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Havlickova P, Crossley J, Gardian Z, Dycka F, Kuta Smatanova I, Franta Z. Structural and functional studies of TBEV non-structural protein 5. Acta Cryst Sect A 2022. [DOI: 10.1107/s2053273322093925] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/19/2023]
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Havlíčková P, Crossley JA, Gardian Z, Kutá Smatanová I, Franta Z. Structural and functional studies of TBEV non-structural protein 5. Acta Crystallogr A Found Adv 2021. [DOI: 10.1107/s010876732108569x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
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Urbanová V, Hajdušek O, Šíma R, Franta Z, Hönig-Mondeková H, Grunclová L, Bartošová-Sojková P, Jalovecká M, Kopáček P. IrC2/Bf - A yeast and Borrelia responsive component of the complement system from the hard tick Ixodes ricinus. Dev Comp Immunol 2018; 79:86-94. [PMID: 29061482 DOI: 10.1016/j.dci.2017.10.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2017] [Revised: 10/19/2017] [Accepted: 10/19/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Ticks possess components of a primordial complement system that presumably play a role in the interaction of the tick immune system with tick-borne pathogens and affect their transmission. Here we characterized a novel complement component, tagged as IrC2/Bf, from the hard tick Ixodes ricinus, the principal vector of Lyme disease in Europe. IrC2/Bf is a multi-domain molecule composed of 5-7 CCP modules, varied by alternative splicing, followed by a von Willebrand factor A domain and a C-terminal trypsin-like domain. The primary structure and molecular architecture of IrC2/Bf displays the closest homology to the C3-complement component convertases described in horseshoe crabs. The irc2/bf gene is mainly expressed in the tick fat body associated with the trachea and, as determined by western blotting, the protein is present in low amounts in tick hemolymph. Expression of irc2/bf mRNA was significantly up-regulated in response to the intra-hemocoelic injection of the yeast Candida albicans and all tested Borrelia sp. strains (B. burgdorferi NE5264, B. burgdorferi CB26, B. garinii MSLB, B. afzelii CB43), but was not affected by injection of model Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria or the aseptic injection control. In-line with these results, RNAi-mediated silencing of irc2/bf inhibited phagocytosis of B. afzelii and C. albicans but not the other bacteria. Tissue expression profiles, specific responses to microbial challenges, and patterns of phagocytic phenotypes upon RNAi silencing observed for IrC2/Bf match well with the previously reported characteristics of I. ricinus C3-related molecule 1 (IrC3-1). Therefore we presume that IrC2/Bf functions as a convertase in the same complement activation pathway protecting ticks against yeast and Borrelia infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Veronika Urbanová
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice CZ-370 05, Czech Republic
| | - Ondřej Hajdušek
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice CZ-370 05, Czech Republic
| | - Radek Šíma
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice CZ-370 05, Czech Republic
| | - Zdeněk Franta
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice CZ-370 05, Czech Republic
| | - Helena Hönig-Mondeková
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice CZ-370 05, Czech Republic
| | - Lenka Grunclová
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice CZ-370 05, Czech Republic
| | - Pavla Bartošová-Sojková
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice CZ-370 05, Czech Republic
| | - Marie Jalovecká
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice CZ-370 05, Czech Republic
| | - Petr Kopáček
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice CZ-370 05, Czech Republic.
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Pöppel AK, Kahl M, Baumann A, Wiesner J, Gökçen A, Beckert A, Preissner KT, Vilcinskas A, Franta Z. A Jonah-like chymotrypsin from the therapeutic maggot Lucilia sericata plays a role in wound debridement and coagulation. Insect Biochem Mol Biol 2016; 70:138-147. [PMID: 26773746 DOI: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2015.11.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2015] [Revised: 11/27/2015] [Accepted: 11/27/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Lucilia sericata larvae are used in maggot debridement therapy, a traditional wound healing approach that has recently been approved for the treatment of chronic wounds. Maggot excretion products (MEP) contain many different proteases that promote disinfection, debridement and the acceleration of wound healing, e.g. by activating the host contact phase/intrinsic pathway of coagulation. In order to characterise relevant procoagulant proteases, we analysed MEP and identified a chymotrypsin-like serine protease with similarities to Jonah proteases from Drosophila melanogaster and a chymotrypsin from Lucilia cuprina. A recombinant form of the L. sericata Jonah chymotrypsin was produced in Escherichia coli. The activated enzyme (Jonahm) had a pH optimum of 8.0 and a temperature optimum of 37 °C, based on the cleavage of the chromogenic peptide s-7388 and casein. Jonahm reduced the clotting time of human plasma even in the absence of the endogenous protease kallikrein, factor XI or factor XII and digested the extracellular matrix proteins fibronectin, laminin and collagen IV, suggesting a potential mechanism of wound debridement. Based on these characteristics, the novel L. sericata chymotrypsin-like serine protease appears to be an ideal candidate for the development of topical drugs for wound healing applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne-Kathrin Pöppel
- Department of Bioresources, Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology, Winchesterstrasse 2, 35394, Giessen, Germany
| | - Mareike Kahl
- Institute for Biochemistry, Medical School, Justus-Liebig-University, Friedrichstrasse 24, 35392, Giessen, Germany
| | - Andre Baumann
- Department of Bioresources, Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology, Winchesterstrasse 2, 35394, Giessen, Germany
| | - Jochen Wiesner
- Department of Bioresources, Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology, Winchesterstrasse 2, 35394, Giessen, Germany
| | - Anke Gökçen
- Department of Bioresources, Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology, Winchesterstrasse 2, 35394, Giessen, Germany
| | - Annika Beckert
- Department of Bioresources, Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology, Winchesterstrasse 2, 35394, Giessen, Germany
| | - Klaus T Preissner
- Institute for Biochemistry, Medical School, Justus-Liebig-University, Friedrichstrasse 24, 35392, Giessen, Germany
| | - Andreas Vilcinskas
- Department of Bioresources, Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology, Winchesterstrasse 2, 35394, Giessen, Germany; Institute for Insect Biotechnology, Justus-Liebig-University, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26-32, 35392, Giessen, Germany
| | - Zdeněk Franta
- Department of Bioresources, Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology, Winchesterstrasse 2, 35394, Giessen, Germany.
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Baumann A, Lehmann R, Beckert A, Vilcinskas A, Franta Z. Selection and Evaluation of Tissue Specific Reference Genes in Lucilia sericata during an Immune Challenge. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0135093. [PMID: 26252388 PMCID: PMC4529112 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0135093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2015] [Accepted: 07/16/2015] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The larvae of the common green bottle fly Lucilia sericata (Diptera: Calliphoridae) have been used for centuries to promote wound healing, but the molecular basis of their antimicrobial, debridement and healing functions remains largely unknown. The analysis of differential gene expression in specific larval tissues before and after immune challenge could be used to identify key molecular factors, but the most sensitive and reproducible method qRT-PCR requires validated reference genes. We therefore selected 10 candidate reference genes encoding products from different functional classes (18S rRNA, 28S rRNA, actin, β-tubulin, RPS3, RPLP0, EF1α, PKA, GAPDH and GST1). Two widely applied algorithms (GeNorm and Normfinder) were used to analyze reference gene candidates in different larval tissues associated with secretion, digestion, and antimicrobial activity (midgut, hindgut, salivary glands, crop and fat body). The Gram-negative bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa was then used to boost the larval immune system and the stability of reference gene expression was tested in comparison to three immune genes (lucimycin, defensin-1 and attacin-2), which target different pathogen classes. We observed no differential expression of the antifungal peptide lucimycin, whereas the representative targeting Gram-positive bacteria (defensin-1) was upregulated in salivary glands, crop, nerve ganglion and reached its maximum in fat body (up to 300-fold). The strongest upregulation in all immune challenged tissues (over 50,000-fold induction in the fat body) was monitored for attacin-2, the representative targeting Gram-negative bacteria. Here we identified and validated a set of reference genes that allows the accurate normalization of gene expression in specific tissues of L. sericata after immune challenge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andre Baumann
- Department of Bioresources, Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology, Giessen, Germany
| | - Rüdiger Lehmann
- Department of Bioresources, Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology, Giessen, Germany
| | - Annika Beckert
- Department of Bioresources, Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology, Giessen, Germany
| | - Andreas Vilcinskas
- Department of Bioresources, Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology, Giessen, Germany
- Institute of Phytopathology and Applied Zoology, Justus-Liebig-University of Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Zdeněk Franta
- Department of Bioresources, Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology, Giessen, Germany
- * E-mail:
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Kotsyfakis M, Kopáček P, Franta Z, Pedra JHF, Ribeiro JMC. Deep Sequencing Analysis of the Ixodes ricinus Haemocytome. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2015; 9:e0003754. [PMID: 25970599 PMCID: PMC4430169 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0003754] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2015] [Accepted: 04/13/2015] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Ixodes ricinus is the main tick vector of the microbes that cause Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis in Europe. Pathogens transmitted by ticks have to overcome innate immunity barriers present in tick tissues, including midgut, salivary glands epithelia and the hemocoel. Molecularly, invertebrate immunity is initiated when pathogen recognition molecules trigger serum or cellular signalling cascades leading to the production of antimicrobials, pathogen opsonization and phagocytosis. We presently aimed at identifying hemocyte transcripts from semi-engorged female I. ricinus ticks by mass sequencing a hemocyte cDNA library and annotating immune-related transcripts based on their hemocyte abundance as well as their ubiquitous distribution. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS De novo assembly of 926,596 pyrosequence reads plus 49,328,982 Illumina reads (148 nt length) from a hemocyte library, together with over 189 million Illumina reads from salivary gland and midgut libraries, generated 15,716 extracted coding sequences (CDS); these are displayed in an annotated hyperlinked spreadsheet format. Read mapping allowed the identification and annotation of tissue-enriched transcripts. A total of 327 transcripts were found significantly over expressed in the hemocyte libraries, including those coding for scavenger receptors, antimicrobial peptides, pathogen recognition proteins, proteases and protease inhibitors. Vitellogenin and lipid metabolism transcription enrichment suggests fat body components. We additionally annotated ubiquitously distributed transcripts associated with immune function, including immune-associated signal transduction proteins and transcription factors, including the STAT transcription factor. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE This is the first systems biology approach to describe the genes expressed in the haemocytes of this neglected disease vector. A total of 2,860 coding sequences were deposited to GenBank, increasing to 27,547 the number so far deposited by our previous transcriptome studies that serves as a discovery platform for studies with I. ricinus biochemistry and physiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michalis Kotsyfakis
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Center of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Budweis, Czech Republic
- * E-mail:
| | - Petr Kopáček
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Center of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Budweis, Czech Republic
| | - Zdeněk Franta
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Center of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Budweis, Czech Republic
| | - Joao H. F. Pedra
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - José M. C. Ribeiro
- Vector Biology Section, Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Maryland, United States of America
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Tonk M, Cabezas-Cruz A, Valdés JJ, Rego ROM, Chrudimská T, Strnad M, Šíma R, Bell-Sakyi L, Franta Z, Vilcinskas A, Grubhoffer L, Rahnamaeian M. Defensins from the tick Ixodes scapularis are effective against phytopathogenic fungi and the human bacterial pathogen Listeria grayi. Parasit Vectors 2014; 7:554. [PMID: 25443032 PMCID: PMC4269947 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-014-0554-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2014] [Accepted: 11/21/2014] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Ixodes scapularis is the most common tick species in North America and a vector of important pathogens that cause diseases in humans and animals including Lyme disease, anaplasmosis and babesiosis. Tick defensins have been identified as a new source of antimicrobial agents with putative medical applications due to their wide-ranging antimicrobial activities. Two multigene families of defensins were previously reported in I. scapularis. The objective of the present study was to characterise the potential antimicrobial activity of two defensins from I. scapularis with emphasis on human pathogenic bacterial strains and important phytopathogenic fungi. METHODS Scapularisin-3 and Scapularisin-6 mature peptides were chemically synthesised. In vitro antimicrobial assays were performed to test the activity of these two defensins against species of different bacterial genera including Gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Listeria spp. as well as Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa along with two plant-pathogenic fungi from the genus Fusarium. In addition, the tissue-specific expression patterns of Scapularisin-3 and Scapularisin-6 in I. scapularis midgut, salivary glands and embryo-derived cell lines were determined using PCR. Finally, tertiary structures of the two defensins were predicted and structural analyses were conducted. RESULTS Scapularisin-6 efficiently killed L. grayi, and both Scapularisin-3 and Scapularisin-6 caused strong inhibition (IC50 value: ~1 μM) of the germination of plant-pathogenic fungi Fusarium culmorum and Fusarium graminearum. Scapularisin-6 gene expression was observed in I. scapularis salivary glands and midgut. However, Scapularisin-3 gene expression was only detected in the salivary glands. Transcripts from the two defensins were not found in the I. scapularis tick cell lines ISE6 and ISE18. CONCLUSION Our results have two main implications. Firstly, the anti-Listeria and antifungal activities of Scapularisin-3 and Scapularisin-6 suggest that these peptides may be useful for (i) treatment of antibiotic-resistant L. grayi in humans and (ii) plant protection. Secondly, the antimicrobial properties of the two defensins described in this study may pave the way for further studies regarding pathogen invasion and innate immunity in I. scapularis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miray Tonk
- Biology Centre of the AS CR, Institute of Parasitology, Branišovská 31, 37005, České Budějovice, Czech Republic. .,Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 31, 37005, České Budějovice, Czech Republic.
| | - Alejandro Cabezas-Cruz
- SaBio. Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos IREC, CSIC-UCLM-JCCM, Ronda de Toledo s/n, 13005, Ciudad Real, Spain. .,Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille (CIIL), INSERM U1019 - CNRS UMR 8204, Université Lille Nord de France, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Lille, France.
| | - James J Valdés
- Biology Centre of the AS CR, Institute of Parasitology, Branišovská 31, 37005, České Budějovice, Czech Republic.
| | - Ryan O M Rego
- Biology Centre of the AS CR, Institute of Parasitology, Branišovská 31, 37005, České Budějovice, Czech Republic.
| | - Tereza Chrudimská
- Biology Centre of the AS CR, Institute of Parasitology, Branišovská 31, 37005, České Budějovice, Czech Republic. .,Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 31, 37005, České Budějovice, Czech Republic.
| | - Martin Strnad
- Biology Centre of the AS CR, Institute of Parasitology, Branišovská 31, 37005, České Budějovice, Czech Republic. .,Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 31, 37005, České Budějovice, Czech Republic.
| | - Radek Šíma
- Biology Centre of the AS CR, Institute of Parasitology, Branišovská 31, 37005, České Budějovice, Czech Republic.
| | | | - Zdeněk Franta
- Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology, Department of Bioresources, Winchester Strasse, D-35394, Giessen, Germany.
| | - Andreas Vilcinskas
- Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology, Department of Bioresources, Winchester Strasse, D-35394, Giessen, Germany. .,Institute for Phytopathology and Applied Zoology, Justus-Liebig-University of Giessen, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26-32, D-35392, Giessen, Germany.
| | - Libor Grubhoffer
- Biology Centre of the AS CR, Institute of Parasitology, Branišovská 31, 37005, České Budějovice, Czech Republic. .,Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 31, 37005, České Budějovice, Czech Republic.
| | - Mohammad Rahnamaeian
- Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology, Department of Bioresources, Winchester Strasse, D-35394, Giessen, Germany. .,Institute for Phytopathology and Applied Zoology, Justus-Liebig-University of Giessen, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26-32, D-35392, Giessen, Germany.
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Horn M, Fajtová P, Rojo Arreola L, Ulrychová L, Bartošová-Sojková P, Franta Z, Protasio AV, Opavský D, Vondrášek J, McKerrow JH, Mareš M, Caffrey CR, Dvořák J. Trypsin- and Chymotrypsin-like serine proteases in schistosoma mansoni-- 'the undiscovered country'. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2014; 8:e2766. [PMID: 24676141 PMCID: PMC3967958 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0002766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2013] [Accepted: 02/16/2014] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Blood flukes (Schistosoma spp.) are parasites that can survive for years or decades in the vasculature of permissive mammalian hosts, including humans. Proteolytic enzymes (proteases) are crucial for successful parasitism, including aspects of invasion, maturation and reproduction. Most attention has focused on the ‘cercarial elastase’ serine proteases that facilitate skin invasion by infective schistosome larvae, and the cysteine and aspartic proteases that worms use to digest the blood meal. Apart from the cercarial elastases, information regarding other S. mansoni serine proteases (SmSPs) is limited. To address this, we investigated SmSPs using genomic, transcriptomic, phylogenetic and functional proteomic approaches. Methodology/Principal Findings Genes encoding five distinct SmSPs, termed SmSP1 - SmSP5, some of which comprise disparate protein domains, were retrieved from the S. mansoni genome database and annotated. Reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT- qPCR) in various schistosome developmental stages indicated complex expression patterns for SmSPs, including their constituent protein domains. SmSP2 stood apart as being massively expressed in schistosomula and adult stages. Phylogenetic analysis segregated SmSPs into diverse clusters of family S1 proteases. SmSP1 to SmSP4 are trypsin-like proteases, whereas SmSP5 is chymotrypsin-like. In agreement, trypsin-like activities were shown to predominate in eggs, schistosomula and adults using peptidyl fluorogenic substrates. SmSP5 is particularly novel in the phylogenetics of family S1 schistosome proteases, as it is part of a cluster of sequences that fill a gap between the highly divergent cercarial elastases and other family S1 proteases. Conclusions/Significance Our series of post-genomics analyses clarifies the complexity of schistosome family S1 serine proteases and highlights their interrelationships, including the cercarial elastases and, not least, the identification of a ‘missing-link’ protease cluster, represented by SmSP5. A framework is now in place to guide the characterization of individual proteases, their stage-specific expression and their contributions to parasitism, in particular, their possible modulation of host physiology. Schistosomes are blood flukes that live in the blood system and cause chronic and debilitating infection in hundreds of millions of people. Proteolytic enzymes (proteases) produced by the parasite allow it to survive and reproduce. We focused on understanding the repertoire of trypsin- and chymotrypsin-like Schistosoma mansoni serine proteases (SmSPs) using a variety of genomic, bioinformatics, RNA- and protein-based techniques. We identified five SmSPs that are produced at different stages of the parasite's development. Based on bioinformatics and cleavage preferences for small peptide substrates, SmSP1 to SmSP4 are trypsin-like, whereas SmSP5 is chymotrypsin-like. Interestingly, SmSP5 forms part of a ‘missing link’ group of enzymes between the specialized chymotrypsin-like ‘cercarial elastases’ that help the parasite invade human skin and the more typical chymotrypsins and trypsins found in the nature. Our findings form a basis for further exploration of the functions of the individual enzymes, including their possible contributions to influencing host physiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Horn
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Pavla Fajtová
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Liliana Rojo Arreola
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, Department of Pathology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Lenka Ulrychová
- Institute of Molecular Genetics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Republic
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Pavla Bartošová-Sojková
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | - Zdeněk Franta
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
- Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME, Project Group Bioresources, Gießen, Germany
| | - Anna V. Protasio
- Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, United Kingdom
| | - David Opavský
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Vondrášek
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - James H. McKerrow
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, Department of Pathology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Michael Mareš
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Conor R. Caffrey
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, Department of Pathology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Jan Dvořák
- Institute of Molecular Genetics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Republic
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
- * E-mail:
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Sojka D, Franta Z, Horn M, Caffrey CR, Mareš M, Kopáček P. New insights into the machinery of blood digestion by ticks. Trends Parasitol 2013; 29:276-85. [PMID: 23664173 DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2013.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 124] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2013] [Revised: 04/06/2013] [Accepted: 04/07/2013] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Blood-protein digestion is a key physiological process providing essential nutrients for ticks and is a prerequisite for the transmission of tick-borne pathogens. Recently, substantial progress has been made in determining the proteolytic machinery in tick gut tissue, which is based on a dynamic multienzyme network capable of processing a vast amount of host blood. In this article we summarize our current knowledge of the molecular mechanisms of tick hematophagy and their similarities to those of Platyhelminthes, nematodes, and Plasmodium. Future research perspectives, including the potential for rational control of ticks and transmitted diseases, are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Sojka
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, České Budějovice, CZ 370 05, Czech Republic
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Franta Z, Frantová H, Konvičková J, Horn M, Sojka D, Mareš M, Kopáček P. Dynamics of digestive proteolytic system during blood feeding of the hard tick Ixodes ricinus. Parasit Vectors 2010; 3:119. [PMID: 21156061 PMCID: PMC3016361 DOI: 10.1186/1756-3305-3-119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2010] [Accepted: 12/14/2010] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Ticks are vectors of a wide variety of pathogens causing severe diseases in humans and domestic animals. Intestinal digestion of the host blood is an essential process of tick physiology and also a limiting factor for pathogen transmission since the tick gut represents the primary site for pathogen infection and proliferation. Using the model tick Ixodes ricinus, the European Lyme disease vector, we have previously demonstrated by genetic and biochemical analyses that host blood is degraded in the tick gut by a network of acidic peptidases of the aspartic and cysteine classes. Results This study reveals the digestive machinery of the I. ricinus during the course of blood-feeding on the host. The dynamic profiling of concentrations, activities and mRNA expressions of the major digestive enzymes demonstrates that the de novo synthesis of peptidases triggers the dramatic increase of the hemoglobinolytic activity along the feeding period. Overall hemoglobinolysis, as well as the activity of digestive peptidases are negligible at the early stage of feeding, but increase dramatically towards the end of the slow feeding period, reaching maxima in fully fed ticks. This finding contradicts the established opinion that blood digestion is reduced at the end of engorgement. Furthermore, we show that the digestive proteolysis is localized intracellularly throughout the whole duration of feeding. Conclusions Results suggest that the egressing proteolytic system in the early stage of feeding and digestion is a potential target for efficient impairment, most likely by blocking its components via antibodies present in the host blood. Therefore, digestive enzymes are promising candidates for development of novel 'anti-tick' vaccines capable of tick control and even transmission of tick-borne pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zdeněk Franta
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Branišovská 31, České Budějovice, CZ-370 05, Czech Republic.
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Sojka D, Hajdušek O, Dvořák J, Sajid M, Franta Z, Schneider EL, Craik CS, Vancová M, Burešová V, Bogyo M, Sexton KB, McKerrow JH, Caffrey CR, Kopáček P. IrAE: an asparaginyl endopeptidase (legumain) in the gut of the hard tick Ixodes ricinus. Int J Parasitol 2007; 37:713-24. [PMID: 17336985 PMCID: PMC2587490 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2006.12.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2006] [Revised: 12/11/2006] [Accepted: 12/12/2006] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Ticks are ectoparasitic blood-feeders and important vectors for pathogens including arboviruses, rickettsiae, spirochetes and protozoa. As obligate blood-feeders, one possible strategy to retard disease transmission is disruption of the parasite's ability to digest host proteins. However, the constituent peptidases in the parasite gut and their potential interplay in the digestion of the blood meal are poorly understood. We have characterised a novel asparaginyl endopeptidase (legumain) from the hard tick Ixodes ricinus (termed IrAE), which we believe is the first such characterisation of a clan CD family C13 cysteine peptidase (protease) in arthropods. By RT-PCR of different tissues, IrAE mRNA was only expressed in the tick gut. Indirect immunofluorescence and EM localised IrAE in the digestive vesicles of gut cells and within the peritrophic matrix. IrAE was functionally expressed in Pichia pastoris and reacted with a specific peptidyl fluorogenic substrate, and acyloxymethyl ketone and aza-asparagine Michael acceptor inhibitors. IrAE activity was unstable at pH > or = 6.0 and was shown to have a strict specificity for asparagine at P1 using a positional scanning synthetic combinatorial library. The enzyme hydrolyzed protein substrates with a pH optimum of 4.5, consistent with the pH of gut cell digestive vesicles. Thus, IrAE cleaved the major protein of the blood meal, hemoglobin, to a predominant peptide of 4kDa. Also, IrAE trans-processed and activated the zymogen form of Schistosoma mansoni cathepsin B1 -- an enzyme contributing to hemoglobin digestion in the gut of that bloodfluke. The possible functions of IrAE in the gut digestive processes of I. ricinus are compared with those suggested for other hematophagous parasites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Sojka
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, CZ-370 05, The Czech Republic
| | - Ondřej Hajdušek
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, CZ-370 05, The Czech Republic
| | - Jan Dvořák
- Sandler Center for Basic Research in Parasitic Diseases, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Mohammed Sajid
- Sandler Center for Basic Research in Parasitic Diseases, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Zdeněk Franta
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, CZ-370 05, The Czech Republic
| | - Eric L. Schneider
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94720, USA
| | - Charles S. Craik
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94720, USA
| | - Marie Vancová
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, CZ-370 05, The Czech Republic
| | - Veronika Burešová
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, CZ-370 05, The Czech Republic
| | - Matthew Bogyo
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Kelly B. Sexton
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - James H. McKerrow
- Sandler Center for Basic Research in Parasitic Diseases, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Conor R. Caffrey
- Sandler Center for Basic Research in Parasitic Diseases, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Petr Kopáček
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, CZ-370 05, The Czech Republic
- Correspondence to: P. Kopáček, Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre ASCR, Branišovská 31, CZ-370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic. E-mail:
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