk AT, Asadi A, Heshmatkhah A, Bamorovat M, Jafarzadeh A, Mohammadi MA, Daneshvar H. Unresponsiveness to meglumine antimoniate in anthroponotic cutaneous leishmaniasis field isolates: analysis of resistance biomarkers by gene expression profiling. Trop Med Int Health 2018; 23:622-633. [PMID: 29709098 DOI: 10.1111/tmi.13062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Resistance to antimonials is a fundamental determinant of treatment failure in anthroponotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL). Detection of reliable molecular markers to distinguish unresponsive and responsive parasites is critical for consolidating strategies to monitor drug efficacy. METHODS We analysed the expression of five major antimony resistance-associated genes that is aquaglyceroporin1 (AQP1), γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase (γ-GCS), multidrug resistance protein A (MRPA), trypanothione reductase (TR) and thiol-dependent reductase 1 (TDR1), in unresponsive and responsive Leishmania tropica field isolates by quantitative real-time PCR in comparison with sensitive and resistant reference strains. RESULTS Gene expression analysis showed the down-regulation of AQP1, γ-GCS and TDR1 by a factor of 1.9, 1.7 and 3.55, respectively, in unresponsive isolates vs. responsive ones. The average RNA expression level of MRPA increased by a factor of 1.9 in the unresponsive group. Isolates exhibited a strong positive linear correlation between gene expression of AQP1 and γ-GCS. A negative correlation between the AQP1 and γ-GCS expression level and lesion duration in responsive patients indicated the potential role in diagnosing drug-unresponsive parasites in endemic areas of ACL. CONCLUSION In cases of inconclusive outcomes of resistance tests in clinical isolates, expression analysis of a set of influential genes can be beneficial to identify distinctive biomarkers between antimony-unresponsive and responsive parasites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Razieh Tavakoli Oliaee
- Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
| | - Iraj Sharifi
- Leishmaniasis Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
| | - Ali Afgar
- Research Center for Hydatid Disease in Iran, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
| | - Amir Tavakoli Kareshk
- Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran
| | - Arash Asadi
- Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
| | - Amireh Heshmatkhah
- Dadbin Health Clinic, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
| | - Mehdi Bamorovat
- Leishmaniasis Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
| | - Abdollah Jafarzadeh
- Department of Immunology, Medical School, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
| | - Mohammad Ali Mohammadi
- Research Center for Hydatid Disease in Iran, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
| | - Hamid Daneshvar
- Department of Immunology, Medical School, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
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Jeacock L, Baker N, Wiedemar N, Mäser P, Horn D. Aquaglyceroporin-null trypanosomes display glycerol transport defects and respiratory-inhibitor sensitivity. PLoS Pathog 2017; 13:e1006307. [PMID: 28358927 PMCID: PMC5388498 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1006307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2016] [Revised: 04/11/2017] [Accepted: 03/22/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Aquaglyceroporins (AQPs) transport water and glycerol and play important roles in drug-uptake in pathogenic trypanosomatids. For example, AQP2 in the human-infectious African trypanosome, Trypanosoma brucei gambiense, is responsible for melarsoprol and pentamidine-uptake, and melarsoprol treatment-failure has been found to be due to AQP2-defects in these parasites. To further probe the roles of these transporters, we assembled a T. b. brucei strain lacking all three AQP-genes. Triple-null aqp1-2-3 T. b. brucei displayed only a very moderate growth defect in vitro, established infections in mice and recovered effectively from hypotonic-shock. The aqp1-2-3 trypanosomes did, however, display glycerol uptake and efflux defects. They failed to accumulate glycerol or to utilise glycerol as a carbon-source and displayed increased sensitivity to salicylhydroxamic acid (SHAM), octyl gallate or propyl gallate; these inhibitors of trypanosome alternative oxidase (TAO) can increase intracellular glycerol to toxic levels. Notably, disruption of AQP2 alone generated cells with glycerol transport defects. Consistent with these findings, AQP2-defective, melarsoprol-resistant clinical isolates were sensitive to the TAO inhibitors, SHAM, propyl gallate and ascofuranone, relative to melarsoprol-sensitive reference strains. We conclude that African trypanosome AQPs are dispensable for viability and osmoregulation but they make important contributions to drug-uptake, glycerol-transport and respiratory-inhibitor sensitivity. We also discuss how the AQP-dependent inverse sensitivity to melarsoprol and respiratory inhibitors described here might be exploited.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Jeacock
- The Wellcome Trust Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dow Street, Dundee, United Kingdom
| | - Nicola Baker
- The Wellcome Trust Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dow Street, Dundee, United Kingdom
| | - Natalie Wiedemar
- Parasite Chemotherapy Unit, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland
- University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Pascal Mäser
- Parasite Chemotherapy Unit, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland
- University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - David Horn
- The Wellcome Trust Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dow Street, Dundee, United Kingdom
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Laffitte MCN, Leprohon P, Papadopoulou B, Ouellette M. Plasticity of the Leishmania genome leading to gene copy number variations and drug resistance. F1000Res 2016; 5:2350. [PMID: 27703673 PMCID: PMC5031125 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.9218.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/19/2016] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Leishmania has a plastic genome, and drug pressure can select for gene copy number variation (CNV). CNVs can apply either to whole chromosomes, leading to aneuploidy, or to specific genomic regions. For the latter, the amplification of chromosomal regions occurs at the level of homologous direct or inverted repeated sequences leading to extrachromosomal circular or linear amplified DNAs. This ability of
Leishmania to respond to drug pressure by CNVs has led to the development of genomic screens such as Cos-Seq, which has the potential of expediting the discovery of drug targets for novel promising drug candidates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie-Claude N Laffitte
- Centre de Recherche en Infectiologie du Centre de Recherche du CHU Québec, and Département de Microbiologie, Infectiologie et Immunologie, Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada
| | - Philippe Leprohon
- Centre de Recherche en Infectiologie du Centre de Recherche du CHU Québec, and Département de Microbiologie, Infectiologie et Immunologie, Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada
| | - Barbara Papadopoulou
- Centre de Recherche en Infectiologie du Centre de Recherche du CHU Québec, and Département de Microbiologie, Infectiologie et Immunologie, Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada
| | - Marc Ouellette
- Centre de Recherche en Infectiologie du Centre de Recherche du CHU Québec, and Département de Microbiologie, Infectiologie et Immunologie, Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada
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Silver and Nitrate Oppositely Modulate Antimony Susceptibility through Aquaglyceroporin 1 in Leishmania (Viannia) Species. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2016; 60:4482-9. [PMID: 27161624 DOI: 10.1128/aac.00768-16] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2016] [Accepted: 04/30/2016] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Antimony (Sb) resistance in leishmaniasis chemotherapy has become one of the major challenges to the control of this spreading worldwide public health problem. Since the plasma membrane pore-forming protein aquaglyceroporin 1 (AQP1) is the major route of Sb uptake in Leishmania, functional studies are relevant to characterize drug transport pathways in the parasite. We generated AQP1-overexpressing Leishmania guyanensis and L. braziliensis mutants and investigated their susceptibility to the trivalent form of Sb (Sb(III)) in the presence of silver and nitrate salts. Both AQP1-overexpressing lines presented 3- to 4-fold increased AQP1 expression levels compared with those of their untransfected counterparts, leading to an increased Sb(III) susceptibility of about 2-fold. Competition assays using silver nitrate, silver sulfadiazine, or silver acetate prior to Sb(III) exposure increased parasite growth, especially in AQP1-overexpressing mutants. Surprisingly, Sb(III)-sodium nitrate or Sb(III)-potassium nitrate combinations showed significantly enhanced antileishmanial activities compared to those of Sb(III) alone, especially against AQP1-overexpressing mutants, suggesting a putative nitrate-dependent modulation of AQP1 activity. The intracellular level of antimony quantified by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry showed that the concomitant exposure to Sb(III) and nitrate favors antimony accumulation in the parasite, increasing the toxicity of the drug and culminating with parasite death. This is the first report showing evidence of AQP1-mediated Sb(III) susceptibility modulation by silver in Leishmania and suggests the potential antileishmanial activity of the combination of nitrate salts and Sb(III).
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Abstract
Eukaryotic microbial pathogens are major contributors to illness and death globally. Although much of their impact can be controlled by drug therapy as with prokaryotic microorganisms, the emergence of drug resistance has threatened these treatment efforts. Here, we discuss the challenges posed by eukaryotic microbial pathogens and how these are similar to, or differ from, the challenges of prokaryotic antibiotic resistance. The therapies used for several major eukaryotic microorganisms are then detailed, and the mechanisms that they have evolved to overcome these therapies are described. The rapid emergence of resistance and the restricted pipeline of new drug therapies pose considerable risks to global health and are particularly acute in the developing world. Nonetheless, we detail how the integration of new technology, biological understanding, epidemiology and evolutionary analysis can help sustain existing therapies, anticipate the emergence of resistance or optimize the deployment of new therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan H. Fairlamb
- Dundee Drug Discovery Unit, Biological Chemistry and Drug Discovery, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 5EH, UK
| | - Neil A. R. Gow
- Aberdeen Fungal Group, Wellcome Trust Strategic Award in Medical Mycology and Fungal Immunology, School of Medical Sciences, Institute of Medical Sciences, Foresterhill, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB25 2ZD, UK
| | - Keith R. Matthews
- Centre for Immunity, Infection and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FL, UK
| | - Andrew P. Waters
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Molecular Parasitology, Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, College of Medical and Veterinary Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8TA, UK
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Imamura H, Downing T, Van den Broeck F, Sanders MJ, Rijal S, Sundar S, Mannaert A, Vanaerschot M, Berg M, De Muylder G, Dumetz F, Cuypers B, Maes I, Domagalska M, Decuypere S, Rai K, Uranw S, Bhattarai NR, Khanal B, Prajapati VK, Sharma S, Stark O, Schönian G, De Koning HP, Settimo L, Vanhollebeke B, Roy S, Ostyn B, Boelaert M, Maes L, Berriman M, Dujardin JC, Cotton JA. Evolutionary genomics of epidemic visceral leishmaniasis in the Indian subcontinent. eLife 2016; 5. [PMID: 27003289 PMCID: PMC4811772 DOI: 10.7554/elife.12613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 109] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2015] [Accepted: 02/15/2016] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Leishmania donovani causes visceral leishmaniasis (VL), the second most deadly vector-borne parasitic disease. A recent epidemic in the Indian subcontinent (ISC) caused up to 80% of global VL and over 30,000 deaths per year. Resistance against antimonial drugs has probably been a contributing factor in the persistence of this epidemic. Here we use whole genome sequences from 204 clinical isolates to track the evolution and epidemiology of L. donovani from the ISC. We identify independent radiations that have emerged since a bottleneck coincident with 1960s DDT spraying campaigns. A genetically distinct population frequently resistant to antimonials has a two base-pair insertion in the aquaglyceroporin gene LdAQP1 that prevents the transport of trivalent antimonials. We find evidence of genetic exchange between ISC populations, and show that the mutation in LdAQP1 has spread by recombination. Our results reveal the complexity of L. donovani evolution in the ISC in response to drug treatment. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.12613.001 The parasite Leishmania donovani causes a disease called visceral leishmaniasis that affects many of the world's poorest people. Around half a million new cases develop every year, but health authorities lack safe and effective drugs to treat them. Up to 80% of these cases occur in the Indian subcontinent, where devastating epidemics have occurred in the last decades. One reason these epidemics continue to occur is that the parasites develop genetic mutations allowing them to adapt to and resist the drugs used to kill them. As there are few existing drugs that can kill L. donovani, it is crucial to understand how drug resistance emerges and spreads among parasite populations. Imamura, Downing, Van den Broeck et al. have now investigated the history of visceral leishmaniasis epidemics by characterising the complete genetic sequence – or genome – of 204 L. donovani parasite samples. This revealed that the majority of parasites in the Indian subcontinent first appeared in the nineteenth century, matching the first historical records of visceral leishmaniasis epidemics. The genomes show that most of the parasites are genetically similar and can be clustered into several closely related groups. These groups first appeared in the 1960s following the end of a regional campaign to eradicate malaria. The most common parasite group is particularly resistant to drugs called antimonials, which were the main treatment for leishmaniasis until recently. These parasites have a small genetic change that scrambles most of a protein known to be involved in the uptake of antimonials. Parasites may also be able to develop resistance to drugs through additional mechanisms that allow them to produce many copies of the same gene. These mechanisms could allow the parasites to rapidly adapt to new drugs or changes in the populations it infects. The work of Imamura et al. looks only at parasites isolated from patients then grown in the laboratory, so further research is now needed to explore how variable the Leishmania genome is in both of the parasite’s hosts: humans and sandflies. Imamura et al.’s study reveals how L. donovani has spread throughout the Indian subcontinent in fine detail. The genome data can be used to create simple molecular tools that could form an "early warning system" to track the success of disease control programs and to determine how well the current drugs are working. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.12613.002
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Affiliation(s)
- Hideo Imamura
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Tim Downing
- Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, United Kingdom.,School of Maths, Applied Maths and Statistics, National University of Ireland Galway, Galway, Ireland
| | | | | | - Suman Rijal
- BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan, Nepal
| | - Shyam Sundar
- Department of Medicine, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India
| | - An Mannaert
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Manu Vanaerschot
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Maya Berg
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Géraldine De Muylder
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Franck Dumetz
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Bart Cuypers
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Ilse Maes
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
| | | | - Saskia Decuypere
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium.,Telethon Kids Institute, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
| | - Keshav Rai
- BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan, Nepal
| | | | | | | | - Vijay Kumar Prajapati
- Department of Medicine, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India
| | - Smriti Sharma
- Department of Medicine, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India
| | - Olivia Stark
- Institut für Mikrobiologie und Hygiene, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Gabriele Schönian
- Institut für Mikrobiologie und Hygiene, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Harry P De Koning
- Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Luca Settimo
- Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom.,Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Northeastern University, Boston, United States
| | - Benoit Vanhollebeke
- Laboratory of Molecular Parasitology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Gosselies, Belgium
| | - Syamal Roy
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata, India
| | - Bart Ostyn
- Department of Public Health, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Marleen Boelaert
- Department of Public Health, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Louis Maes
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | | | - Jean-Claude Dujardin
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium.,Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - James A Cotton
- Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, United Kingdom
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Functional role of lysine 12 in Leishmania major AQP1. Mol Biochem Parasitol 2015; 201:139-45. [PMID: 26259900 DOI: 10.1016/j.molbiopara.2015.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2015] [Revised: 07/29/2015] [Accepted: 07/30/2015] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Leishmania major aquaglyceroporin (AQP1) is an adventitious metalloid channel that allows the bidirectional movement of arsenite and antimonite. Here we demonstrate that AQP1 is subjected to proteasome-dependent degradation. Treatment of Leishmania promastigotes with the proteasome inhibitor MG132 resulted in increased AQP1 accumulation. Site-directed mutagenesis in AQP1 revealed that alteration of lysine 12 to either alanine or arginine improves protein stability. AQP1 expression is stabilized by mitogen-activated protein kinase 2 (MPK2). Cells expressing a dominant-negative MPK2 mutant exhibited severely reduced AQP1 expression, which could be reversed upon addition of MG132. Interestingly, the dominant-negative MPK2 mutant could not destabilize either AQP1K12A or AQP1K12R. While stabilization of AQP1 by MPK2 leads to its relocalization from flagellum to the entire surface of the parasite, altered AQP1K12A or AQP1K12R was restricted to flagellum only. Our data demonstrate that lysine 12 is targeted for proteasomal degradation of AQP1 and plays an integral role in subcellular localization of AQP1 as well as its interaction with MPK2. This work also raises the possibility that a strategy combining antimonial with a proteasome inhibitor may be an effective combination regimen against diverse forms of leishmaniasis.
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