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Sollelis L, Howick VM, Marti M. Revisiting the determinants of malaria transmission. Trends Parasitol 2024; 40:302-312. [PMID: 38443304 DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2024.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2023] [Revised: 02/05/2024] [Accepted: 02/05/2024] [Indexed: 03/07/2024]
Abstract
Malaria parasites have coevolved with humans over thousands of years, mirroring their migration out of Africa. They persist to this day, despite continuous elimination efforts worldwide. These parasites can adapt to changing environments during infection of human and mosquito, and when expanding the geographical range by switching vector species. Recent studies in the human malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, identified determinants governing the plasticity of sexual conversion rates, sex ratio, and vector competence. Here we summarize the latest literature revealing environmental, epigenetic, and genetic determinants of malaria transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauriane Sollelis
- Wellcome Center for Integrative Parasitology, Institute of Infection and Immunity University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK; Institute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Virginia M Howick
- Institute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland; Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health, and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Matthias Marti
- Wellcome Center for Integrative Parasitology, Institute of Infection and Immunity University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK; Institute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.
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Komaki-Yasuda K, Kano S. The RNA-binding KH-domain in the unique transcription factor of the malaria parasite is responsible for its transcriptional regulatory activity. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0296165. [PMID: 38128025 PMCID: PMC10734933 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0296165] [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: 01/09/2023] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
To date, only a small number of regulatory transcription factors have been predicted from the genome of Plasmodium and Apicomplexan parasites. We previously identified a nuclear factor named Prx regulatory element-binding protein (PREBP) from Plasmodium falciparum. PREBP had been suggested to bind to the cis-element in the promoter of an antioxidant pf1-cys-prx gene, thereby promoting the expression of downstream genes. PREBP has 4 putative K homology (KH) domains, which are known to bind RNA and single-stranded DNA. In this study, to understand the detailed action of PREBP in parasite cells, we first observed that in living parasite cells, PREBP was localized in the nucleus in the trophozoite and schizont stages, in which the expression of the target pf1-cys-prx was enhanced. The interaction of PREBP and the cis-element of pf1-cys-prx in the parasite cells was also confirmed. Further, the activities of PREBP deletion mutants were analyzed, and regions with repeated KH domains in PREBP seemed to be responsible for the recognition of the cis-element. These results led us to hypothesize that Plasmodium and other Apicomplexan parasites might have a transcription factor family with KH domains. Bioinformatic analysis revealed a putative ortholog group including PREBP and several Plasmodium and Apicomplexan factors with KH domains. One of the P. falciparum-derived factors, which were included in the putative ortholog group, was found to be localized at the nucleus in the trophozoite stage, indicating that it might be a novel transcription factor. The discovery of PREBP and putative transcription factors with KH domains suggested that multi-functional proteins with KH domains possibly evolved in the Apicomplexan organisms. They might play key roles in transcriptional regulatory processes that are essential for living organisms and may even represent unique drug targets for malaria therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kanako Komaki-Yasuda
- Research Institute, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Shigeyuki Kano
- Research Institute, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan
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Han Z, Zheng Y, Shi Y, Chen F, Wu C, Wang L, Lu S, Li D, Guan X, He L, Zhao J. Transcriptional variation in Babesia gibsoni (Wuhan isolate) between in vivo and in vitro cultures in blood stage. Parasit Vectors 2023; 16:268. [PMID: 37550766 PMCID: PMC10408140 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-023-05869-z] [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: 05/09/2023] [Accepted: 07/04/2023] [Indexed: 08/09/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Babesia gibsoni, the causative agent of canine babesiosis, belongs to the phylum Apicomplexa. The development of in vitro culture technology has driven research progress in various kinds of omics studies, including transcriptomic analysis of Plasmodium spp. between in vitro and in vivo environments, which has prompted the observation of diagnostic antigens and vaccine development. Nevertheless, no information on Babesia spp. could be obtained in this respect, which greatly hinders the further understanding of parasite growth and development in the blood stage. METHODS In this study, considerable changes in the morphology and infectivity of continuous in vitro cultured B. gibsoni (Wuhan isolate) were observed compared to in vivo parasites. Based on these changes, B. gibsoni (Wuhan isolate) was collected from both in vivo and in vitro cultures, followed by total RNA extraction and Illumina transcriptome sequencing. The acquired differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were validated using qRT-PCR, and then functionally annotated through several databases. The gene with the greatest upregulation after in vitro culture was cloned from the genome of B. gibsoni (Wuhan isolate) and characterized by western blotting and indirect immunofluorescence assay for detecting the native form and cellular localization. RESULTS Through laboratory cultivation, multiple forms of parasites were observed, and the infectivity of in vitro cultured parasites in dogs was found to be lower. Based on these changes, Illumina transcriptome sequencing was conducted, showing that 377 unigenes were upregulated and 334 unigenes were downregulated. Notably, an AP2 transcription factor family, essential for all developmental stages of parasites, was screened, and the transcriptional changes in these family members were tested. Thus, the novel AP2 transcription factor gene (BgAP2-M) with the highest upregulated expression after in vitro adaptation was selected. This gene comprises an open reading frame (ORF) of 1989 base pairs encoding a full-length protein of 662 amino acids. BgAP2-M contains one AP2 domain and one ACDC conserved domain, which may be involved in the nuclear biology of parasites. The prepared polyclonal antibodies against the BgAP2-M peptides further detected a native size of ~ 73 kDa and were localized to the nuclei of B. gibsoni. CONCLUSION This study presents a thorough transcriptome analysis of B. gibsoni in vivo and in vitro for the first time, contributing to a detailed understanding of the effects of environmental changes on the growth and development of parasites in the blood stage. Moreover, it also provides a deeper investigation for the different members of the ApiAP2 transcription factor family as various life stage regulators in Babesia spp.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhen Han
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China
- Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Hubei Province, The Cooperative Innovation Center for Sustainable Pig Production, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China
| | - Yaxin Zheng
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China
- Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Hubei Province, The Cooperative Innovation Center for Sustainable Pig Production, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China
| | - Yu Shi
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China
- Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Hubei Province, The Cooperative Innovation Center for Sustainable Pig Production, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China
| | - Fangwei Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China
- Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Hubei Province, The Cooperative Innovation Center for Sustainable Pig Production, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China
| | - Chenglong Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China
- Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Hubei Province, The Cooperative Innovation Center for Sustainable Pig Production, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China
| | - Lingna Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China
- Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Hubei Province, The Cooperative Innovation Center for Sustainable Pig Production, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China
| | - Shiyu Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China
- Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Hubei Province, The Cooperative Innovation Center for Sustainable Pig Production, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China
| | - Dongfang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China
- Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Hubei Province, The Cooperative Innovation Center for Sustainable Pig Production, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China
| | - Xingai Guan
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China
- Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Hubei Province, The Cooperative Innovation Center for Sustainable Pig Production, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China
| | - Lan He
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China
- Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Hubei Province, The Cooperative Innovation Center for Sustainable Pig Production, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China
- Key Laboratory of Development of Veterinary Diagnostic Products, Ministry of Agriculture of the People's Republic of China, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China
| | - Junlong Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China.
- Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Hubei Province, The Cooperative Innovation Center for Sustainable Pig Production, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China.
- Key Laboratory of Development of Veterinary Diagnostic Products, Ministry of Agriculture of the People's Republic of China, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China.
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