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Boualam MA, Corbara AG, Aboudharam G, Istria D, Signoli M, Costedoat C, Drancourt M, Pradines B. The millennial dynamics of malaria in the mediterranean basin: documenting Plasmodium spp. on the medieval island of Corsica. Front Med (Lausanne) 2023; 10:1265964. [PMID: 38143446 PMCID: PMC10739463 DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2023.1265964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 12/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction The lack of well-preserved material upon which to base the paleo-microbiological detection of Plasmodium parasites has prevented extensive documentation of past outbreaks of malaria in Europe. By trapping intact erythrocytes at the time of death, dental pulp has been shown to be a suitable tissue for documenting ancient intraerythrocytic pathogens such as Plasmodium parasites. Methods Total DNA and proteins extracted from 23 dental pulp specimens collected from individuals exhumed from the 9th to 13th century archaeological site in Mariana, Corsica, were analyzed using open-mind paleo-auto-immunohistochemistry and direct metagenomics, Plasmodium-targeting immunochromatography assays. All experiments incorporated appropriate negative controls. Results Paleo-auto-immunohistochemistry revealed the presence of parasites Plasmodium spp. in the dental pulp of nine teeth. A further immunochromatography assay identified the presence of at least one Plasmodium antigen in nine individuals. The nine teeth, for which the PfHRP-2 antigen specific of P. falciparum was detected, were also positive using paleo-autoimmunohistochemistry and metagenomics. Conclusion Dental pulp erythrocytes proved to be suitable for the direct paleomicrobiology documentation of malaria in nine individuals buried in medieval Corsica, in agreement with historical data. This provides additional information on the millennial dynamics of Plasmodium spp. in the Mediterranean basin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahmoud Abdelwadoud Boualam
- IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
- Aix-Marseille Univ, Institut de recherche pour le développement , Microbes, Evolution, Phylogénie et Infection, IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
| | - Anne-Gaëlle Corbara
- Aix-Marseille Univ, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, LA3M, Aix-en-Provence, France
| | - Gérard Aboudharam
- IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
- Aix-Marseille Univ, Institut de recherche pour le développement , Microbes, Evolution, Phylogénie et Infection, IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
| | - Daniel Istria
- Aix-Marseille Univ, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, LA3M, Aix-en-Provence, France
| | - Michel Signoli
- Aix-Marseille Université, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, Établissement français du sang, Anthropologie bio-culturelle, droit, éthique et santé, Marseille, France
| | - Caroline Costedoat
- Aix-Marseille Université, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, Établissement français du sang, Anthropologie bio-culturelle, droit, éthique et santé, Marseille, France
| | - Michel Drancourt
- IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
- Aix-Marseille Univ, Institut de recherche pour le développement , Microbes, Evolution, Phylogénie et Infection, IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
| | - Bruno Pradines
- IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
- Unité Parasitologie et Entomologie, Département Microbiologie et Maladies Infectieuses, Institut de Recherche Biomédicale des Armées, Marseille, France
- Aix-Marseille Univ, Institut de recherche pour le développement, Service de Santé des Armées, Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Marseille, VITROME, Marseille, France
- Centre National de Référence du Paludisme, Marseille, France
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Shaw B, McDonnell T, Radley E, Thomas B, Smith L, Davenport CA, Gonzalez S, Rahman A, Layfield R. Preservation of whole antibodies within ancient teeth. iScience 2023; 26:107575. [PMID: 37622005 PMCID: PMC10445445 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107575] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2023] [Revised: 06/17/2023] [Accepted: 08/04/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Archaeological remains can preserve some proteins into deep time, offering remarkable opportunities for probing past events in human history. Recovering functional proteins from skeletal tissues could uncover a molecular memory related to the life-history of the associated remains. We demonstrate affinity purification of whole antibody molecules from medieval human teeth, dating to the 13th-15th centuries, from skeletons with different putative pathologies. Purified antibodies are intact retaining disulphide-linkages, are amenable to primary sequences analysis, and demonstrate apparent immunoreactivity against contemporary EBV antigen on western blot. Our observations highlight the potential of ancient antibodies to provide insights into the long-term association between host immune factors and ancient microbes, and more broadly retain a molecular memory related to the natural history of human health and immunity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barry Shaw
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham Medical School, Nottingham, UK
| | - Thomas McDonnell
- Centre for Rheumatology Research, Division of Medicine, UCL, London, UK
| | - Elizabeth Radley
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Brian Thomas
- Mass Spectrometry Research Group, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Lynn Smith
- Norton Priory Museum and Gardens, Runcorn, UK
| | - Carol A.L. Davenport
- Research Centre for Evolutionary Anthropology and Paleoecology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
| | - Silvia Gonzalez
- Research Centre for Evolutionary Anthropology and Paleoecology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
| | - Anisur Rahman
- Centre for Rheumatology Research, Division of Medicine, UCL, London, UK
| | - Rob Layfield
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham Medical School, Nottingham, UK
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Boualam MA, Heitzmann A, Mousset F, Aboudharam G, Drancourt M, Pradines B. Use of rapid diagnostic tests for the detection of ancient malaria infections in dental pulp from the sixth century in Versailles, France. Malar J 2023; 22:151. [PMID: 37161537 PMCID: PMC10169320 DOI: 10.1186/s12936-023-04582-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Accepted: 05/03/2023] [Indexed: 05/11/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Paleomicrobiological data have clarified that Plasmodium spp. was circulating in the past in southern European populations, which are now devoid of malaria. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of immunodetection and, more particularly, rapid diagnostic tests (RDT), in order to further assess Plasmodium infections in ancient northern European populations. METHODS A commercially available RDT, PALUTOP® + 4 OPTIMA, which is routinely used to detect malaria, was used to detect Plasmodium antigens from proteins recovered from ancient specimens extracted from 39 dental pulp samples. These samples were collected from 39 individuals who were buried in the sixth century, near the site of the current Palace of Versailles in France. Positive and negative controls were also used. Antigens detected were quantified using chemiluminescence imaging system analysis. RESULTS Plasmodium antigens were detected in 14/39 (35.9%) individuals, including Plasmodium vivax antigens in 11 individuals and Plasmodium falciparum antigens co-detected in two individuals, while Pan-Plasmodium antigens were detected in three individuals. Controls all yielded expected results. CONCLUSIONS The data reported here showed that RDTs are a suitable tool for detecting Plasmodium spp. antigens in ancient dental pulp samples, and demonstrated the existence of malaria in Versailles, France, in the sixth century. Plasmodium vivax, which is regarded as being responsible for an attenuated form of malaria and less deadly forms, was the most prevalent species. This illustrates, for the first time in ancient populations, co-infection with P. falciparum, bringing into question the climate-driven ecosystems prevailing at that time in the Versailles area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahmoud A Boualam
- IHU Méditerranée Infection, 19-21 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France
- Aix-Marseille Univ, IRD, MEPHI, AP-HM, 19-21 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France
| | - Annick Heitzmann
- Direction du Patrimoine et des Jardins, Château de Versailles, Place d'Armes, 78008, Versailles, France
| | - Florence Mousset
- Direction régionale des affaires culturelles d'Île-de-France, Service Régional de l'archéologie, 311 Rue Le Peletier, 75009, Paris, France
| | - Gérard Aboudharam
- IHU Méditerranée Infection, 19-21 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France
- Aix-Marseille Univ, IRD, MEPHI, AP-HM, 19-21 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France
- Ecole de Médecine Dentaire, Aix-Marseille Univ, Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France
| | - Michel Drancourt
- IHU Méditerranée Infection, 19-21 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France
- Aix-Marseille Univ, IRD, MEPHI, AP-HM, 19-21 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France
| | - Bruno Pradines
- IHU Méditerranée Infection, 19-21 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France.
- Unité parasitologie et entomologie, Département microbiologie et maladies infectieuses, Institut de recherche biomédicale des armées, 19-21 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France.
- Aix-Marseille Univ, IRD, SSA, AP-HM, VITROME, 19-21 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France.
- Centre national de référence du paludisme, 19-21 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France.
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Abstract
This perspective draws on the record of ancient pathogen genomes and microbiomes illuminating patterns of infectious disease over the course of the Holocene in order to address the following question. How did major changes in living circumstances involving the transition to and intensification of farming alter pathogens and their distributions? Answers to this question via ancient DNA research provide a rapidly expanding picture of pathogen evolution and in concert with archaeological and historical data, give a temporal and behavioral context for heath in the past that is relevant for challenges facing the world today, including the rise of novel pathogens.
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Whole genome sequence of bacteremic Clostridium tertium in a World War I soldier, 1914. CURRENT RESEARCH IN MICROBIAL SCIENCES 2022; 3:100089. [PMID: 34984406 PMCID: PMC8693014 DOI: 10.1016/j.crmicr.2021.100089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2021] [Revised: 12/01/2021] [Accepted: 12/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
This original article is the first report of isolate and culture of a bacterium from ancient human samples and dental pulp in particular. The dental pulp is a mirror of the individual's infectious state at the time of death. Ancient dental pulp culture yielded to the identification and isolation of the bacterium Clostridium tertium responsible for septicaemia during World War I,.
Background Dental pulp, encapsulating a blood drop, could be used to diagnose pathogen bacteraemia in archaeological materials using DNA-based techniques. We questioned the viability of such ancient pathogens preserved in ancient dental pulp. Methods After meticulous decontamination of 32 teeth collected from 31 World War I soldiers exhumed in Spincourt, France, dental pulps were extracted and cultured under strict anaerobiosis. Colonies were identified by mass spectrometry and whole genome sequencing. Fluorescent in situ hybridisation (FISH) was used for the direct microscopic detection of pathogens of interest in the dental pulp. All the experimental procedures included negative controls, notably sediments in contact with individual SQ517 to ensure that results did not arise from contamination. Findings Clostridium tertium was detected by FISH in two dental pulp specimens taken from a 1914 soldier. After a two-day incubation period, both dental pulp samples grew colonies identified by mass spectrometry and genome sequencing as C. tertium; whereas negative controls remained free of C. tertium in all the observations, and no C. tertium was founded in sediments. Skeletal remains of this soldier exhibited two notches in the left tibia evocative of a cold steel wound, and a probably fatal unhealed bullet impact in the hip bone. Interpretation Data indicated the presence of C. tertium in the dental pulp at the time of the death of one World War I soldier, in 1914. This observation diagnosed C. tertium bacteraemia, with war wounds as the probable portal of entry for C. tertium. Our C. tertium strains ante-dated by three years, the princeps description of this deadly opportunistic pathogen.
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Barbieri R, Signoli M, Chevé D, Costedoat C, Tzortzis S, Aboudharam G, Raoult D, Drancourt M. Yersinia pestis: the Natural History of Plague. Clin Microbiol Rev 2020; 34:e00044-19. [PMID: 33298527 PMCID: PMC7920731 DOI: 10.1128/cmr.00044-19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The Gram-negative bacterium Yersinia pestis is responsible for deadly plague, a zoonotic disease established in stable foci in the Americas, Africa, and Eurasia. Its persistence in the environment relies on the subtle balance between Y. pestis-contaminated soils, burrowing and nonburrowing mammals exhibiting variable degrees of plague susceptibility, and their associated fleas. Transmission from one host to another relies mainly on infected flea bites, inducing typical painful, enlarged lymph nodes referred to as buboes, followed by septicemic dissemination of the pathogen. In contrast, droplet inhalation after close contact with infected mammals induces primary pneumonic plague. Finally, the rarely reported consumption of contaminated raw meat causes pharyngeal and gastrointestinal plague. Point-of-care diagnosis, early antibiotic treatment, and confinement measures contribute to outbreak control despite residual mortality. Mandatory primary prevention relies on the active surveillance of established plague foci and ectoparasite control. Plague is acknowledged to have infected human populations for at least 5,000 years in Eurasia. Y. pestis genomes recovered from affected archaeological sites have suggested clonal evolution from a common ancestor shared with the closely related enteric pathogen Yersinia pseudotuberculosis and have indicated that ymt gene acquisition during the Bronze Age conferred Y. pestis with ectoparasite transmissibility while maintaining its enteric transmissibility. Three historic pandemics, starting in 541 AD and continuing until today, have been described. At present, the third pandemic has become largely quiescent, with hundreds of human cases being reported mainly in a few impoverished African countries, where zoonotic plague is mostly transmitted to people by rodent-associated flea bites.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Barbieri
- Aix-Marseille University, IRD, MEPHI, IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
- Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, EFS, ADES, Marseille, France
- Fondation Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
| | - M Signoli
- Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, EFS, ADES, Marseille, France
| | - D Chevé
- Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, EFS, ADES, Marseille, France
| | - C Costedoat
- Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, EFS, ADES, Marseille, France
| | - S Tzortzis
- Ministère de la Culture, Direction Régionale des Affaires Culturelles de Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Service Régional de l'Archéologie, Aix-en-Provence, France
| | - G Aboudharam
- Aix-Marseille University, IRD, MEPHI, IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
- Aix-Marseille University, Faculty of Odontology, Marseille, France
| | - D Raoult
- Aix-Marseille University, IRD, MEPHI, IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
- Fondation Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
| | - M Drancourt
- Aix-Marseille University, IRD, MEPHI, IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
- Fondation Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
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Oumarou Hama H, Barbieri R, Guirou J, Chenal T, Mayer A, Ardagna Y, Signoli M, Aboudharam G, Raoult D, Drancourt M. An outbreak of relapsing fever unmasked by microbial paleoserology, 16th century, France. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2020; 173:784-789. [PMID: 32959380 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2019] [Revised: 07/10/2020] [Accepted: 08/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Depicting past epidemics currently relies on DNA-based detection of pathogens, an approach limited to pathogens with well-preserved DNA sequences. We used paleoserology as a complementary approach detecting specific antibodies under a mini line-blot format including positive and negative control antigens. METHODS Mini line blot assay incorporated skim milk as negative control, Staphylococcus aureus as positive control, and antigens prepared from lice-borne pathogens Rickettsia prowazekii, Borrelia recurrentis, Bartonella quintana, and Yersinia pestis. Paleoserums were extracted from rehydrated dental pulp recovered from buried individuals. Mini line blots observed with the naked eye, were quantified using a scanner and appropriate software. Paleoserology was applied to the indirect detection of lice-borne pathogens in seven skeletons exhumed from a 16th-17th century suspected military burial site (Auxi-le-Château); and 14 civils exhumed from a 5th-13th century burial site (Saint-Mont). Direct detection of pathogens was performed using quantitative real-time PCR. RESULTS In Auxi-le-Château, paleoserology yielded 7/7 interpretable paleoserums including 7/7 positives for B. recurrentis including one also positive for B. quintana. In Saint-Mont, paleoserology yielded 8/14 interpretable paleoserums and none reacted against any of the four pathogens. Antibodies against R. prowazekii and Y. pestis were not detected. The seroprevalence was significantly higher in the military burial site of Auxi-le-Château than in the civil burial site of Saint-Mont. Real-time PCR detection of B. quintana yielded 5/21 positive (3 at Saint-Mont and 2 at Auxi-le-Château) whereas B. recurrentis was not detected. CONCLUSIONS Paleoserology unmasked an outbreak of relapsing B. recurrentis fever in one 16th - 17th century military garrison, missed by real-time PCR. Paleoserology offers a new tool for investigating past epidemics, in complement to DNA sequence-based approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hamadou Oumarou Hama
- IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France.,Aix-Marseille-Univ., IRD, MEPHI, IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
| | - Rémi Barbieri
- IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France.,Aix-Marseille-Univ., IRD, MEPHI, IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France.,Aix-Marseille-Univ., CNRS, EFS, ADES, Marseille, France
| | - Jacqueline Guirou
- IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France.,Aix-Marseille-Univ., IRD, MEPHI, IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
| | | | - Aurélie Mayer
- Bureau d'études Éveha, Limoges/Ivry-sur-Seine, France
| | - Yann Ardagna
- Aix-Marseille-Univ., CNRS, EFS, ADES, Marseille, France
| | | | - Gérard Aboudharam
- Aix-Marseille-Univ., IRD, MEPHI, IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France.,UFR Odontologie, Aix-Marseille-Univ., Marseille, France
| | - Didier Raoult
- IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France.,Aix-Marseille-Univ., IRD, MEPHI, IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
| | - Michel Drancourt
- IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France.,Aix-Marseille-Univ., IRD, MEPHI, IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
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