Mechanisms for Host Immune Evasion Mediated by Plasmodium falciparum-Infected Erythrocyte Surface Antigens

A new mechanism of antibody diversity: formation of the natural antibodies containing LAIR1 and LILRB1 extracellular domains

The recent discovery of public antibodies targeting Plasmodium falciparum-encoded repetitive interspersed families of polypeptides (RIFINs), which contain extracellular immunoglobulin-like domains from LAIR1 or LILRB1, constitutes a significant step forward in comprehending the reactivity of the Plasmodium parasite. These antibodies arise from unique B cell clones and demonstrate extensive cross-reactivity through their interaction with P. falciparum RIFINs. LAIR1 and LILRBs are specialized type I transmembrane glycoproteins, classified as immune inhibitory receptors, restricted to primates and mainly found on hematopoietic cells. They are instrumental in modulating interactions within the tumor microenvironment and across the immune system, and are increasingly recognized as important in anti-cancer immunotherapy and pathogen defense. The presence of LAIR1/LILRB1-containing antibodies offers new insights into malaria parasite evasion strategies and the immune system's response. Additionally, the innovative method of integrating extra exons into the antibody switch region is a noteworthy advancement, enriching the strategies for the generation of a varied array of bispecific and multispecific antibodies.

Subtelomeric plasticity contributes to gene family expansion in the human parasitic flatworm Schistosoma mansoni

BACKGROUND

The genomic region that lies between the telomere and chromosome body, termed the subtelomere, is heterochromatic, repeat-rich, and frequently undergoes rearrangement. Within this region, large-scale structural changes enable gene diversification, and, as such, large multicopy gene families are often found at the subtelomere. In some parasites, genes associated with proliferation, invasion, and survival are often found in these regions, where they benefit from the subtelomere's highly plastic, rapidly changing nature. The increasing availability of complete (or near complete) parasite genomes provides an opportunity to investigate these typically poorly defined and overlooked genomic regions and potentially reveal relevant gene families necessary for the parasite's lifestyle.

RESULTS

Using the latest chromosome-scale genome assembly and hallmark repeat richness observed at chromosome termini, we have identified and characterised the subtelomeres of Schistosoma mansoni, a metazoan parasitic flatworm that infects over 250 million people worldwide. Approximately 12% of the S. mansoni genome is classified as subtelomeric, and, in line with other organisms, we find these regions to be gene-poor but rich in transposable elements. We find that S. mansoni subtelomeres have undergone extensive interchromosomal recombination and that these sites disproportionately contribute to the 2.3% of the genome derived from segmental duplications. This recombination has led to the expansion of subtelomeric gene clusters containing 103 genes, including the immunomodulatory annexins and other gene families with unknown roles. The largest of these is a 49-copy plexin domain-containing protein cluster, exclusively expressed in the tegument-the tissue located at the host-parasite physical interface-of intramolluscan life stages.

CONCLUSIONS

We propose that subtelomeric regions act as a genomic playground for trial-and-error of gene duplication and subsequent divergence. Owing to the importance of subtelomeric genes in other parasites, gene families implicated in this subtelomeric expansion within S. mansoni warrant further characterisation for a potential role in parasitism.

Formation of ER-lumenal intermediates during export of Plasmodium proteins containing transmembrane-like hydrophobic sequences

During the blood stage of a malaria infection, malaria parasites export both soluble and membrane proteins into the erythrocytes in which they reside. Exported proteins are trafficked via the parasite endoplasmic reticulum and secretory pathway, before being exported across the parasitophorous vacuole membrane into the erythrocyte. Transport across the parasitophorous vacuole membrane requires protein unfolding, and in the case of membrane proteins, extraction from the parasite plasma membrane. We show that trafficking of the exported Plasmodium protein, Pf332, differs from that of canonical eukaryotic soluble-secreted and transmembrane proteins. Pf332 is initially ER-targeted by an internal hydrophobic sequence that unlike a signal peptide, is not proteolytically removed, and unlike a transmembrane segment, does not span the ER membrane. Rather, both termini of the hydrophobic sequence enter the ER-lumen and the ER-lumenal species is a productive intermediate for protein export. Furthermore, we show in intact cells, that two other exported membrane proteins, SBP1 and MAHRP2, assume a lumenal topology within the parasite secretory pathway. Although the addition of a C-terminal ER-retention sequence, recognised by the lumenal domain of the KDEL receptor, does not completely block export of SBP1 and MAHRP2, it does enhance their retention in the parasite ER. This indicates that a sub-population of each protein adopts an ER-lumenal state that is an intermediate in the export process. Overall, this suggests that although many exported proteins traverse the parasite secretory pathway as typical soluble or membrane proteins, some exported proteins that are ER-targeted by a transmembrane segment-like, internal, non-cleaved hydrophobic segment, do not integrate into the ER membrane, and form an ER-lumenal species that is a productive export intermediate. This represents a novel means, not seen in typical membrane proteins found in model systems, by which exported transmembrane-like proteins can be targeted and trafficked within the lumen of the secretory pathway.

Plasmodium falciparum Nicotinamidase as A Novel Antimalarial Target

Inhibition of Plasmodium falciparum nicotinamidase could represent a potential antimalarial since parasites require nicotinic acid to successfully recycle nicotinamide to NAD⁺, and importantly, humans lack this biosynthetic enzyme. Recently, mechanism-based inhibitors of nicotinamidase have been discovered. The most potent compound inhibits both recombinant P. falciparum nicotinamidase and parasites replication in infected human red blood cells (RBCs). These studies provide evidence for the importance of nicotinamide salvage through nicotinamidase as a central master player of NAD⁺ homeostasis in P. falciparum.