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Pazoki H, Mirjalali H, Niyyati M, Seyed Tabaei SJ, Mosafa N, Shahrokh S, Aghdaei HA, Kupz A, Zali MR. Toxoplasma gondii profilin induces NLRP3 activation and IL-1β production/secretion in THP-1 cells. Microb Pathog 2023; 180:106120. [PMID: 37080500 DOI: 10.1016/j.micpath.2023.106120] [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: 01/11/2023] [Revised: 04/15/2023] [Accepted: 04/18/2023] [Indexed: 04/22/2023]
Abstract
Toxoplasma gondii is a highly prevalent protozoan that infects a broad spectrum of warm-blooded animals. Profilin is a critical protein that plays a role in the movement and invasion of T. gondii. In the current study, we assessed how profilin stimulates inflammasomes and how it induces transcription and secretion of IL-1β. For this purpose, we assessed the level of TLR 2, 4, 5, and 9 expressions in a THP-1 cell line treated with profilin from T. gondii (TgP). In addition, we analyzed the expression levels of various inflammasomes, as well as IL-1β, and IL-18 in THP-1 cells treated with the NLRP3 inhibitor MCC950. TgP significantly increased the expression of TLR5 but the expression of TLR2, 4, and 9 was not significantly increased. In addition, TgP did not significantly increase the level of inflammasomes after 5 h. Treatment with MCC950 significantly reduced NLRP3 and IL-1β on both transcription and protein levels. Although the transcription level of NLRP3 was reduced 5 h after treatment with TgP, western blot analysis showed an increase in NLRP3. The western blot and ELISA analysis also showed that TgP increased both pro- and mature IL-1β. In summary, our study showed that NLRP3 most probably plays a pivotal role in the expression and production levels of IL-1β during the interaction between TgP and macrophages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hossein Pazoki
- Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Gonabad University of Medical Sciences, Gonabad, Iran
| | - Hamed Mirjalali
- Foodborne and Waterborne Diseases Research Center, Research Institute for Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
| | - Maryam Niyyati
- Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
| | - Seyed Javad Seyed Tabaei
- Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Nariman Mosafa
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Shabnam Shahrokh
- Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases Research Center, Research Institute for Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Hamid Asadzadeh Aghdaei
- Basic and Molecular Epidemiology of Gastrointestinal Disorders Research Center, Research Institute for Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Andreas Kupz
- Centre for Molecular Therapeutics, Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University, Cairns, 4878, Queensland, Australia
| | - Mohammad Reza Zali
- Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases Research Center, Research Institute for Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
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Calero-Bernal R, Fernández-Escobar M, Katzer F, Su C, Ortega-Mora LM. Unifying Virulence Evaluation in Toxoplasma gondii: A Timely Task. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2022; 12:868727. [PMID: 35573788 PMCID: PMC9097680 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.868727] [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: 02/03/2022] [Accepted: 03/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Toxoplasma gondii, a major zoonotic pathogen, possess a significant genetic and phenotypic diversity that have been proposed to be responsible for the variation in clinical outcomes, mainly related to reproductive failure and ocular and neurological signs. Different T. gondii haplogroups showed strong phenotypic differences in laboratory mouse infections, which provide a suitable model for mimicking acute and chronic infections. In addition, it has been observed that degrees of virulence might be related to the physiological status of the host and its genetic background. Currently, mortality rate (lethality) in outbred laboratory mice is the most significant phenotypic marker, which has been well defined for the three archetypal clonal types (I, II and III) of T. gondii; nevertheless, such a trait seems to be insufficient to discriminate between different degrees of virulence of field isolates. Many other non-lethal parameters, observed both in in vivo and in vitro experimental models, have been suggested as highly informative, yielding promising discriminatory power. Although intra-genotype variations have been observed in phenotypic characteristics, there is no clear picture of the phenotypes circulating worldwide; therefore, a global overview of T. gondii strain mortality in mice is presented here. Molecular characterization has been normalized to some extent, but this is not the case for the phenotypic characterization and definition of virulence. The present paper proposes a baseline (minimum required information) for the phenotypic characterization of T. gondii virulence and intends to highlight the needs for consistent methods when a panel of T. gondii isolates is evaluated for virulence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rafael Calero-Bernal
- SALUVET, Animal Health Department, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- *Correspondence: Rafael Calero-Bernal, ; Luis Miguel Ortega-Mora,
| | - Mercedes Fernández-Escobar
- SALUVET, Animal Health Department, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Frank Katzer
- Disease Control Department, Moredun Research Institute, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Chunlei Su
- Department of Microbiology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United States
| | - Luis Miguel Ortega-Mora
- SALUVET, Animal Health Department, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- *Correspondence: Rafael Calero-Bernal, ; Luis Miguel Ortega-Mora,
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Mining the Proteome of Toxoplasma Parasites Seeking Vaccine and Diagnostic Candidates. Animals (Basel) 2022; 12:ani12091098. [PMID: 35565525 PMCID: PMC9099775 DOI: 10.3390/ani12091098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2022] [Revised: 04/16/2022] [Accepted: 04/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary The One Health concept to toxoplasmosis highlights that the health of humans is closely related to the health of animals and our common environment. Toxoplasmosis outcomes might be severe and fatal in patients with immunodeficiency, diabetes, and pregnant women and infants. Consequently, the development of effective vaccine and diagnostic strategies is urgent for the elimination of this disease. Proteomics analysis has allowed the identification of key proteins that can be utilized in the development of novel disease diagnostics and vaccines. This work presents relevant proteins found in the proteome of the life cycle-specific stages of Toxoplasma parasites. In fact, it brings together the main functionality key proteins from Toxoplasma parasites coming from proteomic approaches that are most likely to be useful in improving the disease management, and critically proposes innovative directions to finally develop promising vaccines and diagnostics tools. Abstract Toxoplasma gondii is a pathogenic protozoan parasite that infects the nucleated cells of warm-blooded hosts leading to an infectious zoonotic disease known as toxoplasmosis. The infection outcomes might be severe and fatal in patients with immunodeficiency, diabetes, and pregnant women and infants. The One Health approach to toxoplasmosis highlights that the health of humans is closely related to the health of animals and our common environment. The presence of drug resistance and side effects, the further improvement of sensitivity and specificity of serodiagnostic tools and the potentiality of vaccine candidates to induce the host immune response are considered as justifiable reasons for the identification of novel targets for the better management of toxoplasmosis. Thus, the identification of new critical proteins in the proteome of Toxoplasma parasites can also be helpful in designing and test more effective drugs, vaccines, and diagnostic tools. Accordingly, in this study we present important proteins found in the proteome of the life cycle-specific stages of Toxoplasma parasites that are potential diagnostic or vaccine candidates. The current study might help to understand the complexity of these parasites and provide a possible source of strategies and biomolecules that can be further evaluated in the pathobiology of Toxoplasma parasites and for diagnostics and vaccine trials against this disease.
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Chu KB, Quan FS. Advances in Toxoplasma gondii Vaccines: Current Strategies and Challenges for Vaccine Development. Vaccines (Basel) 2021; 9:vaccines9050413. [PMID: 33919060 PMCID: PMC8143161 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines9050413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2021] [Revised: 04/19/2021] [Accepted: 04/20/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Toxoplasmosis, caused by the apicomplexan parasite Toxoplasma gondii, is one of the most damaging parasite-borne zoonotic diseases of global importance. While approximately one-third of the entire world’s population is estimated to be infected with T. gondii, an effective vaccine for human use remains unavailable. Global efforts in pursuit of developing a T. gondii vaccine have been ongoing for decades, and novel innovative approaches have been introduced to aid this process. A wide array of vaccination strategies have been conducted to date including, but not limited to, nucleic acids, protein subunits, attenuated vaccines, and nanoparticles, which have been assessed in rodents with promising results. Yet, translation of these in vivo results into clinical studies remains a major obstacle that needs to be overcome. In this review, we will aim to summarize the current advances in T. gondii vaccine strategies and address the challenges hindering vaccine development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ki-Back Chu
- Department of Biomedical Science, Graduate School, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02447, Korea;
| | - Fu-Shi Quan
- Medical Research Center for Bioreaction to Reactive Oxygen Species and Biomedical Science Institute, School of Medicine, Graduate School, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02447, Korea
- Department of Medical Zoology, School of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02447, Korea
- Correspondence:
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