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Yuan H, Jiang T, Zhang WD, Yang Z, Luo S, Wang X, Zhu X, Qi S, Mahmmod YS, Zhang XX, Yuan ZG. Multiomics and bioinformatics identify differentially expressed effectors in the brain of Toxoplasma gondii infected masked palm civet. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2023; 13:1267629. [PMID: 37818043 PMCID: PMC10561248 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2023.1267629] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2023] [Accepted: 09/01/2023] [Indexed: 10/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction The masked palm civet (Paguma larvata) serves as a reservoir in transmitting pathogens, such as Toxoplasma gondii, to humans. However, the pathogenesis of T. gondii infection in masked palm civets has not been explored. We studied the molecular changes in the brain tissue of masked palm civets chronically infected with T. gondii ME49. Methods The differentially expressed proteins in the brain tissue were investigated using iTRAQ and bioinformatics. Results A total of 268 differential proteins were identified, of which 111 were upregulated and 157 were downregulated. KEGG analysis identified pathways including PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, proteoglycans in cancer, carbon metabolism, T-cell receptor signaling pathway. Combing transcriptomic and proteomics data, we identified 24 genes that were differentially expressed on both mRNA and protein levels. The top four upregulated proteins were REEP3, REEP4, TEP1, and EEPD1, which was confirmed by western blot and immunohistochemistry. KEGG analysis of these 24 genes identified signaling cascades that were associated with small cell lung cancer, breast cancer, Toll-like receptor signaling pathway, Wnt signaling pathways among others. To understand the mechanism of the observed alteration, we conducted immune infiltration analysis using TIMER databases which identified immune cells that are associated with the upregulation of these proteins. Protein network analysis identified 44 proteins that were in close relation to all four proteins. These proteins were significantly enriched in immunoregulation and cancer pathways including PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, Notch signaling pathway, chemokine signaling pathway, cell cycle, breast cancer, and prostate cancer. Bioinformatics utilizing two cancer databases (TCGA and GEPIA) revealed that the four genes were upregulated in many cancer types including glioblastoma (GBM). In addition, higher expression of REEP3 and EEPD1 was associated with better prognosis, while higher expression of REEP4 and TEP1 was associated with poor prognosis in GBM patients. Discussion We identified the differentially expressed genes in the brain of T. gondii infected masked palm civets. These genes were associated with various cellular signaling pathways including those that are immune- and cancer-related.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Yuan
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Prevention and Control, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Zoonosis of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Tiantian Jiang
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California, La Jolla, San Diego, CA, United States
| | - Wei-Dong Zhang
- South China Agricultural University Hospital, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zipeng Yang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Prevention and Control, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Zoonosis of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Shengjun Luo
- Institute of Animal Health, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiaohu Wang
- Institute of Animal Health, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiaojing Zhu
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Prevention and Control, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Shuting Qi
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Prevention and Control, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yasser S. Mahmmod
- Infectious Diseases, Department of Animal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt
- Veterinary Sciences Division, Faculty of Health Sciences, Higher Colleges of Technology, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - Xiu-Xiang Zhang
- College of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zi-Guo Yuan
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Prevention and Control, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Zoonosis of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
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Du X, McManus DP, French JD, Collinson N, Sivakumaran H, MacGregor SR, Fogarty CE, Jones MK, You H. CRISPR interference for sequence-specific regulation of fibroblast growth factor receptor A in Schistosoma mansoni. Front Immunol 2023; 13:1105719. [PMID: 36713455 PMCID: PMC9880433 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1105719] [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: 11/23/2022] [Accepted: 12/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Employing the flatworm parasite Schistosoma mansoni as a model, we report the first application of CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) in parasitic helminths for loss-of-function studies targeting the SmfgfrA gene which encodes the stem cell marker, fibroblast growth factor receptor A (FGFRA). SmFGFRA is essential for maintaining schistosome stem cells and critical in the schistosome-host interplay. The SmfgfrA gene was targeted in S. mansoni adult worms, eggs and schistosomula using a catalytically dead Cas9 (dCas9) fused to a transcriptional repressor KRAB. We showed that SmfgfrA repression resulted in considerable phenotypic differences in the modulated parasites compared with controls, including reduced levels of SmfgfrA transcription and decreased protein expression of SmFGFRA, a decline in EdU (thymidine analog 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine, which specifically stains schistosome stem cells) signal, and an increase in cell apoptosis. Notably, reduced SmfgfrA transcription was evident in miracidia hatched from SmfgfrA-repressed eggs, and resulted in a significant change in miracidial behavior, indicative of a durable repression effect caused by CRISPRi. Intravenous injection of mice with SmfgfrA-repressed eggs resulted in granulomas that were markedly reduced in size and a decline in the level of serum IgE, emphasizing the importance of SmFGFRA in regulating the host immune response induced during schistosome infection. Our findings show the feasibility of applying CRISPRi for effective, targeted transcriptional repression in schistosomes, and provide the basis for employing CRISPRi to selectively perturb gene expression in parasitic helminths on a genome-wide scale.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaofeng Du
- Infection and Inflammation Program, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, Australia,Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Donald P. McManus
- Infection and Inflammation Program, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, Australia,Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Juliet D. French
- Genetics & Computational Biology Department, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Natasha Collinson
- Infection and Inflammation Program, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Haran Sivakumaran
- Genetics & Computational Biology Department, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Skye R. MacGregor
- Infection and Inflammation Program, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Conor E. Fogarty
- Genecology Research Centre, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sunshine Coast, QLD, Australia
| | - Malcolm K. Jones
- School of Veterinary Science, The University of Queensland, Gatton, QLD, Australia
| | - Hong You
- Infection and Inflammation Program, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, Australia,School of Veterinary Science, The University of Queensland, Gatton, QLD, Australia,*Correspondence: Hong You,
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Ishizaki T, Hernandez S, Paoletta MS, Sanderson T, Bushell ES. CRISPR/Cas9 and genetic screens in malaria parasites: small genomes, big impact. Biochem Soc Trans 2022; 50:1069-1079. [PMID: 35621119 PMCID: PMC9246331 DOI: 10.1042/bst20210281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2022] [Revised: 04/20/2022] [Accepted: 04/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
The ∼30 Mb genomes of the Plasmodium parasites that cause malaria each encode ∼5000 genes, but the functions of the majority remain unknown. This is due to a paucity of functional annotation from sequence homology, which is compounded by low genetic tractability compared with many model organisms. In recent years technical breakthroughs have made forward and reverse genome-scale screens in Plasmodium possible. Furthermore, the adaptation of Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) and CRISPR-Associated protein 9 (CRISPR/Cas9) technology has dramatically improved gene editing efficiency at the single gene level. Here, we review the arrival of genetic screens in malaria parasites to analyse parasite gene function at a genome-scale and their impact on understanding parasite biology. CRISPR/Cas9 screens, which have revolutionised human and model organism research, have not yet been implemented in malaria parasites due to the need for more complex CRISPR/Cas9 gene targeting vector libraries. We therefore introduce the reader to CRISPR-based screens in the related apicomplexan Toxoplasma gondii and discuss how these approaches could be adapted to develop CRISPR/Cas9 based genome-scale genetic screens in malaria parasites. Moreover, since more than half of Plasmodium genes are required for normal asexual blood-stage reproduction, and cannot be targeted using knockout methods, we discuss how CRISPR/Cas9 could be used to scale up conditional gene knockdown approaches to systematically assign function to essential genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takahiro Ishizaki
- Department of Molecular Biology, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden
- The Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS), Umeå, Sweden
| | - Sophia Hernandez
- Department of Molecular Biology, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden
- The Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS), Umeå, Sweden
| | - Martina S. Paoletta
- Department of Molecular Biology, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden
- The Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS), Umeå, Sweden
- Instituto de Agrobiotecnología y Biología Molecular (IABIMO), INTA - CONICET, Hurlingham, Argentina
| | - Theo Sanderson
- Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Rd, London NW1 1AT, U.K
| | - Ellen S.C. Bushell
- Department of Molecular Biology, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden
- The Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS), Umeå, Sweden
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Dong Z, Gao N, Deng B, Huang X, Hu C, Chen P, Wu Q, Lu C, Pan M. Stable transformation of fluorescent proteins into Nosema bombycis by electroporation. Parasit Vectors 2022; 15:141. [PMID: 35449112 PMCID: PMC9022262 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-022-05236-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2021] [Accepted: 03/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Microsporidia are a group of intracellular parasitic eukaryotes, serious pathogens that cause widespread infection in humans, vertebrates, and invertebrates. Because microsporidia have a thick spore wall structure, the in vitro transformation, cell culture, and genetic operation technology of microsporidia are far behind that of other parasites. Methods In this study, according to an analysis of the life-cycle of microsporidia, Nosema bombycis, and different electro-transformation conditions, the transduction efficiency of introducing foreign genes into N. bombycis was systematically determined. Results We analyzed the direct electro-transformation of foreign genes into germinating N. bombycis using reporters under the regulation of different characteristic promoters. Furthermore, we systematically determined the efficiency of electro-transformation into N. bombycis under different electro-transformation conditions and different developmental stages through an analysis of the whole life-cycle of N. bombycis. These results revealed that foreign genes could be effectively introduced through a perforation voltage of 100 V pulsed for 15 ms during the period of N. bombycis sporeplasm proliferation. Conclusions We present an effective method for electro-transformation of a plasmid encoding a fluorescent protein into N. bombycis, which provides new insight for establishing genetic modifications and potential applications in these intracellular parasites. Graphical Abstract ![]()
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhanqi Dong
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400716, China.,Key Laboratory of Sericultural Biology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400716, China
| | - Na Gao
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400716, China
| | - Boyuan Deng
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400716, China
| | - Xuhua Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400716, China.,The General Extension Station of Sericulture Technology of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Nanning, 530007, China
| | - Congwu Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400716, China
| | - Peng Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400716, China.,Key Laboratory of Sericultural Biology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400716, China
| | - Qin Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400716, China
| | - Cheng Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400716, China. .,Key Laboratory of Sericultural Biology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400716, China.
| | - Minhui Pan
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400716, China. .,Key Laboratory of Sericultural Biology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400716, China.
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