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Kehrer J, Pietsch E, Heinze J, Spielmann T, Frischknecht F. Clearing of hemozoin crystals in malaria parasites enables whole-cell STED microscopy. J Cell Sci 2023; 136:286288. [PMID: 36511329 DOI: 10.1242/jcs.260399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [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: 07/05/2022] [Accepted: 12/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Malaria is a devastating mosquito-borne parasitic disease that manifests when Plasmodium parasites replicate within red blood cells. During the development within the red blood cell, the parasite digests hemoglobin and crystalizes the otherwise toxic heme. The resulting hemozoin crystals limit imaging by STED nanoscopy owing to their high light-absorbing capacity, which leads to immediate cell destruction upon contact with the laser. Here, we establish CUBIC-P-based clearing of hemozoin crystals, enabling whole-cell STED nanoscopy of parasites within red blood cells. Hemozoin-cleared infected red blood cells could reliably be stained with antibodies, and hence proteins in the hemozoin-containing digestive vacuole membrane, as well as in secretory vesicles of gametocytes, could be imaged at high resolution. Thus, this process is a valuable tool to study and understand parasite biology and the potential molecular mechanisms mediating drug resistance. This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Kehrer
- Integrative Parasitology, Center for Integrative Infectious Diseases, Heidelberg University Medical School, Im Neuenheimer Feld 344, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.,German Center for Infection Research, DZIF, partner site Heidelberg, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.,Infectious Diseases Imaging Platform, Center for Integrative Infectious Diseases, Heidelberg University Medical School, Im Neuenheimer Feld 344, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Emma Pietsch
- Integrative Parasitology, Center for Integrative Infectious Diseases, Heidelberg University Medical School, Im Neuenheimer Feld 344, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Julia Heinze
- Integrative Parasitology, Center for Integrative Infectious Diseases, Heidelberg University Medical School, Im Neuenheimer Feld 344, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Tobias Spielmann
- Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Bernhard Nocht Str. 74, 20359 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Friedrich Frischknecht
- Integrative Parasitology, Center for Integrative Infectious Diseases, Heidelberg University Medical School, Im Neuenheimer Feld 344, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.,German Center for Infection Research, DZIF, partner site Heidelberg, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
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