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Langston H, Fortes Francisco A, Doidge C, Roberts CH, Khan AA, Jayawardhana S, Taylor MC, Kelly JM, Lewis MD. Dynamics of Trypanosoma cruzi infection in hamsters and novel association with progressive motor dysfunction. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2024; 18:e0012278. [PMID: 38905323 PMCID: PMC11221660 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0012278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2023] [Revised: 07/03/2024] [Accepted: 06/07/2024] [Indexed: 06/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Chagas disease is a zoonosis caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. Clinical outcomes range from long-term asymptomatic carriage to cardiac, digestive, neurological and composite presentations that can be fatal in both acute and chronic stages of the disease. Studies of T. cruzi in animal models, principally mice, have informed our understanding of the biological basis of this variability and its relationship to infection and host response dynamics. Hamsters have higher translational value for many human infectious diseases, but they have not been well developed as models of Chagas disease. We transposed a real-time bioluminescence imaging system for T. cruzi infection from mice into female Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus). This enabled us to study chronic tissue pathology in the context of spatiotemporal infection dynamics. Acute infections were widely disseminated, whereas chronic infections were almost entirely restricted to the skin and subcutaneous adipose tissue. Neither cardiac nor digestive tract disease were reproducible features of the model. Skeletal muscle had only sporadic parasitism in the chronic phase, but nevertheless displayed significant inflammation and fibrosis, features also seen in mouse models. Whereas mice had normal locomotion, all chronically infected hamsters developed hindlimb muscle hypertonia and a gait dysfunction resembling spastic diplegia. With further development, this model may therefore prove valuable in studies of peripheral nervous system involvement in Chagas disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harry Langston
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | - Amanda Fortes Francisco
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | - Ciaran Doidge
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | - Chrissy H. Roberts
- Department of Clinical Research, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | - Archie A. Khan
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | - Shiromani Jayawardhana
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | - Martin C. Taylor
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | - John M. Kelly
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | - Michael D. Lewis
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
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Pimenta BL, Menezes TP, Louise V, Dias FCR, Machado BAA, Ribeiro L, Pinto KMDC, Talvani A. Protective effects of Theracurmin treatment during experimental infection of the Colombian strain of Trypanosoma cruzi at the testicular site. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2023; 13:1143360. [PMID: 37033490 PMCID: PMC10079985 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2023.1143360] [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: 01/12/2023] [Accepted: 03/13/2023] [Indexed: 04/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Chagas' disease is a tropical neglected illness caused by Trypanosoma cruzi and remains one of the most significant causes of morbidity and mortality in South and Central Americas. The disease is caused by a moderate to intense and persistent inflammatory response characterized by local upregulated expression and production of inflammatory mediators that favors the activation and recruitment of distinct cells of the immune system into different tissues to eliminate the parasites. Theracurmin is a curcumin's derived formulation of nanoparticles. Its anti-inflammatory properties make this bioactive compound a mitigating factor in pathological cases after an overwhelming inflammatory response. Methods Our research focused on the testicular investigation in 28 mice infected by 103 trypomastigote forms of Colombian strain of T. cruzi and preventively treated with Theracurmin. The mice were treated with 30 mg/Kg of Theracurmin during the period of 30 days. At the 30th day post infection animals were euthanized, and its testicles were collected to morphological and immunological assays. Results The animals infected and treated with Theracurmin presented a reduction in the testicular levels of IL-15 and IL-6. The volume density (%) of the tunica propria was also higher in all infected animals, but Theracurmin decreased this parameter in the treated animals. In the intertubular area, the percentage of some intertubular components was decreased in the infected animals such as the percentage and volume of Leydig cells, connective tissue, and macrophages. Discussion Furthermore, our data pointed to the daily use of Theracurmin in the diet as a protective element of the testicular function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Breno Luiz Pimenta
- Laboratory of Immunobiology of Inflammation, Department of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil
- Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Post-Graduate Program, School of Medicine, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Tatiana Prata Menezes
- Laboratory of Immunobiology of Inflammation, Department of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil
- Health and Nutrition Post-Graduate Program, School of Nutrition, Federal University of Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil
- *Correspondence: Andre Talvani, ; Tatiana Prata Menezes,
| | - Vitória Louise
- Laboratory of Immunobiology of Inflammation, Department of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil
- Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Post-Graduate Program, School of Medicine, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
- Health and Nutrition Post-Graduate Program, School of Nutrition, Federal University of Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | | | - Bianca Alves Almeida Machado
- Laboratory of Immunobiology of Inflammation, Department of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil
- School of Medicine, Federal University of Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Lais Ribeiro
- Laboratory of Immunobiology of Inflammation, Department of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil
- Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Post-Graduate Program, School of Medicine, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Kelerson Mauro de Castro Pinto
- Laboratory of Immunobiology of Inflammation, Department of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil
- Laboratory of Physiology of Exercise, School of Physical Education, Federal University of Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Andre Talvani
- Laboratory of Immunobiology of Inflammation, Department of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil
- Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Post-Graduate Program, School of Medicine, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
- Health and Nutrition Post-Graduate Program, School of Nutrition, Federal University of Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil
- *Correspondence: Andre Talvani, ; Tatiana Prata Menezes,
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Ward AI, Lewis MD, Taylor MC, Kelly JM. Incomplete Recruitment of Protective T Cells Is Associated with Trypanosoma cruzi Persistence in the Mouse Colon. Infect Immun 2022; 90:e0038221. [PMID: 34780279 PMCID: PMC8853677 DOI: 10.1128/iai.00382-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2021] [Accepted: 11/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Trypanosoma cruzi is the etiological agent of Chagas disease. Following T cell-mediated suppression of acute-phase infection, this intracellular eukaryotic pathogen persists long-term in a limited subset of tissues at extremely low levels. The reasons for this tissue-specific chronicity are not understood. Using a dual bioluminescent-fluorescent reporter strain and highly sensitive tissue imaging that allows experimental infections to be monitored at single-cell resolution, we undertook a systematic analysis of the immunological microenvironments of rare parasitized cells in the mouse colon, a key site of persistence. We demonstrate that incomplete recruitment of T cells to a subset of colonic infection foci permits the occurrence of repeated cycles of intracellular parasite replication and differentiation to motile trypomastigotes at a frequency sufficient to perpetuate chronic infections. The lifelong persistence of parasites in this tissue site continues despite the presence, at a systemic level, of a highly effective T cell response. Overcoming this low-level dynamic host-parasite equilibrium represents a major challenge for vaccine development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander I. Ward
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | - Michael D. Lewis
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | - Martin C. Taylor
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | - John M. Kelly
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
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Mateus J, Nocua P, Lasso P, López MC, Thomas MC, Egui A, Cuervo C, González JM, Puerta CJ, Cuéllar A. CD8 + T Cell Response Quality Is Related to Parasite Control in an Animal Model of Single and Mixed Chronic Trypanosoma cruzi Infections. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2021; 11:723121. [PMID: 34712620 PMCID: PMC8546172 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2021.723121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2021] [Accepted: 09/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Chagas disease (ChD) is a chronic infection caused by Trypanosoma cruzi. This highly diverse intracellular parasite is classified into seven genotypes or discrete typing units (DTUs) and they overlap in geographic ranges, vectors, and clinical characteristics. Although studies have suggested that ChD progression is due to a decline in the immune response quality, a direct relationship between T cell responses and disease outcome is still unclear. To investigate the relationship between parasite control and immune T cell responses, we used two distinct infection approaches in an animal model to explore the histological and parasitological outcomes and dissect the T cell responses in T. cruzi-infected mice. First, we performed single infection experiments with DA (TcI) or Y (TcII) T. cruzi strains to compare the infection outcomes and evaluate its relationship with the T cell response. Second, because infections with diverse T. cruzi genotypes can occur in naturally infected individuals, mice were infected with the Y or DA strain and subsequently reinfected with the Y strain. We found different infection outcomes in the two infection approaches used. The single chronic infection showed differences in the inflammatory infiltrate level, while mixed chronic infection by different T. cruzi DTUs showed dissimilarities in the parasite loads. Chronically infected mice with a low inflammatory infiltrate (DA-infected mice) or low parasitemia and parasitism (Y/Y-infected mice) showed increases in early-differentiated CD8+ T cells, a multifunctional T cell response and lower expression of inhibitory receptors on CD8+ T cells. In contrast, infected mice with a high inflammatory infiltrate (Y-infected mice) or high parasitemia and parasitism (DA/Y-infected mice) showed a CD8+ T cell response distinguished by an increase in late-differentiated cells, a monofunctional response, and enhanced expression of inhibitory receptors. Overall, our results demonstrated that the infection outcomes caused by single or mixed T. cruzi infection with different genotypes induce a differential immune CD8+ T cell response quality. These findings suggest that the CD8+ T cell response might dictate differences in the infection outcomes at the chronic T. cruzi stage. This study shows that the T cell response quality is related to parasite control during chronic T. cruzi infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jose Mateus
- Grupo de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Facultad de Ciencias, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Paola Nocua
- Grupo de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Facultad de Ciencias, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Paola Lasso
- Grupo de Inmunobiología y Biología Celular, Facultad de Ciencias, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Manuel Carlos López
- Instituto de Parasitología y Biomedicina López Neyra, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Granada, Spain
| | - M Carmen Thomas
- Instituto de Parasitología y Biomedicina López Neyra, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Granada, Spain
| | - Adriana Egui
- Instituto de Parasitología y Biomedicina López Neyra, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Granada, Spain
| | - Claudia Cuervo
- Grupo de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Facultad de Ciencias, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - John Mario González
- Grupo de Ciencias Básicas Médicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Concepción J Puerta
- Grupo de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Facultad de Ciencias, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Adriana Cuéllar
- Grupo de Ciencias de Laboratorio Clínico, Facultad de Ciencias, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia
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Garcia-Bustos V, Moral Moral P, Cabañero-Navalon MD, Salavert Lletí M, Calabuig Muñoz E. Does Autoimmunity Play a Role in the Immunopathogenesis of Vasculitis Associated With Chronic Chagas Disease? Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2021; 11:671962. [PMID: 34295833 PMCID: PMC8290184 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2021.671962] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2021] [Accepted: 06/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Victor Garcia-Bustos
- Department of Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, University and Polytechnic La Fe Hospital, Valencia, Spain
| | - Pedro Moral Moral
- Department of Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, University and Polytechnic La Fe Hospital, Valencia, Spain
| | - Marta Dafne Cabañero-Navalon
- Department of Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, University and Polytechnic La Fe Hospital, Valencia, Spain
| | - Miguel Salavert Lletí
- Department of Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, University and Polytechnic La Fe Hospital, Valencia, Spain
| | - Eva Calabuig Muñoz
- Department of Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, University and Polytechnic La Fe Hospital, Valencia, Spain.,Department of Medicine, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
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Pérez-Mazliah D, Ward AI, Lewis MD. Host-parasite dynamics in Chagas disease from systemic to hyper-local scales. Parasite Immunol 2020; 43:e12786. [PMID: 32799361 DOI: 10.1111/pim.12786] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2020] [Revised: 08/11/2020] [Accepted: 08/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Trypanosoma cruzi is a remarkably versatile parasite. It can parasitize almost any nucleated cell type and naturally infects hundreds of mammal species across much of the Americas. In humans, it is the cause of Chagas disease, a set of mainly chronic conditions predominantly affecting the heart and gastrointestinal tract, which can progress to become life threatening. Yet around two thirds of infected people are long-term asymptomatic carriers. Clinical outcomes depend on many factors, but the central determinant is the nature of the host-parasite interactions that play out over the years of chronic infection in diverse tissue environments. In this review, we aim to integrate recent developments in the understanding of the spatial and temporal dynamics of T. cruzi infections with established and emerging concepts in host immune responses in the corresponding phases and tissues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Damián Pérez-Mazliah
- York Biomedical Research Institute, Hull York Medical School, University of York, York, UK
| | - Alexander I Ward
- Department of Infection Biology, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Michael D Lewis
- Department of Infection Biology, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
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Abstract
Infections with Trypanosoma cruzi are usually lifelong despite generating a strong adaptive immune response. Identifying the sites of parasite persistence is therefore crucial to understanding how T. cruzi avoids immune-mediated destruction. However, this is a major technical challenge, because the parasite burden during chronic infections is extremely low. Here, we describe an integrated approach involving comprehensive tissue processing, ex vivo imaging, and confocal microscopy, which allowed us to visualize infected host cells in murine tissue with exquisite sensitivity. Using bioluminescence-guided tissue sampling, with a detection level of <20 parasites, we showed that in the colon, smooth muscle myocytes in the circular muscle layer are the most common infected host cell type. Typically, during chronic infections, the entire colon of a mouse contains only a few hundred parasites, often concentrated in a small number of cells each containing >200 parasites, which we term mega-nests. In contrast, during the acute stage, when the total parasite burden is considerably higher and many cells are infected, nests containing >50 parasites are rarely found. In C3H/HeN mice, but not BALB/c mice, we identified skeletal muscle as a major site of persistence during the chronic stage, with most parasites being found in large mega-nests within the muscle fibers. Finally, we report that parasites are also frequently found in the skin during chronic murine infections, often in multiple infection foci. In addition to being a site of parasite persistence, this anatomical reservoir could play an important role in insect-mediated transmission and have implications for drug development.IMPORTANCE Trypanosoma cruzi causes Chagas disease, the most important parasitic infection in Latin America. Major pathologies include severe damage to the heart and digestive tract, although symptoms do not usually appear until decades after infection. Research has been hampered by the complex nature of the disease and technical difficulties in locating the extremely low number of parasites. Here, using highly sensitive imaging technology, we reveal the sites of parasite persistence during chronic-stage infections of experimental mice at single-cell resolution. We show that parasites are frequently located in smooth muscle cells in the circular muscle layer of the colon and that skeletal muscle cells and the skin can also be important reservoirs. This information provides a framework for investigating how the parasite is able to survive as a lifelong infection, despite a vigorous immune response. It also informs drug development strategies by identifying tissue sites that must be accessed to achieve a curative outcome.
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Bertelli A, Sanmarco LM, Pascuale CA, Postan M, Aoki MP, Leguizamón MS. Anti-inflammatory Role of Galectin-8 During Trypanosoma cruzi Chronic Infection. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2020; 10:285. [PMID: 32714876 PMCID: PMC7343849 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2020.00285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2020] [Accepted: 05/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Galectins are animal lectins with high affinity for β-galactosides that drive the immune response through several mechanisms. In particular, the role of galectin-8 (Gal-8) in inflammation remains controversial. To analyze its role in a chronic inflammatory environment, we studied a murine model of Trypanosoma cruzi infection. The parasite induces alterations that lead to the development of chronic cardiomyopathy and/or megaviscera in 30% of infected patients. The strong cardiac inflammation along with fibrosis leads to cardiomyopathy, the most relevant consequence of Chagas disease. By analyzing infected wild-type (iWT) and Gal-8-deficient (iGal-8KO) C57BL/6J mice at the chronic phase (4–5 months post-infection), we observed that the lack of Gal-8 favored a generalized increase in heart, skeletal muscle, and liver inflammation associated with extensive fibrosis, unrelated to tissue parasite loads. Remarkably, increased frequencies of neutrophils and macrophages were observed within cardiac iGal-8KO tissue by flow cytometry. It has been proposed that Gal-8, as well as other galectins, induces the surface expression of the inner molecule phosphatidylserine on activated neutrophils, which serves as an “eat-me” signal for macrophages, favoring viable neutrophil removal and tissue injury protection, a process known as preaparesis. We found that the increased neutrophil rates could be associated with the absence of Gal-8-dependent preaparesis, leading to a diminished neutrophil-clearing capability in macrophages. Thus, our results support that Gal-8 exerts an anti-inflammatory role in chronic T. cruzi infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adriano Bertelli
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas, Universidad Nacional de General San Martín, San Martín, Argentina.,Consejo Naciona de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Liliana M Sanmarco
- Consejo Naciona de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Departamento de Bioquímica Clínica, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina.,Centro de Investigaciones en Bioquímica Clínica e Inmunología, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Carla A Pascuale
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas, Universidad Nacional de General San Martín, San Martín, Argentina.,Consejo Naciona de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Miriam Postan
- Consejo Naciona de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Departamento de Investigación, Instituto Nacional de Parasitología "Dr. Mario Fatala Chabén, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Maria P Aoki
- Consejo Naciona de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Departamento de Bioquímica Clínica, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina.,Centro de Investigaciones en Bioquímica Clínica e Inmunología, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - María S Leguizamón
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas, Universidad Nacional de General San Martín, San Martín, Argentina.,Consejo Naciona de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Solaymani-Mohammadi S, Eckmann L, Singer SM. Interleukin (IL)-21 in Inflammation and Immunity During Parasitic Diseases. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2019; 9:401. [PMID: 31867283 PMCID: PMC6904299 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2019.00401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2019] [Accepted: 11/11/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Parasitic diseases cause significant morbidity and mortality in the developing and underdeveloped countries. No efficacious vaccines are available against most parasitic diseases and there is a critical need for developing novel vaccine strategies for care. IL-21 is a pleiotropic cytokine whose functions in protection and immunopathology during parasitic diseases have been explored in limited ways. IL-21 and its cognate receptor, IL-21R, are highly expressed in parasitized organs of infected humans as well in murine models of the human parasitic diseases. Prior studies have indicated the ability of the IL-21/IL-21R signaling axis to regulate the effector functions (e.g., cytokine production) of T cell subsets by enhancing the expression of T-bet and STAT4 in human T cells, resulting in an augmented production of IFN-γ. Mice deficient for either IL-21 (Il21−/−) or IL-21R (Il21r−/−) showed significantly reduced inflammatory responses following parasitic infections as compared with their WT counterparts. Targeting the IL-21/IL-21R signaling axis may provide a novel approach for the development of new therapeutic agents for the prevention of parasite-induced immunopathology and tissue destruction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shahram Solaymani-Mohammadi
- Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Lars Eckmann
- Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Steven M Singer
- Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, United States
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Dowling P, Zweyer M, Swandulla D, Ohlendieck K. Characterization of Contractile Proteins from Skeletal Muscle Using Gel-Based Top-Down Proteomics. Proteomes 2019; 7:proteomes7020025. [PMID: 31226838 PMCID: PMC6631179 DOI: 10.3390/proteomes7020025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2019] [Revised: 06/14/2019] [Accepted: 06/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The mass spectrometric analysis of skeletal muscle proteins has used both peptide-centric and protein-focused approaches. The term 'top-down proteomics' is often used in relation to studying purified proteoforms and their post-translational modifications. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, in combination with peptide generation for the identification and characterization of intact proteoforms being present in two-dimensional spots, plays a critical role in specific applications of top-down proteomics. A decisive bioanalytical advantage of gel-based and top-down approaches is the initial bioanalytical focus on intact proteins, which usually enables the swift identification and detailed characterisation of specific proteoforms. In this review, we describe the usage of two-dimensional gel electrophoretic top-down proteomics and related approaches for the systematic analysis of key components of the contractile apparatus, with a special focus on myosin heavy and light chains and their associated regulatory proteins. The detailed biochemical analysis of proteins belonging to the thick and thin skeletal muscle filaments has decisively improved our biochemical understanding of structure-function relationships within the contractile apparatus. Gel-based and top-down proteomics has clearly established a variety of slow and fast isoforms of myosin, troponin and tropomyosin as excellent markers of fibre type specification and dynamic muscle transition processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Dowling
- Department of Biology, Maynooth University, Maynooth, W23F2H6 Co. Kildare, Ireland.
- MU Human Health Research Institute, Maynooth University, Maynooth, W23F2H6 Co. Kildare, Ireland.
| | - Margit Zweyer
- Institute of Physiology II, University of Bonn, D-53115 Bonn, Germany.
| | - Dieter Swandulla
- Institute of Physiology II, University of Bonn, D-53115 Bonn, Germany.
| | - Kay Ohlendieck
- Department of Biology, Maynooth University, Maynooth, W23F2H6 Co. Kildare, Ireland.
- MU Human Health Research Institute, Maynooth University, Maynooth, W23F2H6 Co. Kildare, Ireland.
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