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Crilly NP, Zita MD, Beaver AK, Sysa-Shah P, Bhalodia A, Gabrielson K, Adamo L, Mugnier MR. A murine model of Trypanosoma brucei-induced myocarditis and cardiac dysfunction. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.10.05.560950. [PMID: 37873308 PMCID: PMC10592974 DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.05.560950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2023]
Abstract
Trypanosoma brucei is a protozoan parasite that causes human and animal African trypanosomiases (HAT and AAT). Cardiac symptoms are commonly reported in HAT patients, and intracardiac parasites with accompanying myocarditis have been observed in both natural hosts and animal models of T. brucei infection. Despite the importance of T. brucei as a cause of cardiac dysfunction and the dramatic socioeconomic impact of African trypanosomiases in sub-Saharan Africa, there are currently no reproducible murine models of T. brucei-associated cardiomyopathy. We present the first clinically relevant, reproducible murine model of cardiac dysfunction in chronic T. brucei infection. Similar to humans, mice showed histological evidence of myocarditis and elevation of serum NT-proBNP with electrocardiographic abnormalities. Serum NT-proBNP levels were elevated prior to the development of severe ventricular dysfunction. On flow cytometry, myocarditis was associated with an increase of most myocardial immune cell populations, including multiple T cell and macrophage subsets, corroborating the notion that T. brucei-associated cardiac damage is an immune-mediated event. This novel mouse model represents a powerful and practical tool to investigate the pathogenesis of T. brucei-mediated heart damage and supports the development of therapeutic options for T. brucei-associated cardiac disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan P. Crilly
- Department of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Marcelle Dina Zita
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Alexander K. Beaver
- Department of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Polina Sysa-Shah
- Department of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- Molecular Imaging Service Center and Cancer Functional Imaging Core, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Aashik Bhalodia
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Kathy Gabrielson
- Department of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Luigi Adamo
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Monica R. Mugnier
- Department of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
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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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Abstract
Trypanosoma brucei is a protozoan parasite that causes human and animal African trypanosomiases (HAT and AAT). In the mammalian host, the parasite lives entirely extracellularly, in both the blood and interstitial spaces in tissues. Although most T. brucei research has focused on the biology of blood- and central nervous system (CNS)-resident parasites, a number of recent studies have highlighted parasite reservoirs in the dermis and adipose tissue, leading to a renewed interest in tissue-resident parasite populations. In light of this renewed interest, work describing tissue-resident parasites can serve as a valuable resource to inform future investigations of tissue-resident T. brucei. Here, we review this body of literature, which describes infections in humans, natural hosts, and experimental animal models, providing a wealth of information on the distribution and biology of extravascular parasites, the corresponding immune response in each tissue, and resulting host pathology. We discuss the implications of these studies and future questions in the study of extravascular T. brucei.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan P. Crilly
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
- Department of Molecular and Comparative Pathology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore Maryland, United States of America
| | - Monica R. Mugnier
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
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O'Toole D, Zaeri AAI, Nicklin SA, French AT, Loughrey CM, Martin TP. Signalling pathways linking cysteine cathepsins to adverse cardiac remodelling. Cell Signal 2020; 76:109770. [PMID: 32891693 DOI: 10.1016/j.cellsig.2020.109770] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2020] [Revised: 08/27/2020] [Accepted: 08/31/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Adverse cardiac remodelling clinically manifests as deleterious changes to heart architecture (size, mass and geometry) and function. These changes, which include alterations to ventricular wall thickness, chamber dilation and poor contractility, are important because they progressively drive patients with cardiac disease towards heart failure and are associated with poor prognosis. Cysteine cathepsins contribute to key signalling pathways involved in adverse cardiac remodelling including synthesis and degradation of the cardiac extracellular matrix (ECM), cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, impaired cardiomyocyte contractility and apoptosis. In this review, we highlight the role of cathepsins in these signalling pathways as well as their translational potential as therapeutic targets in cardiac disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dylan O'Toole
- British Heart Foundation Glasgow Cardiovascular Research Centre, Institute of Cardiovascular & Medical Sciences, University of Glasgow, UK
| | - Ali Abdullah I Zaeri
- British Heart Foundation Glasgow Cardiovascular Research Centre, Institute of Cardiovascular & Medical Sciences, University of Glasgow, UK
| | - Stuart A Nicklin
- British Heart Foundation Glasgow Cardiovascular Research Centre, Institute of Cardiovascular & Medical Sciences, University of Glasgow, UK
| | - Anne T French
- Clinical Sciences Department, Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, Basseterre, St. Kitts, West Indies, Saint Kitts and Nevis
| | - Christopher M Loughrey
- British Heart Foundation Glasgow Cardiovascular Research Centre, Institute of Cardiovascular & Medical Sciences, University of Glasgow, UK.
| | - Tamara P Martin
- British Heart Foundation Glasgow Cardiovascular Research Centre, Institute of Cardiovascular & Medical Sciences, University of Glasgow, UK.
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Bhattacharya A, Corbeil A, do Monte-Neto RL, Fernandez-Prada C. Of Drugs and Trypanosomatids: New Tools and Knowledge to Reduce Bottlenecks in Drug Discovery. Genes (Basel) 2020; 11:genes11070722. [PMID: 32610603 PMCID: PMC7397081 DOI: 10.3390/genes11070722] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2020] [Revised: 06/23/2020] [Accepted: 06/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Leishmaniasis (Leishmania species), sleeping sickness (Trypanosoma brucei), and Chagas disease (Trypanosoma cruzi) are devastating and globally spread diseases caused by trypanosomatid parasites. At present, drugs for treating trypanosomatid diseases are far from ideal due to host toxicity, elevated cost, limited access, and increasing rates of drug resistance. Technological advances in parasitology, chemistry, and genomics have unlocked new possibilities for novel drug concepts and compound screening technologies that were previously inaccessible. In this perspective, we discuss current models used in drug-discovery cascades targeting trypanosomatids (from in vitro to in vivo approaches), their use and limitations in a biological context, as well as different examples of recently discovered lead compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arijit Bhattacharya
- Department of Microbiology, Adamas University, Kolkata, West Bengal 700 126, India;
| | - Audrey Corbeil
- Department of Pathology and Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Université de Montréal, Saint-Hyacinthe, QC J2S 2M2, Canada;
| | | | - Christopher Fernandez-Prada
- Department of Pathology and Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Université de Montréal, Saint-Hyacinthe, QC J2S 2M2, Canada;
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-450-773-8521 (ext. 32802)
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Microfluidics-Based Approaches to the Isolation of African Trypanosomes. Pathogens 2017; 6:pathogens6040047. [PMID: 28981471 PMCID: PMC5750571 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens6040047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2017] [Revised: 09/29/2017] [Accepted: 10/02/2017] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
African trypanosomes are responsible for significant levels of disease in both humans and animals. The protozoan parasites are free-living flagellates, usually transmitted by arthropod vectors, including the tsetse fly. In the mammalian host they live in the bloodstream and, in the case of human-infectious species, later invade the central nervous system. Diagnosis of the disease requires the positive identification of parasites in the bloodstream. This can be particularly challenging where parasite numbers are low, as is often the case in peripheral blood. Enriching parasites from body fluids is an important part of the diagnostic pathway. As more is learned about the physicochemical properties of trypanosomes, this information can be exploited through use of different microfluidic-based approaches to isolate the parasites from blood or other fluids. Here, we discuss recent advances in the use of microfluidics to separate trypanosomes from blood and to isolate single trypanosomes for analyses including drug screening.
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