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May DA, Taha F, Child MA, Ewald SE. How colonization bottlenecks, tissue niches, and transmission strategies shape protozoan infections. Trends Parasitol 2023; 39:1074-1086. [PMID: 37839913 DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2023.09.017] [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: 08/28/2023] [Revised: 09/25/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 10/17/2023]
Abstract
Protozoan pathogens such as Plasmodium spp., Leishmania spp., Toxoplasma gondii, and Trypanosoma spp. are often associated with high-mortality, acute and chronic diseases of global health concern. For transmission and immune evasion, protozoans have evolved diverse strategies to interact with a range of host tissue environments. These interactions are linked to disease pathology, yet our understanding of the association between parasite colonization and host homeostatic disruption is limited. Recently developed techniques for cellular barcoding have the potential to uncover the biology regulating parasite transmission, dissemination, and the stability of infection. Understanding bottlenecks to infection and the in vivo tissue niches that facilitate chronic infection and spread has the potential to reveal new aspects of parasite biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dana A May
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Cancer Biology at the Carter Immunology Center, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA
| | - Fatima Taha
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Matthew A Child
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
| | - Sarah E Ewald
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Cancer Biology at the Carter Immunology Center, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA.
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Marshall AG, Neikirk K, Stephens DC, Vang L, Vue Z, Beasley HK, Crabtree A, Scudese E, Lopez EG, Shao B, Krystofiak E, Rutledge S, Davis J, Murray SA, Damo SM, Katti P, Hinton A. Serial Block Face-Scanning Electron Microscopy as a Burgeoning Technology. Adv Biol (Weinh) 2023; 7:e2300139. [PMID: 37246236 PMCID: PMC10950369 DOI: 10.1002/adbi.202300139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2023] [Revised: 05/09/2023] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Serial block face scanning electron microscopy (SBF-SEM), also referred to as serial block-face electron microscopy, is an advanced ultrastructural imaging technique that enables three-dimensional visualization that provides largerx- and y-axis ranges than other volumetric EM techniques. While SEM is first introduced in the 1930s, SBF-SEM is developed as a novel method to resolve the 3D architecture of neuronal networks across large volumes with nanometer resolution by Denk and Horstmann in 2004. Here, the authors provide an accessible overview of the advantages and challenges associated with SBF-SEM. Beyond this, the applications of SBF-SEM in biochemical domains as well as potential future clinical applications are briefly reviewed. Finally, the alternative forms of artificial intelligence-based segmentation which may contribute to devising a feasible workflow involving SBF-SEM, are also considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea G Marshall
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA
| | - Kit Neikirk
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA
| | - Dominique C Stephens
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA
| | - Larry Vang
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA
| | - Zer Vue
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA
| | - Heather K Beasley
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA
| | - Amber Crabtree
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA
| | - Estevão Scudese
- Laboratory of Biosciences of Human Motricity (LABIMH) of the Federal University of State of Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Sport Sciences and Exercise Laboratory (LaCEE), Catholic University of Petrópolis (UCP), Catholic, 25685-100, Brazil
| | - Edgar Garza Lopez
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA
| | - Bryanna Shao
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA
| | - Evan Krystofiak
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA
| | - Sharifa Rutledge
- Department of Chemistry, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL, 35899, USA
| | - Jaimaine Davis
- Department of Biochemistry, Cancer Biology, Neuroscience, Pharmacology, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA
| | - Sandra A Murray
- Department of Cell Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA
| | - Steven M Damo
- Department of Life and Physical Sciences, Fisk University, Nashville, TN, 37208, USA
- Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA
| | - Prasanna Katti
- National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Antentor Hinton
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA
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Impact of Cultured Neuron Models on α-Herpesvirus Latency Research. Viruses 2022; 14:v14061209. [PMID: 35746680 PMCID: PMC9228292 DOI: 10.3390/v14061209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2022] [Revised: 05/26/2022] [Accepted: 05/27/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
A signature trait of neurotropic α-herpesviruses (α-HV) is their ability to establish stable non-productive infections of peripheral neurons termed latency. This specialized gene expression program is the foundation of an evolutionarily successful strategy to ensure lifelong persistence in the host. Various physiological stresses can induce reactivation in a subset of latently-infected neurons allowing a new cycle of viral productive cycle gene expression and synthesis of infectious virus. Recurring reactivation events ensure transmission of the virus to new hosts and contributes to pathogenesis. Efforts to define the molecular basis of α-HV latency and reactivation have been notoriously difficult because the neurons harboring latent virus in humans and in experimentally infected live-animal models, are rare and largely inaccessible to study. Increasingly, researchers are turning to cultured neuron infection models as simpler experimental platforms from which to explore latency and reactivation at the molecular level. In this review, I reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of existing neuronal models and briefly summarize the important mechanistic insights these models have provided. I also discuss areas where prioritization will help to ensure continued progress and integration.
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