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Moreira POL, Nogueira PM, Monte-Neto RL. Next-Generation Leishmanization: Revisiting Molecular Targets for Selecting Genetically Engineered Live-Attenuated Leishmania. Microorganisms 2023; 11:microorganisms11041043. [PMID: 37110466 PMCID: PMC10145799 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11041043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2023] [Revised: 04/07/2023] [Accepted: 04/14/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite decades of research devoted to finding a vaccine against leishmaniasis, we are still lacking a safe and effective vaccine for humans. Given this scenario, the search for a new prophylaxis alternative for controlling leishmaniasis should be a global priority. Inspired by leishmanization-a first generation vaccine strategy where live L. major parasites are inoculated in the skin to protect against reinfection-live-attenuated Leishmania vaccine candidates are promising alternatives due to their robust elicited protective immune response. In addition, they do not cause disease and could provide long-term protection upon challenge with a virulent strain. The discovery of a precise and easy way to perform CRISPR/Cas-based gene editing allowed the selection of safer null mutant live-attenuated Leishmania parasites obtained by gene disruption. Here, we revisited molecular targets associated with the selection of live-attenuated vaccinal strains, discussing their function, their limiting factors and the ideal candidate for the next generation of genetically engineered live-attenuated Leishmania vaccines to control leishmaniasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paulo O L Moreira
- Biotechnology Applied to Pathogens (BAP), Instituto René Rachou, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz Minas, Belo Horizonte 30190-009, Brazil
| | - Paula M Nogueira
- Biotechnology Applied to Pathogens (BAP), Instituto René Rachou, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz Minas, Belo Horizonte 30190-009, Brazil
| | - Rubens L Monte-Neto
- Biotechnology Applied to Pathogens (BAP), Instituto René Rachou, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz Minas, Belo Horizonte 30190-009, Brazil
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Monte-Neto RL, Fernandez-Prada C, Moretti NS. Sex under pressure: stress facilitates Leishmania in vitro hybridization. Trends Parasitol 2022; 38:274-276. [PMID: 35181250 DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2022.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2022] [Accepted: 02/03/2022] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
The selection of Leishmania hybrids in axenic culture was considered rare until recently, when Louradour and Ferreira et al., demonstrated that induced DNA damage facilitates genetic exchange, resulting in full genome tetraploid progenies in vitro. Meiosis-related gene homologues HAP2, GEX1, and RAD51 were found to be involved, opening new avenues for functional genomic studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rubens L Monte-Neto
- Biotecnologia Aplicada ao Estudo de Patógenos (BAP) - Instituto René Rachou, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brasil.
| | - Christopher Fernandez-Prada
- Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire, Département de Pathologie et Microbiologie, Université de Montréal, Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec, Canada
| | - Nilmar S Moretti
- Laboratório de Biologia Molecular de Patógenos (LBMP) - Departamento de Microbiologia, Imunologia e Parasitologia - Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil
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Monte-Neto RL, Fernandez-Prada C, Moretti NS. Recent research brings hope for reshaping the co-evolutionary arms race against parasitic infectious diseases. Drug Dev Res 2022; 83:219-221. [PMID: 35106826 DOI: 10.1002/ddr.21922] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2022] [Accepted: 01/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Rubens L Monte-Neto
- Biotecnologia Aplicada ao Estudo de Patógenos (BAP), Instituto René Rachou Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Av. Augusto de Lima, 1715, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, 30190-009, Brazil
| | - Christopher Fernandez-Prada
- Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire, Département de Pathologie et Microbiologie, Université de Montréal, 3200, rue Sicotte, Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec, J2S 2M2, Canada
| | - Nilmar S Moretti
- Laboratório de Biologia Molecular de Patógenos (LBMP), Departamento de Microbiologia, Imunologia e Parasitologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Rua Botucatu 862 - 6º andar, São Paulo, São Paulo, 04023-062, Brazil
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Tunes LG, Ascher DB, Pires DEV, Monte-Neto RL. The mutation G133D on Leishmania guyanensis AQP1 is highly destabilizing as revealed by molecular modeling and hypo-osmotic shock assay. Biochim Biophys Acta Biomembr 2021; 1863:183682. [PMID: 34175297 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbamem.2021.183682] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2021] [Revised: 06/11/2021] [Accepted: 06/14/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
The Leishmania aquaglyceroporin 1 (AQP1) plays an important role in osmoregulation and antimony (Sb) uptake, being determinant for resistance to antimony. We have previously demonstrated that G133D mutation on L. guyanensis AQP1 (LgAQP1) leads to reduced Sb uptake. Here, we investigated the effects of G133D mutation on LgAQP1 structure, associated with Sb uptake and alterations in osmoregulation capacity. High confidence molecular models of wild-type LgAQP1 as well as the LgAQP1::G133D mutant were constructed and optimized via comparative homology modeling. Computational methods from the mCSM platform were used to evaluate the effects on protein stability and on its ability to bind to glycerol. Functional validation of the disruptive effect of the mutation on LgAQP1 was done by challenging the parasites with hypo-osmotic chock. Glycine 133 is on transmembrane helix 3, buried in the membrane in both open and closed conformation. G133D mutation was predicted to be highly destabilizing, as it alters the helical bundling arrangement in order to accommodate the aspartic acid side chain. The shift in helices also resulted in fewer favorable contacts with glycerol in the channel, which would explain the reduced affinity for similar small molecules as SbO3. Under hypo-osmotic condition, L. guyanensis AQP1G133D presented a 3-fold increase in cellular volume and pronounced delay to recover osmosis homeostasis when compared to the wild-type, a profile that was enhanced in LgAQP1-/- mutants. In conclusion, G133D is a highly disruptive mutation that will destabilize the monomer, compromise tetramer formation and alter pore conformation, leading to reduced Sb uptake and deficient osmoregulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luiza G Tunes
- Biotechnology Applied to Pathogens Instituto René Rachou, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz Minas), Av. Augusto de Lima, 1715, Belo Horizonte 30190-009, MG, Brazil; The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd, 75390-8511 Dallas, TX, USA.
| | - David B Ascher
- Structural Biology and Bioinformatics, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Melbourne, Bio21 Institute, 30 Flemington Rd, Parkville, VIC 3052, Melbourne, Australia; Computational Biology and Clinical Informatics, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, VIC 3004, Melbourne, Australia.
| | - Douglas E V Pires
- Structural Biology and Bioinformatics, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Melbourne, Bio21 Institute, 30 Flemington Rd, Parkville, VIC 3052, Melbourne, Australia; Computational Biology and Clinical Informatics, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, VIC 3004, Melbourne, Australia; School of Computing and Information Systems, The University of Melbourne, Doug McDonell Building, VIC 3010, Parkville, Melbourne, Australia.
| | - Rubens L Monte-Neto
- Biotechnology Applied to Pathogens Instituto René Rachou, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz Minas), Av. Augusto de Lima, 1715, Belo Horizonte 30190-009, MG, Brazil.
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Souza Silva JA, Tunes LG, Coimbra RS, Ascher DB, Pires DEV, Monte-Neto RL. Unveiling six potent and highly selective antileishmanial agents via the open source compound collection 'Pathogen Box' against antimony-sensitive and -resistant Leishmania braziliensis. Biomed Pharmacother 2020; 133:111049. [PMID: 33378956 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2020.111049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2020] [Revised: 11/15/2020] [Accepted: 11/19/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite all efforts to provide new chemical entities to tackle leishmaniases, we are still dependent on a the limited drug arsenal, together with drawbacks like toxicity and drug-resistant parasites. Collaborative drug discovery emerged as an option to speed up the way to find alternative antileishmanial agents. This is the case of Medicines for Malaria Ventures - MMV, that promotes an open source drug discovery initiative to fight diseases worldwide. Here, we screened 400 compounds from 'Pathogen Box' (PBox) collection against Leishmania braziliensis, the main etiological agent of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Brazil. Twenty-three compounds were able to inhibit ≥ 80 % L. braziliensis growth at 5 μM. Six out of the PBox selected 23 compounds were found to be highly selective against L. braziliensis intracellular amastigotes with selectivity index varying from > 104 to > 746 and IC50s ranging from 47 to 480 nM. The compounds were also active against antimony-resistant L. braziliensis isolated from the field or laboratory selected mutants, revealing the potential on treating patients infected with drug resistant parasites. Most of the selected compounds were known to be active against kinetoplastids, however, two compounds (MMV688703 and MMV676477) were part of toxoplasmosis and tuberculosis 'PBox' disease set, reinforcing the potential of phenotyping screening to unveil drug repurposing. Here we applied a computational prediction of pharmacokinetic properties using the ADMET predictor pkCSM (http://biosig.unimelb.edu.au/pkcsm/). The tool offered clues on potential drug development needs and can support further in vivo studies. Molecular docking analysis identified CRK3 (LbrM.35.0660), CYP450 (LbrM.30.3580) and PKA (LbrM.18.1180) as L. braziliensis targets for MMV676604, MMV688372 and MMV688703, respectively. Compounds from 'Pathogen Box' thus represents a new hope for novel (or repurposed) small molecules source to tackle leishmaniases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliano A Souza Silva
- Instituto René Rachou - Fiocruz Minas, Av. Augusto de Lima, 1715, Belo Horizonte, 30190-009, MG, Brazil.
| | - Luiza G Tunes
- Instituto René Rachou - Fiocruz Minas, Av. Augusto de Lima, 1715, Belo Horizonte, 30190-009, MG, Brazil.
| | - Roney S Coimbra
- Instituto René Rachou - Fiocruz Minas, Av. Augusto de Lima, 1715, Belo Horizonte, 30190-009, MG, Brazil.
| | - David B Ascher
- Structural Biology and Bioinformatics, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Melbourne, Bio21 Institute, 30 Flemington Rd, Parkville, VIC 3052, Melbourne, Australia; Computational Biology and Clinical Informatics, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, VIC 3004, Melbourne, Australia.
| | - Douglas E V Pires
- Instituto René Rachou - Fiocruz Minas, Av. Augusto de Lima, 1715, Belo Horizonte, 30190-009, MG, Brazil; School of Computing and Information Systems, The University of Melbourne, Doug McDonell Building, VIC 3010, Parkville, Melbourne, Australia.
| | - Rubens L Monte-Neto
- Instituto René Rachou - Fiocruz Minas, Av. Augusto de Lima, 1715, Belo Horizonte, 30190-009, MG, Brazil.
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Rugani JN, Quaresma PF, Gontijo CF, Soares RP, Monte-Neto RL. Intraspecies susceptibility of Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis to antileishmanial drugs: Antimony resistance in human isolates from atypical lesions. Biomed Pharmacother 2018; 108:1170-1180. [PMID: 30372818 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2018.09.149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2018] [Revised: 09/21/2018] [Accepted: 09/26/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis is the most common etiological agent of cutaneous and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis (MCL) in Latin America. An interesting aspect of the disease outcome caused by this species is the appearance of non-ulcerated atypical cutaneous leishmaniasis. Atypical (AT) lesions are often associated with therapeutic failure when treated with antimony(Sb)-based drugs. Refractory cases are not necessarily due to intrinsic parasite drug resistance. The status of in vitro drug susceptibility from L. braziliensis field isolates is less assessed than patient treatment outcome. In this work, L. braziliensis isolated from typical CL (6), MCL (1) and AT (3) lesions and vector (1) were tested for their susceptibility to amphotericin B (AmB), miltefosine (MIL), glucantime (GLU) and non-comercial meglumine antimoniate (MA). Overall, intracellular amastigotes of all isolates were sensitive to the tested antileishmanial drugs except AT lesions-derived strains 316, 330 and 340 that presented in vitro resistance against SbV-based drugs. Although susceptible to miltefosine - based on phenotypic screening - intramacrophagic quiescent amastigotes could restore infection. L. braziliensis promastigotes isolated from AT lesions also displayed 29% reduced capacity to infect human monocyte-derived macrophages when compared with parasites obtained from patients with typical lesions, MCL or from sand-fly. These data indicate differences in drug susceptibility and infectiveness among L. braziliensis isolated from patients exhibiting different types of lesions and highlight the importance of its characterization for drug response prediction outcome in clinical practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeronimo N Rugani
- Instituto René Rachou - Fiocruz Minas, Av. Augusto de Lima, 1715, 30190-009, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
| | - Patrícia F Quaresma
- Instituto René Rachou - Fiocruz Minas, Av. Augusto de Lima, 1715, 30190-009, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
| | - Célia F Gontijo
- Instituto René Rachou - Fiocruz Minas, Av. Augusto de Lima, 1715, 30190-009, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
| | - Rodrigo P Soares
- Instituto René Rachou - Fiocruz Minas, Av. Augusto de Lima, 1715, 30190-009, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
| | - Rubens L Monte-Neto
- Instituto René Rachou - Fiocruz Minas, Av. Augusto de Lima, 1715, 30190-009, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
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Lizarazo-Jaimes EH, Reis PG, Bezerra FM, Rodrigues BL, Monte-Neto RL, Melo MN, Frézard F, Demicheli C. Complexes of different nitrogen donor heterocyclic ligands with SbCl3 and PhSbCl2 as potential antileishmanial agents against SbIII-sensitive and -resistant parasites. J Inorg Biochem 2014; 132:30-6. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jinorgbio.2013.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2013] [Revised: 12/06/2013] [Accepted: 12/10/2013] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Lira NS, Monte-Neto RL, Marchi JGB, Lins ACDS, Tavares JF, Silva MSD, Dias CDS, Barbosa-Filho JM, Santos CFD, Cunha EVLD, Pinheiro UDS, Braz-Filho R. Aplysfistularine: a novel dibromotyrosine derivative isolated from Aplysina fistularis. QUIM NOVA 2012. [DOI: 10.1590/s0100-40422012001100017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
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