1
|
Addo-Gyan D, Matsushita H, Sora E, Nishi T, Yuda M, Shinzawa N, Iwanaga S. Chromosome splitting of Plasmodium berghei using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0260176. [PMID: 35202423 PMCID: PMC8870493 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0260176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [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: 11/02/2021] [Accepted: 02/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Spatial arrangement of chromosomes is responsible for gene expression in Plasmodium parasites. However, methods for rearranging chromosomes have not been established, which makes it difficult to investigate its role in detail. Here, we report a method for splitting chromosome in rodent malaria parasite by CRISPR/Cas9 system using fragments in which a telomere and a centromere were incorporated. The resultant split chromosomes segregated accurately into daughter parasites by the centromere. In addition, elongation of de novo telomeres were observed, indicating its proper function. Furthermore, chromosome splitting had no effect on development of parasites. Splitting of the chromosome is expected to alter its spatial arrangement, and our method will thus be useful for investigating its biological role related with gene expression.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Addo-Gyan
- Department of Environmental Parasitology, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Haruka Matsushita
- Department of Environmental Parasitology, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Enya Sora
- Department of Environmental Parasitology, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Tsubasa Nishi
- Laboratory of Medical Zoology, Department of Medicine, Mie University, Kurimamachi Yacho, Tsu, Mie, Japan
| | - Masao Yuda
- Laboratory of Medical Zoology, Department of Medicine, Mie University, Kurimamachi Yacho, Tsu, Mie, Japan
| | - Naoaki Shinzawa
- Department of Environmental Parasitology, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Shiroh Iwanaga
- Department of Molecular Protozoology, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka, Japan
- Center for Infectious Disease Education and Research (CIDER), Osaka University, Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka, Japan
- * E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Possemiers H, Pham TT, Coens M, Pollenus E, Knoops S, Noppen S, Vandermosten L, D’haese S, Dillemans L, Prenen F, Schols D, Franke-Fayard B, Van den Steen PE. Skeleton binding protein-1-mediated parasite sequestration inhibits spontaneous resolution of malaria-associated acute respiratory distress syndrome. PLoS Pathog 2021; 17:e1010114. [PMID: 34843584 PMCID: PMC8659713 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [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: 09/10/2021] [Revised: 12/09/2021] [Accepted: 11/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Malaria is a hazardous disease caused by Plasmodium parasites and often results in lethal complications, including malaria-associated acute respiratory distress syndrome (MA-ARDS). Parasite sequestration in the microvasculature is often observed, but its role in malaria pathogenesis and complications is still incompletely understood. We used skeleton binding protein-1 (SBP-1) KO parasites to study the role of sequestration in experimental MA-ARDS. The sequestration-deficiency of these SBP-1 KO parasites was confirmed with bioluminescence imaging and by measuring parasite accumulation in the lungs with RT-qPCR. The SBP-1 KO parasites induced similar lung pathology in the early stage of experimental MA-ARDS compared to wildtype (WT) parasites. Strikingly, the lung pathology resolved subsequently in more than 60% of the SBP-1 KO infected mice, resulting in prolonged survival despite the continuous presence of the parasite. This spontaneous disease resolution was associated with decreased inflammatory cytokine expression measured by RT-qPCR and lower expression of cytotoxic markers in pathogenic CD8+ T cells in the lungs of SBP-1 KO infected mice. These data suggest that SBP-1-mediated parasite sequestration and subsequent high parasite load are not essential for the development of experimental MA-ARDS but inhibit the resolution of the disease. Malaria is still a severe global disease with more than 200 million cases and 400 000 deaths each year. Plasmodium falciparum is the species responsible for most malaria deaths globally. The propensity of these parasites to sequester in peripheral vascular beds is assumed to play an important role in disease severity and mortality. Although sequestration has been observed in lungs of malaria patients, its role in the pathogenesis of MA-ARDS, a severe lung complication in malaria, was previously unknown. Therefore, we used sequestration-deficient SBP-1 KO Plasmodium berghei NK65 parasites to study the role of sequestration in experimental MA-ARDS. We observed that MA-ARDS developed similarly in WT and SBP-1 KO infected mice, but the majority of SBP-1 KO-infected mice were able to resolve the lung pathology despite the continuous presence of the parasite. This coincided with a prolonged survival, a decrease in inflammatory cytokine expression and lower expression of cytotoxicity markers in pathogenic CD8+ T cells. These results give important new insights in the role of parasite sequestration in malaria pathology.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hendrik Possemiers
- Laboratory of Immunoparasitology, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute for Medical research, KU Leuven, Belgium
| | - Thao-Thy Pham
- Laboratory of Immunoparasitology, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute for Medical research, KU Leuven, Belgium
- Currently at Clinical Immunology Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Marion Coens
- Laboratory of Immunoparasitology, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute for Medical research, KU Leuven, Belgium
| | - Emilie Pollenus
- Laboratory of Immunoparasitology, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute for Medical research, KU Leuven, Belgium
| | - Sofie Knoops
- Laboratory of Immunoparasitology, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute for Medical research, KU Leuven, Belgium
| | - Sam Noppen
- Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute for Medical research, KU Leuven, Belgium
| | - Leen Vandermosten
- Laboratory of Immunoparasitology, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute for Medical research, KU Leuven, Belgium
| | - Sigrid D’haese
- Laboratory of Immunoparasitology, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute for Medical research, KU Leuven, Belgium
- Currently at Neuro-Aging & Viro-Immunotherapy (NAVI), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Luna Dillemans
- Laboratory of Immunoparasitology, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute for Medical research, KU Leuven, Belgium
| | - Fran Prenen
- Laboratory of Immunoparasitology, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute for Medical research, KU Leuven, Belgium
| | - Dominique Schols
- Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute for Medical research, KU Leuven, Belgium
| | | | - Philippe E. Van den Steen
- Laboratory of Immunoparasitology, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute for Medical research, KU Leuven, Belgium
- * E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Lefebvre MN, Surette FA, Anthony SM, Vijay R, Jensen IJ, Pewe LL, Hancox LS, Van Braeckel-Budimir N, van de Wall S, Urban SL, Mix MR, Kurup SP, Badovinac VP, Butler NS, Harty JT. Expeditious recruitment of circulating memory CD8 T cells to the liver facilitates control of malaria. Cell Rep 2021; 37:109956. [PMID: 34731605 PMCID: PMC8628427 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109956] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2021] [Revised: 09/08/2021] [Accepted: 10/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Circulating memory CD8 T cell trafficking and protective capacity during liver-stage malaria infection remains undefined. We find that effector memory CD8 T cells (Tem) infiltrate the liver within 6 hours after malarial or bacterial infections and mediate pathogen clearance. Tem recruitment coincides with rapid transcriptional upregulation of inflammatory genes in Plasmodium-infected livers. Recruitment requires CD8 T cell-intrinsic LFA-1 expression and the presence of liver phagocytes. Rapid Tem liver infiltration is distinct from recruitment to other non-lymphoid tissues in that it occurs both in the absence of liver tissue resident memory "sensing-and-alarm" function and ∼42 hours earlier than in lung infection by influenza virus. These data demonstrate relevance for Tem in protection against malaria and provide generalizable mechanistic insights germane to control of liver infections.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mitchell N Lefebvre
- Department of Pathology, University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA 52246, USA; Medical Scientist Training Program, University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA 52246, USA; Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Immunology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52246, USA
| | - Fionna A Surette
- Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Immunology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52246, USA; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA 52246, USA
| | - Scott M Anthony
- Department of Pathology, University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA 52246, USA
| | - Rahul Vijay
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA 52246, USA
| | - Isaac J Jensen
- Department of Pathology, University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA 52246, USA; Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Immunology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52246, USA
| | - Lecia L Pewe
- Department of Pathology, University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA 52246, USA
| | - Lisa S Hancox
- Department of Pathology, University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA 52246, USA
| | | | - Stephanie van de Wall
- Department of Pathology, University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA 52246, USA
| | - Stina L Urban
- Department of Pathology, University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA 52246, USA
| | - Madison R Mix
- Department of Pathology, University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA 52246, USA; Medical Scientist Training Program, University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA 52246, USA; Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Immunology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52246, USA
| | - Samarchith P Kurup
- Department of Pathology, University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA 52246, USA
| | - Vladimir P Badovinac
- Department of Pathology, University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA 52246, USA; Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Immunology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52246, USA; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA 52246, USA
| | - Noah S Butler
- Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Immunology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52246, USA; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA 52246, USA
| | - John T Harty
- Department of Pathology, University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA 52246, USA; Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Immunology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52246, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Niikura M, Fukutomi T, Mineo S, Mitobe J, Kobayashi F. Malaria in the postpartum period causes damage to the mammary gland. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0258491. [PMID: 34644348 PMCID: PMC8513860 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0258491] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [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: 06/21/2021] [Accepted: 09/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Mastitis is an inflammation of the mammary gland in the breast and is typically due to bacterial infection. In malaria-endemic areas, mastitis with accompanying fever can be challenging to differentiate from malaria. At the same time, it is unclear whether malaria infection is directly involved in the development of mastitis. In the present study, whether mastitis develops during infection with malaria parasites was investigated using a rodent malaria model with Plasmodium berghei (P. berghei; Pb) ANKA. The course of parasitemia in postpartum mice infected with Pb ANKA was similar to the course in infected virgin mice. However, infected postpartum mice died earlier than did infected virgin mice. In addition, the weight of pups from mice infected with Pb ANKA was significantly reduced compared with pups from uninfected mice. The macroscopic and histological analyses showed apparent changes, such as destruction of the alveolus wall and extensive presence of leukocytes, in mammary gland tissue in mice infected during the postpartum period. The findings suggest that women during the postpartum period are more vulnerable to complications when infected with malaria parasites, particularly women who do not acquire protective immunity against malaria parasites. Based on the proteomic analysis, IFN-γ signaling pathway-related proteins in mammary gland tissue of the infected postpartum mice were increased. Our results indicate that inflammation induced by IFN-γ, a proinflammatory cytokine, may contribute to negative histological changes in mammary gland tissue of postpartum mice infected with Pb ANKA. In IFN-γ receptor 1-deficient (IFNGR1-KO) mice, the histological changes in mammary gland tissue of the infected postpartum wild-type mice were improved to almost normal mammary gland structure. Furthermore, weight loss in pups delivered by infected IFNGR1-KO postpartum mice was not observed. Taken together, these findings indicate that inflammation induced by IFN-γ is associated with development of mastitis in postpartum mice infected with Pb ANKA. The present study results may increase our understanding of how disease aggravation occurs during postpartum malaria.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mamoru Niikura
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Kyorin University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Toshiyuki Fukutomi
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Kyorin University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Shoichiro Mineo
- Department of Molecular Pathology, Tokyo Medical University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Jiro Mitobe
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Kyorin University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Fumie Kobayashi
- Department of Environmental Science, School of Life and Environmental Science, Azabu University, Kanagawa, Japan
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Blight J, Sala KA, Atcheson E, Kramer H, El-Turabi A, Real E, Dahalan FA, Bettencourt P, Dickinson-Craig E, Alves E, Salman AM, Janse CJ, Ashcroft FM, Hill AV, Reyes-Sandoval A, Blagborough AM, Baum J. Dissection-independent production of Plasmodium sporozoites from whole mosquitoes. Life Sci Alliance 2021; 4:e202101094. [PMID: 34135099 PMCID: PMC8321652 DOI: 10.26508/lsa.202101094] [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] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2021] [Revised: 05/24/2021] [Accepted: 05/25/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Progress towards a protective vaccine against malaria remains slow. To date, only limited protection has been routinely achieved following immunisation with either whole-parasite (sporozoite) or subunit-based vaccines. One major roadblock to vaccine progress, and to pre-erythrocytic parasite biology in general, is the continued reliance on manual salivary gland dissection for sporozoite isolation from infected mosquitoes. Here, we report development of a multi-step method, based on batch processing of homogenised whole mosquitoes, slurry, and density-gradient filtration, which combined with free-flow electrophoresis rapidly produces a pure, infective sporozoite inoculum. Human-infective Plasmodium falciparum and rodent-infective Plasmodium berghei sporozoites produced in this way are two- to threefold more infective than salivary gland dissection sporozoites in in vitro hepatocyte infection assays. In an in vivo rodent malaria model, the same P. berghei sporozoites confer sterile protection from mosquito-bite challenge when immunisation is delivered intravenously or 60-70% protection when delivered intramuscularly. By improving purity, infectivity, and immunogenicity, this method represents a key advancement in capacity to produce research-grade sporozoites, which should impact delivery of a whole-parasite based malaria vaccine at scale in the future.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Joshua Blight
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Sir Alexander Fleming Building, London, UK
- The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus Research Building, Oxford, UK
| | - Katarzyna A Sala
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Sir Alexander Fleming Building, London, UK
| | - Erwan Atcheson
- The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus Research Building, Oxford, UK
| | - Holger Kramer
- Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, Henry Wellcome Building for Gene Function, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Medical Research Council London Institute of Medical Sciences, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital, London, UK
| | - Aadil El-Turabi
- The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus Research Building, Oxford, UK
| | - Eliana Real
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Sir Alexander Fleming Building, London, UK
| | - Farah A Dahalan
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Sir Alexander Fleming Building, London, UK
| | - Paulo Bettencourt
- The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus Research Building, Oxford, UK
| | - Emma Dickinson-Craig
- The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus Research Building, Oxford, UK
| | - Eduardo Alves
- The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus Research Building, Oxford, UK
| | - Ahmed M Salman
- The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus Research Building, Oxford, UK
| | - Chris J Janse
- Department of Parasitology, Leiden Malaria Research Group, Center of Infectious Diseases, Leiden University Medical Center, (LUMC, L4-Q), Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Frances M Ashcroft
- Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, Henry Wellcome Building for Gene Function, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Adrian Vs Hill
- The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus Research Building, Oxford, UK
| | - Arturo Reyes-Sandoval
- The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus Research Building, Oxford, UK
- Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Andrew M Blagborough
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Sir Alexander Fleming Building, London, UK
- Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Jake Baum
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Sir Alexander Fleming Building, London, UK
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Chatterjee D, Lewis FJ, Sutton HJ, Kaczmarski JA, Gao X, Cai Y, McNamara HA, Jackson CJ, Cockburn IA. Avid binding by B cells to the Plasmodium circumsporozoite protein repeat suppresses responses to protective subdominant epitopes. Cell Rep 2021; 35:108996. [PMID: 33852850 PMCID: PMC8052187 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.108996] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2020] [Revised: 12/07/2020] [Accepted: 03/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Antibodies targeting the NANP/NVDP repeat domain of the Plasmodium falciparum circumsporozoite protein (CSPRepeat) can protect against malaria. However, it has also been suggested that the CSPRepeat is a decoy that prevents the immune system from mounting responses against other domains of CSP. Here, we show that, following parasite immunization, B cell responses to the CSPRepeat are immunodominant over responses to other CSP domains despite the presence of similar numbers of naive B cells able to bind these regions. We find that this immunodominance is driven by avid binding of the CSPRepeat to cognate B cells that are able to expand at the expense of B cells with other specificities. We further show that mice immunized with repeat-truncated CSP molecules develop responses to subdominant epitopes and are protected against malaria. These data demonstrate that the CSPRepeat functions as a decoy, but truncated CSP molecules may be an approach for malaria vaccination.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Deepyan Chatterjee
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Disease, John Curtin School of Medical Research, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Fiona J Lewis
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Disease, John Curtin School of Medical Research, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Henry J Sutton
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Disease, John Curtin School of Medical Research, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Joe A Kaczmarski
- Research School of Chemistry, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Xin Gao
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Disease, John Curtin School of Medical Research, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Yeping Cai
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Disease, John Curtin School of Medical Research, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Hayley A McNamara
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Disease, John Curtin School of Medical Research, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Colin J Jackson
- Research School of Chemistry, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Ian A Cockburn
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Disease, John Curtin School of Medical Research, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Feng Y, Chen L, Gao L, Dong L, Wen H, Song X, Luo F, Cheng G, Wang J. Rapamycin inhibits pathogen transmission in mosquitoes by promoting immune activation. PLoS Pathog 2021; 17:e1009353. [PMID: 33626094 PMCID: PMC7939355 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1009353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [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: 10/06/2020] [Revised: 03/08/2021] [Accepted: 02/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Repeated blood meals provide essential nutrients for mosquito egg development and routes for pathogen transmission. The target of rapamycin, the TOR pathway, is essential for vitellogenesis. However, its influence on pathogen transmission remains to be elucidated. Here, we show that rapamycin, an inhibitor of the TOR pathway, effectively suppresses Plasmodium berghei infection in Anopheles stephensi. An. stephensi injected with rapamycin or feeding on rapamycin-treated mice showed increased resistance to P. berghei infection. Exposing An. stephensi to a rapamycin-coated surface not only decreased the numbers of both oocysts and sporozoites but also impaired mosquito survival and fecundity. Transcriptome analysis revealed that the inhibitory effect of rapamycin on parasite infection was through the enhanced activation of immune responses, especially the NF-κB transcription factor REL2, a regulator of the immune pathway and complement system. Knockdown of REL2 in rapamycin-treated mosquitoes abrogated the induction of the complement-like proteins TEP1 and SPCLIP1 and abolished rapamycin-mediated refractoriness to Plasmodium infection. Together, these findings demonstrate a key role of the TOR pathway in regulating mosquito immune responses, thereby influencing vector competence. Anautogenous mosquitoes must consume vertebrate blood meals to complete oogenesis. Repeated blood feeding makes the mosquitoes efficient disease-transmitting vectors. The TOR pathway activated by ingested blood is known as an important regulator for vitellogenesis in mosquitoes. Herein, we show that the protein kinase TOR is involved in the regulation of mosquitoes’ susceptibility to Plasmodium infection. Inhibition of the TOR pathway by rapamycin upregulates the expression of REL2, a transcription factor controlling the expression of a variety of immune effectors. The enhanced immune responses in turn promote parasite elimination. Therefore, the TOR pathway plays a dual role in not only regulating mosquito reproduction but also in their vector potential.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yuebiao Feng
- The State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Lu Chen
- Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Li Gao
- The State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Li Dong
- The State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Han Wen
- The State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiumei Song
- The State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Fang Luo
- The State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Gong Cheng
- Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
- * E-mail: (GC); (JW)
| | - Jingwen Wang
- The State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
- * E-mail: (GC); (JW)
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Guttery DS, Pandey R, Ferguson DJ, Wall RJ, Brady D, Gupta D, Holder AA, Tewari R. Plasmodium DEH is ER-localized and crucial for oocyst mitotic division during malaria transmission. Life Sci Alliance 2020; 3:e202000879. [PMID: 33106323 PMCID: PMC7652392 DOI: 10.26508/lsa.202000879] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [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: 08/17/2020] [Revised: 10/15/2020] [Accepted: 10/15/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Cells use fatty acids (FAs) for membrane biosynthesis, energy storage, and the generation of signaling molecules. 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydratase-DEH-is a key component of very long chain fatty acid synthesis. Here, we further characterized in-depth the location and function of DEH, applying in silico analysis, live cell imaging, reverse genetics, and ultrastructure analysis using the mouse malaria model Plasmodium berghei DEH is evolutionarily conserved across eukaryotes, with a single DEH in Plasmodium spp. and up to three orthologs in the other eukaryotes studied. DEH-GFP live-cell imaging showed strong GFP fluorescence throughout the life-cycle, with areas of localized expression in the cytoplasm and a circular ring pattern around the nucleus that colocalized with ER markers. Δdeh mutants showed a small but significant reduction in oocyst size compared with WT controls from day 10 postinfection onwards, and endomitotic cell division and sporogony were completely ablated, blocking parasite transmission from mosquito to vertebrate host. Ultrastructure analysis confirmed degeneration of Δdeh oocysts, and a complete lack of sporozoite budding. Overall, DEH is evolutionarily conserved, localizes to the ER, and plays a crucial role in sporogony.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- David S Guttery
- School of Life Sciences, Queens Medical Centre, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
- The Leicester Cancer Research Centre, College of Life Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
| | - Rajan Pandey
- School of Life Sciences, Queens Medical Centre, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
- Translational Bioinformatics Group, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, New Delhi, India
| | - David Jp Ferguson
- Department of Biological and Medical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Science, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Laboratory Science, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK
| | - Richard J Wall
- School of Life Sciences, Queens Medical Centre, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Anti-Infectives Research, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK
| | - Declan Brady
- School of Life Sciences, Queens Medical Centre, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - Dinesh Gupta
- Translational Bioinformatics Group, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, New Delhi, India
| | | | - Rita Tewari
- School of Life Sciences, Queens Medical Centre, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Habte G, Assefa S. In Vivo Antimalarial Activity of Crude Fruit Extract of Capsicum frutescens Var. Minima (Solanaceae) against Plasmodium berghei-Infected Mice. Biomed Res Int 2020; 2020:1320952. [PMID: 32908866 PMCID: PMC7468615 DOI: 10.1155/2020/1320952] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2020] [Revised: 07/31/2020] [Accepted: 08/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The alarming spread of parasite resistance to current antimalarial agents is threatening malaria controlling efforts. This, consequently, urged the scientific community to discover novel antimalarial drugs. Successful and most potent antimalarial drugs were obtained from medicinal plants. Capsicum frutescens is claimed to possess an antiplasmodial activity in Ethiopian and Ugandan folkloric medicine. However, there is a lack of pharmacological evidence for its antiplasmodial activity. This study, hence, was aimed at evaluating the in vivo antiplasmodial activity of C. frutescens in a mouse model. METHODS The dried fruits of the plant were extracted with 80% methanol using cold maceration. A 4-day suppressive test was employed to ascertain the claimed antiplasmodial effect of the plant. Following inoculation with P. berghei, mice in treatment groups were provided with three dose levels (100, 200, and 400 mg/kg) of the extract, while 2% Tween 80 and chloroquine served as the negative and positive controls, respectively. Weight, temperature, packed cell volume, parasitemia, and survival time were then monitored. RESULTS The acute oral toxicity study revealed that the crude extract caused no mortality and revealed no overt sign of toxicity. In the 4-day suppressive test, all dose levels of the extract were found to exhibit a significant (p < 0.05) inhibition of parasitemia compared to those of the negative control. Maximum parasite suppression (93.28%) was exerted by the highest dose (400 mg/kg/day) of extract. Also, the extract significantly (p < 0.05) prolonged survival time and prevented body weight loss and reduction in temperature and anemia compared to the vehicle-treated group. CONCLUSION This investigation found strong evidence that the fruit extract of C. frutescens is endowed with promising antiplasmodial activity. Hence, the plant could serve as a potential source of a newer antimalarial agent.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Getu Habte
- Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, P.O. Box 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
- Department of Pharmacy, College of Health Sciences, Mettu University, P.O. Box 318, Mettu, Ethiopia
| | - Solomon Assefa
- Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, P.O. Box 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Dibessa TT, Engidawork E, Nedi T, Teklehaymanot T. Antimalarial activity of the aqueous extract of the latex of Aloe pirottae Berger. (Aloaceae) against Plasmodium berghei in mice. J Ethnopharmacol 2020; 255:112763. [PMID: 32169423 DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2020.112763] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [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: 08/14/2019] [Revised: 03/09/2020] [Accepted: 03/10/2020] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE In spite of worldwide efforts, malaria remains one of the most devastating illnesses in the world. The huge number of lives it takes and the resistance of malaria parasites to current drugs necessitate the search for new effective antimalarial drugs. Medicinal plants have been the major source of such drugs and A. pirottae is one of these plants used traditionally for the treatment of malaria in Ethiopia. AIM This study was aimed at evaluating the antimalarial activity of the aqueous extract of A. pirottae against chloroquine sensitive P. berghei in mice. MATERIALS AND METHODS The extract was obtained by macerating the latex of A. pirottae with distilled water. To determine its antiplasmodial activity, a 4-day suppressive model was used by dividing 40 mice into five groups of 8 mice each and given 200, 400 & 600mg/kg of the extract, the standard drug (chloroquine 25mg/kg) and the vehicle (distilled water). Then parasite suppression by the extract, survival time and prevention of loss of body weight, rectal temperature and packed cell volume were assessed. All data were presented as the Mean ± SEM (Standard Error of the Mean) and analyzed using IBM SPSS version 20. RESULTS The extract showed moderate antimalarial activity by significantly (p < 0.001) suppressing parasitemia at all dose levels with maximum parasitemia suppression of 47.0% and significantly (p < 0.01) increasing survival time. Furthermore, 400 mg/kg and 600 mg/kg doses showed significant (p < 0.01) prevention of loss in body weight, rectal temperature and packed cell volume. CONCLUSION Based to the results of this study, A. pirottae is endowed with a moderate antimalarial activity that is in agreement with the traditional claim of A. pirottae, hence may be used as a basis for further studies to be conducted on antimalarial activity of the plant.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tesfa Tekle Dibessa
- Wollega University, Institute of Health Sciences, Department of Pharmacy, Ethiopia.
| | - Ephrem Engidawork
- Addis Ababa University, School of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy, Ethiopia.
| | - Teshome Nedi
- Addis Ababa University, School of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy, Ethiopia.
| | | |
Collapse
|
11
|
Tripathi J, Segeritz CP, Griffiths G, Bushell W, Vallier L, Skarnes WC, Mota MM, Billker O. A Novel Chemically Differentiated Mouse Embryonic Stem Cell-Based Model to Study Liver Stages of Plasmodium berghei. Stem Cell Reports 2020; 14:1123-1134. [PMID: 32442532 PMCID: PMC7355138 DOI: 10.1016/j.stemcr.2020.04.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2019] [Revised: 04/26/2020] [Accepted: 04/27/2020] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Asymptomatic and obligatory liver stage (LS) infection of Plasmodium parasites presents an attractive target for antimalarial vaccine and drug development. Lack of robust cellular models to study LS infection has hindered the discovery and validation of host genes essential for intrahepatic parasite development. Here, we present a chemically differentiated mouse embryonic stem cell (ESC)-based LS model, which supports complete development of Plasmodium berghei exoerythrocytic forms (EEFs) and can be used to define new host-parasite interactions. Using our model, we established that host Pnpla2, coding for adipose triglyceride lipase, is dispensable for P. berghei EEF development. In addition, we also evaluated in-vitro-differentiated human hepatocyte-like cells (iHLCs) to study LS of P. berghei and found it to be a sub-optimal infection model. Overall, our results present a new mouse ESC-based P. berghei LS infection model that can be utilized to study the impact of host genetic variation on parasite development.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jaishree Tripathi
- Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, UK
| | - Charis-Patricia Segeritz
- Wellcome Trust and Medical Research Council Stem Cell Institute, Department of Surgery, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Gareth Griffiths
- Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, UK
| | - Wendy Bushell
- Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, UK
| | - Ludovic Vallier
- Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, UK; Wellcome Trust and Medical Research Council Stem Cell Institute, Department of Surgery, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - William C Skarnes
- The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, Ten Discovery Drive, Farmington, CT 06032, USA
| | - Maria M Mota
- Unidade de Malária, Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Oliver Billker
- Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, UK; Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden and Molecular Biology Department, Umeå University, 90187 Umeå, Sweden.
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Briquet S, Lawson-Hogban N, Peronet R, Mécheri S, Vaquero C. A genetically hmgb2 attenuated blood stage P. berghei induces crossed-long live protection. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0232183. [PMID: 32379764 PMCID: PMC7205229 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0232183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [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: 01/28/2020] [Accepted: 04/08/2020] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Due to the lack of efficiency to control malaria elicited by sub-unit vaccine preparations, vaccination with live-attenuated Plasmodium parasite as reported 70 years ago with irradiated sporozoites regained recently a significant interest. The complex life cycle of the parasite and the different stages of development between mammal host and anopheles do not help to propose an easy vaccine strategy. In order to achieve a complete long-lasting protection against Plasmodium infection and disease, we considered a genetically attenuated blood stage parasite in the hmgb2 gene coding for the high-mobility-group-box 2 (HMGB2). This Plasmodium protein belongs to the HMGB family and hold as the mammal proteins, a double life since it acts first as a nuclear factor involved in chromatin remodelling and transcription regulation and second, when secreted as an active pro-inflammatory alarmin protein. Even though the number of reports on whole living attenuated blood stage parasites is limited when compared to attenuated sporozoites, the results reported with Plasmodium KO parasites are very encouraging. In this report, we present a novel strategy based on pre-immunization with Δhmgb2PbNK65 parasitized red blood cells that confer long-lasting protection in a murine experimental cerebral malaria model against two highly pathogenic homologous and heterologous parasites.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sylvie Briquet
- Sorbonne Université, Centre d’Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses (CIMI-Paris), Paris, France
- INSERM, U1135, CIMI-Paris, Paris, France
- CNRS, ERL 8255, CIMI-Paris, Paris, France
| | - Nadou Lawson-Hogban
- Sorbonne Université, Centre d’Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses (CIMI-Paris), Paris, France
- INSERM, U1135, CIMI-Paris, Paris, France
- CNRS, ERL 8255, CIMI-Paris, Paris, France
| | - Roger Peronet
- Unité de Biologie et Génétique du Paludisme, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
- Centre National de Recherche Scientifique ou CNRS, Unité de Recherche Associée 2581, Paris, France
| | - Salaheddine Mécheri
- Unité de Biologie et Génétique du Paludisme, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
- Centre National de Recherche Scientifique ou CNRS, Unité de Recherche Associée 2581, Paris, France
| | - Catherine Vaquero
- Sorbonne Université, Centre d’Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses (CIMI-Paris), Paris, France
- INSERM, U1135, CIMI-Paris, Paris, France
- CNRS, ERL 8255, CIMI-Paris, Paris, France
- * E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Reis AS, Barboza R, Murillo O, Barateiro A, Peixoto EPM, Lima FA, Gomes VM, Dombrowski JG, Leal VNC, Araujo F, Bandeira CL, Araujo RBD, Neres R, Souza RM, Costa FTM, Pontillo A, Bevilacqua E, Wrenger C, Wunderlich G, Palmisano G, Labriola L, Bortoluci KR, Penha-Gonçalves C, Gonçalves LA, Epiphanio S, Marinho CRF. Inflammasome activation and IL-1 signaling during placental malaria induce poor pregnancy outcomes. Sci Adv 2020; 6:eaax6346. [PMID: 32181339 PMCID: PMC7056302 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aax6346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2019] [Accepted: 12/11/2019] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Placental malaria (PM) is associated with severe inflammation leading to abortion, preterm delivery, and intrauterine growth restriction. Innate immunity responses play critical roles, but the mechanisms underlying placental immunopathology are still unclear. Here, we investigated the role of inflammasome activation in PM by scrutinizing human placenta samples from an endemic area and ablating inflammasome components in a PM mouse model. The reduction in birth weight in babies from infected mothers is paralleled by increased placental expression of AIM2 and NLRP3 inflammasomes. Using genetic dissection, we reveal that inflammasome activation pathways are involved in the production and detrimental action of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) in the infected placenta. The IL-1R pharmacological antagonist Anakinra improved pregnancy outcomes by restoring fetal growth and reducing resorption in an experimental model. These findings unveil that IL-1β-mediated signaling is a determinant of PM pathogenesis, suggesting that IL-1R antagonists can improve clinical outcomes of malaria infection in pregnancy.
Collapse
MESH Headings
- Animals
- Caspase 1/genetics
- Caspase 1/immunology
- Cell Line
- DNA-Binding Proteins/genetics
- DNA-Binding Proteins/immunology
- Female
- Gene Expression Regulation
- Humans
- Immunity, Innate
- Immunologic Factors/pharmacology
- Inflammasomes/drug effects
- Inflammasomes/genetics
- Inflammasomes/immunology
- Interferon-gamma/genetics
- Interferon-gamma/immunology
- Interleukin 1 Receptor Antagonist Protein/pharmacology
- Interleukin-1beta/antagonists & inhibitors
- Interleukin-1beta/genetics
- Interleukin-1beta/immunology
- Malaria/drug therapy
- Malaria/genetics
- Malaria/immunology
- Malaria/parasitology
- Malaria, Falciparum/genetics
- Malaria, Falciparum/immunology
- Malaria, Falciparum/parasitology
- Malaria, Falciparum/pathology
- Mice
- Mice, Knockout
- NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein/genetics
- NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein/immunology
- Plasmodium berghei/immunology
- Plasmodium berghei/pathogenicity
- Plasmodium falciparum/immunology
- Plasmodium falciparum/pathogenicity
- Pregnancy
- Pregnancy Complications, Parasitic/genetics
- Pregnancy Complications, Parasitic/immunology
- Pregnancy Complications, Parasitic/parasitology
- Pregnancy Complications, Parasitic/prevention & control
- Receptors, Interleukin-1/genetics
- Receptors, Interleukin-1/immunology
- Signal Transduction/drug effects
- Signal Transduction/immunology
- THP-1 Cells
- Trophoblasts/drug effects
- Trophoblasts/immunology
- Trophoblasts/parasitology
- Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/genetics
- Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/immunology
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Aramys S. Reis
- Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
- Faculdade de Medicina, Centro de Ciências Sociais, Saúde e Tecnologia, Universidade Federal do Maranhão, Imperatriz, MA, Brazil
| | - Renato Barboza
- Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Diadema, SP, Brazil
| | - Oscar Murillo
- Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - André Barateiro
- Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Erika P. M. Peixoto
- Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Flávia A. Lima
- Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Vinícius M. Gomes
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Química, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Jamille G. Dombrowski
- Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Vinícius N. C. Leal
- Departamento de Imunologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Franciele Araujo
- Departamento de Biologia Celular e do Desenvolvimento, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Carla L. Bandeira
- Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Rosana B. D. Araujo
- Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Rita Neres
- Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Rodrigo M. Souza
- Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
- Centro Multidisciplinar, Campus Floresta, Universidade Federal do Acre, Cruzeiro do Sul, AC, Brazil
| | - Fabio T. M. Costa
- Departamento de Genética, Evolução e Bioagentes, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil
| | - Alessandra Pontillo
- Departamento de Imunologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Estela Bevilacqua
- Departamento de Biologia Celular e do Desenvolvimento, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Carsten Wrenger
- Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Gerhard Wunderlich
- Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Giuseppe Palmisano
- Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Leticia Labriola
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Química, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Karina R. Bortoluci
- Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Diadema, SP, Brazil
| | | | - Lígia A. Gonçalves
- Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Sabrina Epiphanio
- Departamento de Análises Clínicas e Toxicológicas, Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Claudio R. F. Marinho
- Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
- Corresponding author.
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Kuehlwein JM, Borsche M, Korir PJ, Risch F, Mueller A, Hübner MP, Hildner K, Hoerauf A, Dunay IR, Schumak B. Protection of Batf3-deficient mice from experimental cerebral malaria correlates with impaired cytotoxic T-cell responses and immune regulation. Immunology 2020; 159:193-204. [PMID: 31631339 PMCID: PMC6954726 DOI: 10.1111/imm.13137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2019] [Revised: 09/30/2019] [Accepted: 10/14/2019] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Excessive inflammatory immune responses during infections with Plasmodium parasites are responsible for severe complications such as cerebral malaria (CM) that can be studied experimentally in mice. Dendritic cells (DCs) activate cytotoxic CD8+ T-cells and initiate immune responses against the parasites. Batf3-/- mice lack a DC subset, which efficiently induces strong CD8 T-cell responses by cross-presentation of exogenous antigens. Here we show that Batf3-/- mice infected with Plasmodium berghei ANKA (PbA) were protected from experimental CM (ECM), characterized by a stable blood-brain barrier (BBB) and significantly less infiltrated peripheral immune cells in the brain. Importantly, the absence of ECM in Batf3-/- mice correlated with attenuated responses of cytotoxic T-cells, as their parasite-specific lytic activity as well as the production of interferon gamma and granzyme B were significantly decreased. Remarkably, spleens of ECM-protected Batf3-/- mice had elevated levels of regulatory immune cells and interleukin 10. Thus, protection from ECM in PbA-infected Batf3-/- mice was associated with the absence of strong CD8+ T-cell activity and induction of immunoregulatory mediators and cells.
Collapse
MESH Headings
- Animals
- Basic-Leucine Zipper Transcription Factors/deficiency
- Basic-Leucine Zipper Transcription Factors/genetics
- Blood-Brain Barrier/immunology
- Blood-Brain Barrier/parasitology
- Brain/immunology
- Brain/metabolism
- Brain/parasitology
- Cells, Cultured
- Dendritic Cells/immunology
- Dendritic Cells/metabolism
- Dendritic Cells/parasitology
- Disease Models, Animal
- Female
- Granzymes/immunology
- Granzymes/metabolism
- Host-Parasite Interactions
- Interferon-gamma/immunology
- Interferon-gamma/metabolism
- Interleukin-10/immunology
- Interleukin-10/metabolism
- Malaria, Cerebral/immunology
- Malaria, Cerebral/metabolism
- Malaria, Cerebral/parasitology
- Malaria, Cerebral/prevention & control
- Mice, Inbred C57BL
- Mice, Knockout
- Plasmodium berghei/immunology
- Plasmodium berghei/pathogenicity
- Repressor Proteins/deficiency
- Repressor Proteins/genetics
- Spleen/immunology
- Spleen/metabolism
- Spleen/parasitology
- T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic/immunology
- T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic/metabolism
- T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic/parasitology
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Janina M. Kuehlwein
- Institute of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and ParasitologyUniversity Hospital BonnBonnGermany
| | - Max Borsche
- Institute of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and ParasitologyUniversity Hospital BonnBonnGermany
| | - Patricia J. Korir
- Institute of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and ParasitologyUniversity Hospital BonnBonnGermany
| | - Frederic Risch
- Institute of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and ParasitologyUniversity Hospital BonnBonnGermany
| | - Ann‐Kristin Mueller
- Parasitology UnitCentre for Infectious DiseasesHeidelberg University HospitalHeidelbergGermany
- DZIF German Center for Infection ResearchPartner Site HeidelbergHeidelbergGermany
| | - Marc P. Hübner
- Institute of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and ParasitologyUniversity Hospital BonnBonnGermany
| | - Kai Hildner
- Medical Department 1University Hospital ErlangenErlangenGermany
| | - Achim Hoerauf
- Institute of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and ParasitologyUniversity Hospital BonnBonnGermany
- DZIF German Center for Infection ResearchPartner Site Bonn‐CologneBonnGermany
| | - Ildiko Rita Dunay
- Institute of Inflammation and NeurodegenerationUniversity of MagdeburgMagdeburgGermany
| | - Beatrix Schumak
- Institute of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and ParasitologyUniversity Hospital BonnBonnGermany
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Michels LR, Maciel TR, Nakama KA, Teixeira FEG, de Carvalho FB, Gundel A, de Araujo BV, Haas SE. Effects of Surface Characteristics of Polymeric Nanocapsules on the Pharmacokinetics and Efficacy of Antimalarial Quinine. Int J Nanomedicine 2019; 14:10165-10178. [PMID: 32021159 PMCID: PMC6942527 DOI: 10.2147/ijn.s227914] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2019] [Accepted: 10/25/2019] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The surface charge of nanoparticles, such as nanospheres (NS) and nanocapsules (NC), has been studied with the purpose of improving the in vivo performance of drugs. The aim of this study was to develop, characterize, and evaluate the in vitro antimalarial efficacy of NCP80 and NSP80 (polysorbate coated) or NCEUD and NSEUD (prepared with Eudragit RS 100) loading quinine (QN). METHODS Formulations were prepared by the nanoprecipitation method, followed by wide physicochemical characterization. Antimalarial activity in Plasmodium berghei-infected mice and populational pharmacokinetics (PopPK) in rats were evaluated. RESULTS The formulations showed a nanometric range (between 138 ± 3.8 to 201 ± 23.0 nm), zeta potential (mV) of -33.1 ± 0.7 (NCP80), -30.5 ± 1 (UNCP80), -25.5 ± 1 (NSP80), -20 ± 0.3 (UNSP80), 4.61 ± 1 (NCEUD), 14.1 ± 0.9 (UNCEUD), 2.86 ± 0.3 (NSEUD) and 2.84 ± 0.6 (UNSEUD), content close to 100%, and good QN protection against UVA light. There was a twofold increase in the penetration of QN into infected erythrocytes with NC compared to that with NS. There was a significant increase in t1/2 for all NC evaluated compared to that of Free-QN, due to changes in Vdss. PopPK analysis showed that NCP80 acted as a covariate to Q (intercompartmental clearance) and V2 (volume of distribution in the peripheral compartment). For NCEUD, V1 and Q were modified after QN nanoencapsulation. Regarding in vivo efficacy, NCEUD increased the survival of mice unlike Free-QN. CONCLUSION Cationic nanocapsules modified the pharmacology of QN, presenting a potential alternative for malaria treatment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Luana Roberta Michels
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Post Graduate Program, Pharmacy Course, Federal University of Pampa, UNIPAMPA, Uruguaiana, RS, Brazil
| | - Tamara Ramos Maciel
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Post Graduate Program, Pharmacy Course, Federal University of Pampa, UNIPAMPA, Uruguaiana, RS, Brazil
| | - Kelly Ayumi Nakama
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Post Graduate Program, Pharmacy Course, Federal University of Pampa, UNIPAMPA, Uruguaiana, RS, Brazil
| | | | - Felipe Barbosa de Carvalho
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Post Graduate Program, Pharmacy Course, Federal University of Pampa, UNIPAMPA, Uruguaiana, RS, Brazil
| | - André Gundel
- Campus Bagé, Federal University of Pampa, UNIPAMPA, Bagé, RS1650, Brazil
| | - Bibiana Verlindo de Araujo
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Post Graduate Program, College of Pharmacy, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS2752, Brazil
| | - Sandra Elisa Haas
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Post Graduate Program, Pharmacy Course, Federal University of Pampa, UNIPAMPA, Uruguaiana, RS, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Fan ZG, Li X, Fu HY, Zhou LM, Gong FL, Fang M. Gut Microbiota Reconstruction Following Host Infection with Blood-stage Plasmodium berghei ANKA Strain in a Murine Model. Curr Med Sci 2019; 39:883-889. [PMID: 31845218 DOI: 10.1007/s11596-019-2119-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2019] [Revised: 05/27/2019] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Malaria remains a global health problem. The relationship between Plasmodium spp. and the gut microbiota as well as the impact of Plasmodium spp. on the gut microbiota in vertebrate hosts is unclear. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the effect of blood-stage Plasmodium parasites on the gut microbiota of mice. The gut microbiota was analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing and bioinformatic analyses at three stages. The gut microbiota changed during the three phases: the healthy stage, the infection stage, and the cure stage (on the 9th day after malarial elimination). Moreover, the gut microbiota of these infected animals did not recover after malaria infection. There were 254 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) across all three stages, and there were unique strains or OTUs at each stage of the experiment. The percentages of community abundance of 8 OTUs changed significantly (P<0.05). The dominant OTU in both the healthy mice and the mice with malaria was OTU265, while that in the cured mice was OTU234. In addition, the changes in OTU147 were the most noteworthy. Its percentage of community abundance varied greatly, with higher values during malaria than before malaria infection and after malaria elimination. These results indicated that the external environment influenced the gut microbiota after host C57BL/6 mice were infected with blood-stage P. berghei ANKA and that the same was true during and after elimination of blood-stage P. berghei ANKA. In addition, we could not isolate OTU147 for further study. This study identified gut microbiota components that were reconstructed after infection by and elimination of blood-stage P. berghei ANKA in host C57BL/6 mice, and this process was affected by P. berghei ANKA and the external environment of the host.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zhi-Gang Fan
- Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
- Department of Pathogenic Biology, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, 571199, China
| | - Xiao Li
- Department of Pathogenic Biology, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, 571199, China
| | - Hai-Yi Fu
- Department of Pathogenic Biology, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, 571199, China
| | - Li-Min Zhou
- Department of Pathogenic Biology, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, 571199, China
| | - Fei-Li Gong
- Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China.
| | - Min Fang
- Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China.
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Kraisin S, Verhenne S, Pham TT, Martinod K, Tersteeg C, Vandeputte N, Deckmyn H, Vanhoorelbeke K, Van den Steen PE, De Meyer SF. von Willebrand factor in experimental malaria-associated acute respiratory distress syndrome. J Thromb Haemost 2019; 17:1372-1383. [PMID: 31099973 PMCID: PMC9906160 DOI: 10.1111/jth.14485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2019] [Accepted: 05/02/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Malaria-associated acute respiratory distress syndrome (MA-ARDS) is a lethal complication of severe malaria, characterized by marked pulmonary inflammation. Patient studies have suggested a link between von Willebrand factor (VWF) and malaria severity. OBJECTIVES To investigate the role of VWF in the pathogenesis of experimental MA-ARDS. METHODS Plasmodium berghei NK65-E (PbNK65) parasites were injected in Vwf+/+ and Vwf-/- mice. Pathological parameters were assessed following infection. RESULTS In accordance with patients with severe malaria, plasma VWF levels were increased and ADAMTS13 activity levels were reduced in experimental MA-ARDS. ADAMTS13- and plasmin-independent reductions of high molecular weight VWF multimers were observed at the end stage of disease. Thrombocytopenia was VWF-independent because it was observed in both Vwf+/+ and Vwf-/- mice. Interestingly, Vwf-/- mice had a shorter survival time compared with Vwf+/+ controls following PbNK65 infection. Lung edema could not explain this shortened survival because alveolar protein levels in Vwf-/- mice were approximately two times lower than in Vwf+/+ controls. Parasite load, on the other hand, was significantly increased in Vwf-/- mice compared with Vwf+/+ mice in both peripheral blood and lung tissue. In addition, anemia was only observed in PbNK65-infected Vwf-/- mice. Of note, Vwf-/- mice presented with two times more reticulocytes, a preferential target of the parasites. CONCLUSIONS This study suggests that parasite load together with malarial anemia, rather than alveolar leakage, might contribute to shortened survival in PbNK65-infected Vwf-/- mice. VWF deficiency is associated with early reticulocytosis following PbNK65 infection, which potentially explains the increase in parasite load.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sirima Kraisin
- Laboratory for Thrombosis Research, KU Leuven Campus Kulak Kortrijk, Kortrijk, Belgium
| | - Sebastien Verhenne
- Laboratory for Thrombosis Research, KU Leuven Campus Kulak Kortrijk, Kortrijk, Belgium
| | - Thao-Thy Pham
- Laboratory of Immunoparasitology, Rega Institute for Medical Research, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Kimberly Martinod
- Laboratory for Thrombosis Research, KU Leuven Campus Kulak Kortrijk, Kortrijk, Belgium
| | - Claudia Tersteeg
- Laboratory for Thrombosis Research, KU Leuven Campus Kulak Kortrijk, Kortrijk, Belgium
| | - Nele Vandeputte
- Laboratory for Thrombosis Research, KU Leuven Campus Kulak Kortrijk, Kortrijk, Belgium
| | - Hans Deckmyn
- Laboratory for Thrombosis Research, KU Leuven Campus Kulak Kortrijk, Kortrijk, Belgium
| | - Karen Vanhoorelbeke
- Laboratory for Thrombosis Research, KU Leuven Campus Kulak Kortrijk, Kortrijk, Belgium
| | - Philippe E Van den Steen
- Laboratory of Immunoparasitology, Rega Institute for Medical Research, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Simon F De Meyer
- Laboratory for Thrombosis Research, KU Leuven Campus Kulak Kortrijk, Kortrijk, Belgium
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Pace T, Grasso F, Camarda G, Suarez C, Blackman MJ, Ponzi M, Olivieri A. The Plasmodium berghei serine protease PbSUB1 plays an important role in male gamete egress. Cell Microbiol 2019; 21:e13028. [PMID: 30941868 PMCID: PMC6766862 DOI: 10.1111/cmi.13028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2018] [Revised: 03/07/2019] [Accepted: 03/28/2019] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
The Plasmodium subtilisin-like serine protease SUB1 is expressed in hepatic and both asexual and sexual blood parasite stages. SUB1 is required for egress of invasive forms of the parasite from both erythrocytes and hepatocytes, but its subcellular localisation, function, and potential substrates in the sexual stages are unknown. Here, we have characterised the expression profile and subcellular localisation of SUB1 in Plasmodium berghei sexual stages. We show that the protease is selectively expressed in mature male gametocytes and localises to secretory organelles known to be involved in gamete egress, called male osmiophilic bodies. We have investigated PbSUB1 function in the sexual stages by generating P. berghei transgenic lines deficient in PbSUB1 expression or enzyme activity in gametocytes. Our results demonstrate that PbSUB1 plays a role in male gamete egress. We also show for the first time that the PbSUB1 substrate PbSERA3 is expressed in gametocytes and processed by PbSUB1 upon gametocyte activation. Taken together, our results strongly suggest that PbSUB1 is not only a promising drug target for asexual stages but could also be an attractive malaria transmission-blocking target.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tomasino Pace
- Dipartimento di Malattie InfettiveIstituto Superiore di SanitàRomeItaly
| | - Felicia Grasso
- Dipartimento di Malattie InfettiveIstituto Superiore di SanitàRomeItaly
| | - Grazia Camarda
- Dipartimento di Malattie InfettiveIstituto Superiore di SanitàRomeItaly
| | - Catherine Suarez
- Malaria Biochemistry LaboratoryThe Francis Crick InstituteLondonUK
| | - Michael J. Blackman
- Malaria Biochemistry LaboratoryThe Francis Crick InstituteLondonUK
- Faculty of Infectious and Tropical DiseasesLondon School of Hygiene and Tropical MedicineLondonUK
| | - Marta Ponzi
- Dipartimento di Malattie InfettiveIstituto Superiore di SanitàRomeItaly
| | - Anna Olivieri
- Dipartimento di Malattie InfettiveIstituto Superiore di SanitàRomeItaly
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Wang X, Miyazaki Y, Inaoka DK, Hartuti ED, Watanabe YI, Shiba T, Harada S, Saimoto H, Burrows JN, Benito FJG, Nozaki T, Kita K. Identification of Plasmodium falciparum Mitochondrial Malate: Quinone Oxidoreductase Inhibitors from the Pathogen Box. Genes (Basel) 2019; 10:genes10060471. [PMID: 31234346 PMCID: PMC6627850 DOI: 10.3390/genes10060471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2019] [Revised: 06/14/2019] [Accepted: 06/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Malaria is one of the three major global health threats. Drug development for malaria, especially for its most dangerous form caused by Plasmodium falciparum, remains an urgent task due to the emerging drug-resistant parasites. Exploration of novel antimalarial drug targets identified a trifunctional enzyme, malate quinone oxidoreductase (MQO), located in the mitochondrial inner membrane of P. falciparum (PfMQO). PfMQO is involved in the pathways of mitochondrial electron transport chain, tricarboxylic acid cycle, and fumarate cycle. Recent studies have shown that MQO is essential for P. falciparum survival in asexual stage and for the development of experiment cerebral malaria in the murine parasite P. berghei, providing genetic validation of MQO as a drug target. However, chemical validation of MQO, as a target, remains unexplored. In this study, we used active recombinant protein rPfMQO overexpressed in bacterial membrane fractions to screen a total of 400 compounds from the Pathogen Box, released by Medicines for Malaria Venture. The screening identified seven hit compounds targeting rPfMQO with an IC50 of under 5 μM. We tested the activity of hit compounds against the growth of 3D7 wildtype strain of P. falciparum, among which four compounds showed an IC50 from low to sub-micromolar concentrations, suggesting that PfMQO is indeed a potential antimalarial drug target.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xinying Wang
- Department of Biomedical Chemistry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.
- School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nagasaki University, 1-12-4, Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan.
| | - Yukiko Miyazaki
- Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, 1-12-4, Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan.
| | - Daniel Ken Inaoka
- Department of Biomedical Chemistry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.
- School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nagasaki University, 1-12-4, Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan.
- Department of Molecular Infection Dynamics, Institute of Tropical Medicine (NEKKEN), Nagasaki University, 1-12-4, Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan.
| | - Endah Dwi Hartuti
- Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, 1-12-4, Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan.
| | - Yoh-Ichi Watanabe
- Department of Biomedical Chemistry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.
| | - Tomoo Shiba
- Department of Applied Biology, Graduate School of Science Technology, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Matsugasaki, Hashikamicho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8585, Japan.
| | - Shigeharu Harada
- Department of Applied Biology, Graduate School of Science Technology, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Matsugasaki, Hashikamicho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8585, Japan.
| | - Hiroyuki Saimoto
- Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Graduate School of Engineering, Tottori University, 4-101 Koyama-cho Minami, Tottori 680-8550, Japan.
| | | | | | - Tomoyoshi Nozaki
- Department of Biomedical Chemistry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.
| | - Kiyoshi Kita
- Department of Biomedical Chemistry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.
- School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nagasaki University, 1-12-4, Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan.
- Department of Host-Defense Biochemistry, Institute of Tropical Medicine (NEKKEN), Nagasaki University, 1-12-4, Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan.
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
LaMonte GM, Orjuela-Sanchez P, Calla J, Wang LT, Li S, Swann J, Cowell AN, Zou BY, Abdel-Haleem Mohamed AM, Villa Galarce ZH, Moreno M, Tong Rios C, Vinetz JM, Lewis N, Winzeler EA. Dual RNA-seq identifies human mucosal immunity protein Mucin-13 as a hallmark of Plasmodium exoerythrocytic infection. Nat Commun 2019; 10:488. [PMID: 30700707 PMCID: PMC6353872 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-08349-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [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: 01/11/2018] [Accepted: 12/24/2018] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The exoerythrocytic stage of Plasmodium infection is a critical window for prophylactic intervention. Using genome-wide dual RNA sequencing of flow-sorted infected and uninfected hepatoma cells we show that the human mucosal immunity gene, mucin-13 (MUC13), is strongly upregulated during Plasmodium exoerythrocytic hepatic-stage infection. We confirm MUC13 transcript increases in hepatoma cell lines and primary hepatocytes. In immunofluorescence assays, host MUC13 protein expression distinguishes infected cells from adjacent uninfected cells and shows similar colocalization with parasite biomarkers such as UIS4 and HSP70. We further show that localization patterns are species independent, marking both P. berghei and P. vivax infected cells, and that MUC13 can be used to identify compounds that inhibit parasite replication in hepatocytes. This data provides insights into host-parasite interactions in Plasmodium infection, and demonstrates that a component of host mucosal immunity is reprogrammed during the progression of infection.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gregory M LaMonte
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Pamela Orjuela-Sanchez
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Jaeson Calla
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Lawrence T Wang
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Shangzhong Li
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability at the University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Justine Swann
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Annie N Cowell
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Bing Yu Zou
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Alyaa M Abdel-Haleem Mohamed
- Computational Bioscience Research Centre (CBRC) and Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering (BESE) division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Zaira Hellen Villa Galarce
- Laboratorio ICEMR-Amazonia, Laboratorio de Investigación y Desarrollo, Facultad de Ciencias y Filosofia, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru
| | - Marta Moreno
- Laboratorio ICEMR-Amazonia, Laboratorio de Investigación y Desarrollo, Facultad de Ciencias y Filosofia, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Department of Immunology and Infection, London, UK
| | - Carlos Tong Rios
- Laboratorio ICEMR-Amazonia, Laboratorio de Investigación y Desarrollo, Facultad de Ciencias y Filosofia, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru
| | - Joseph M Vinetz
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
- Laboratorio ICEMR-Amazonia, Laboratorio de Investigación y Desarrollo, Facultad de Ciencias y Filosofia, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru
- Yale School of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Nathan Lewis
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability at the University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Elizabeth A Winzeler
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Deligianni E, Silmon de Monerri NC, McMillan PJ, Bertuccini L, Superti F, Manola M, Spanos L, Louis C, Blackman MJ, Tilley L, Siden-Kiamos I. Essential role of Plasmodium perforin-like protein 4 in ookinete midgut passage. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0201651. [PMID: 30102727 PMCID: PMC6089593 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0201651] [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] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2018] [Accepted: 07/19/2018] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Pore forming proteins such as those belonging to the membrane attack/perforin (MACPF) family have important functions in many organisms. Of the five MACPF proteins found in Plasmodium parasites, three have functions in cell passage and one in host cell egress. Here we report an analysis of the perforin-like protein 4, PPLP4, in the rodent parasite Plasmodium berghei. We found that the protein is expressed only in the ookinete, the invasive stage of the parasite formed in the mosquito midgut. Transcriptional analysis revealed that expression of the pplp4 gene commences during ookinete development. The protein was detected in retorts and mature ookinetes. Using two antibodies, the protein was found localized in a dotted pattern, and 3-D SIM super-resolution microcopy revealed the protein in the periphery of the cell. Analysis of a C-terminal mCherry fusion of the protein however showed mainly cytoplasmic label. A pplp4 null mutant formed motile ookinetes, but these were unable to invade and traverse the midgut epithelium resulting in severely impaired oocyst formation and no transmission to naïve mice. However, when in vitro cultured ookinetes were injected into the thorax of the mosquito, thus by-passing midgut passage, sporozoites were formed and the mutant parasites were able to infect naïve mice. Taken together, our data show that PPLP4 is required only for ookinete invasion of the mosquito midgut. Thus PPLP4 has a similar role to the previously studied PPLP3 and PPLP5, raising the question why three proteins with MACPF domains are needed for invasion by the ookinete of the mosquito midgut epithelium.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elena Deligianni
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Foundation for Research and Technology—Hellas, Heraklion, Greece
- * E-mail:
| | | | - Paul J. McMillan
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coherent X-ray Science, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Biological Optical Microcopy Platform, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Lucia Bertuccini
- National Centre for Innovative Technologies in Public Health, National Institute of Health, Rome, Italy
| | - Fabiana Superti
- National Centre for Innovative Technologies in Public Health, National Institute of Health, Rome, Italy
| | - Maria Manola
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Foundation for Research and Technology—Hellas, Heraklion, Greece
| | - Lefteris Spanos
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Foundation for Research and Technology—Hellas, Heraklion, Greece
| | - Christos Louis
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Foundation for Research and Technology—Hellas, Heraklion, Greece
| | - Michael J. Blackman
- The Francis Crick Institute, London, United Kingdom
- Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | - Leann Tilley
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coherent X-ray Science, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Inga Siden-Kiamos
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Foundation for Research and Technology—Hellas, Heraklion, Greece
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Lee RS, Waters AP, Brewer JM. A cryptic cycle in haematopoietic niches promotes initiation of malaria transmission and evasion of chemotherapy. Nat Commun 2018; 9:1689. [PMID: 29703959 PMCID: PMC5924373 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-04108-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [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: 12/12/2017] [Accepted: 03/28/2018] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Blood stage human malaria parasites may exploit erythropoietic tissue niches and colonise erythroid progenitors; however, the precise influence of the erythropoietic environment on fundamental parasite biology remains unknown. Here we use quantitative approaches to enumerate Plasmodium infected erythropoietic precursor cells using an in vivo rodent model of Plasmodium berghei. We show that parasitised early reticulocytes (ER) in the major sites of haematopoiesis establish a cryptic asexual cycle. Moreover, this cycle is characterised by early preferential commitment to gametocytogenesis, which occurs in sufficient numbers to generate almost all of the initial population of circulating, mature gametocytes. In addition, we show that P. berghei is less sensitive to artemisinin in splenic ER than in blood, which suggests that haematopoietic tissues may enable origins of recrudescent infection and emerging resistance to antimalarials. Continuous propagation in these sites may also provide a mechanism for continuous transmission and infection in malaria endemic regions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca S Lee
- Wellcome Centre for Molecular Parasitology, Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, College of Medical Veterinary & Life Sciences, Sir Graham Davies Building, University of Glasgow, 120 University Place, Glasgow, G12 8TA, Scotland, UK
| | - Andrew P Waters
- Wellcome Centre for Molecular Parasitology, Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, College of Medical Veterinary & Life Sciences, Sir Graham Davies Building, University of Glasgow, 120 University Place, Glasgow, G12 8TA, Scotland, UK.
| | - James M Brewer
- Wellcome Centre for Molecular Parasitology, Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, College of Medical Veterinary & Life Sciences, Sir Graham Davies Building, University of Glasgow, 120 University Place, Glasgow, G12 8TA, Scotland, UK.
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Song X, Wang M, Dong L, Zhu H, Wang J. PGRP-LD mediates A. stephensi vector competency by regulating homeostasis of microbiota-induced peritrophic matrix synthesis. PLoS Pathog 2018; 14:e1006899. [PMID: 29489896 PMCID: PMC5831637 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1006899] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [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: 08/29/2017] [Accepted: 01/23/2018] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Peptidoglycan recognition proteins (PGRPs) and commensal microbes mediate pathogen infection outcomes in insect disease vectors. Although PGRP-LD is retained in multiple vectors, its role in host defense remains elusive. Here we report that Anopheles stephensi PGRP-LD protects the vector from malaria parasite infection by regulating gut homeostasis. Specifically, knock down of PGRP-LD (dsLD) increased susceptibility to Plasmodium berghei infection, decreased the abundance of gut microbiota and changed their spatial distribution. This outcome resulted from a change in the structural integrity of the peritrophic matrix (PM), which is a chitinous and proteinaceous barrier that lines the midgut lumen. Reduction of microbiota in dsLD mosquitoes due to the upregulation of immune effectors led to dysregulation of PM genes and PM fragmentation. Elimination of gut microbiota in antibiotic treated mosquitoes (Abx) led to PM loss and increased vectorial competence. Recolonization of Abx mosquitoes with indigenous Enterobacter sp. restored PM integrity and decreased mosquito vectorial capacity. Silencing PGRP-LD in mosquitoes without PM didn’t influence their vector competence. Our results indicate that PGPR-LD protects the gut microbiota by preventing hyper-immunity, which in turn promotes PM structurally integrity. The intact PM plays a key role in limiting P. berghei infection. Malaria parasites must overcome several obstacles to complete their development in mosquito. Understanding the interactions between parasites and mosquitoes will provide potential targets to control malaria transmission. PGRP-LD is a peptidoglycan recognition protein, of which limit information is available in insects. Here we show that A. stephensi PGRP-LD mediates malaria parasite infection outcomes by influencing homeostasis of the gut microbiota. Reduction of the gut microbiota density, resulting from upregulation of immune activities in PGRP-LD knock down mosquitoes, changes expression of PM genes and causes PM fragmentation. The compromised PM leads to increasing susceptibility to parasite infection. We also discovered that the PM is lost in mosquitoes in which the gut microbiota is removed by antibiotic treatment. Knock down of PGRP-LD in these mosquitoes doesn’t increase their vector competence. Altogether, these results indicate that capacity of Anopheles mosquito to transmit parasites is determined by a finely tuned balance between host immunity, gut microbiota and peritrophic matrix. PGRP-LD is a key mediator in regulating this balance. Our results expand knowledge on interactions between immune system, gut microbiota and Plasmodium, and will shed light on equivalent processes in other disease transmitting vectors.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xiumei Song
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, P. R. China
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, P. R. China
| | - Mengfei Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, P. R. China
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, P. R. China
| | - Li Dong
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, P. R. China
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, P. R. China
| | - Huaimin Zhu
- The 2nd Military Medical University, Shanghai, P. R. China
| | - Jingwen Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, P. R. China
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, P. R. China
- * E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Schmidt KE, Kuepper JM, Schumak B, Alferink J, Hofmann A, Howland SW, Rénia L, Limmer A, Specht S, Hoerauf A. Doxycycline inhibits experimental cerebral malaria by reducing inflammatory immune reactions and tissue-degrading mediators. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0192717. [PMID: 29438386 PMCID: PMC5811026 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0192717] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [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: 06/27/2017] [Accepted: 01/29/2018] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Malaria ranks among the most important infectious diseases worldwide and affects mostly people living in tropical countries. Mechanisms involved in disease progression are still not fully understood and specific treatments that might interfere with cerebral malaria (CM) are limited. Here we show that administration of doxycycline (DOX) prevented experimental CM (ECM) in Plasmodium berghei ANKA (PbA)-infected C57BL/6 wildtype (WT) mice in an IL-10-independent manner. DOX-treated mice showed an intact blood-brain barrier (BBB) and attenuated brain inflammation. Importantly, if WT mice were infected with a 20-fold increased parasite load, they could be still protected from ECM if they received DOX from day 4-6 post infection, despite similar parasitemia compared to control-infected mice that did not receive DOX and developed ECM. Infiltration of T cells and cytotoxic responses were reduced in brains of DOX-treated mice. Analysis of brain tissue by RNA-array revealed reduced expression of chemokines and tumour necrosis factor (TNF) in brains of DOX-treated mice. Furthermore, DOX-administration resulted in brains of the mice in reduced expression of matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2) and granzyme B, which are both factors associated with ECM pathology. Systemic interferon gamma production was reduced and activated peripheral T cells accumulated in the spleen in DOX-treated mice. Our results suggest that DOX targeted inflammatory processes in the central nervous system (CNS) and prevented ECM by impaired brain access of effector T cells in addition to its anti-parasitic effect, thereby expanding the understanding of molecular events that underlie DOX-mediated therapeutic interventions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kim E. Schmidt
- Institute of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Janina M. Kuepper
- Institute of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Beatrix Schumak
- Institute of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - Judith Alferink
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany
| | - Andrea Hofmann
- Institute of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Shanshan W. Howland
- Singapore Immunology Network, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore
| | - Laurent Rénia
- Singapore Immunology Network, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore
| | - Andreas Limmer
- Clinic for Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany
- Institutes of Molecular Medicine and Experimental Immunology, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Sabine Specht
- Institute of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Achim Hoerauf
- Institute of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Okojie AK, Okobi OE, Dar H, Malik H, Arif M, Rauf K, Iyare EE. Potential link between Complement 5a Receptor and mood disorders in mouse exposed to experimental malaria in utero. Niger J Physiol Sci 2017; 32:171-177. [PMID: 29485638] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2017] [Accepted: 02/11/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
In Africa, a large number of pregnancies are exposed to Plasmodium falciparum infection. The in-utero environment extremely influences childhood neurodevelopment and behaviour. The complement 5a receptor (C5aR) is linked to several disease conditions. However, the influence of Plasmodium berghei during pregnancy on maternal complement 5a receptor and subsequently on fetal behaviour is unknown. Pregnant mice were intra-peritoneally inoculated on gestational day 13 with 1.02x105 infected red blood cells (iRBCs). iRBCs used in this experiment were gotten by in vivo passage of P. berghei in mice when the level of iRBCs have gotten to about 10-20%. A section of pregnant mice (both test and control groups) were earmarked to give birth and their offspring monitored up to postnatal day 42 when depression-like behaviour was evaluated using tail suspension test model. The other pregnant mice were subjected to cardiac puncture on gestational day 19 for C5a receptor estimation using Elisa assay. Results showed that pregnant mice infected with P. berghei had elevated C5a receptor compared with uninfected pregnant females. It was also shown that P. berghei-exposed offspring presented a depressive-like behaviour compared to unexposed controls. It may be concluded from this study, that complement 5a receptor demonstrates a pathogenic role in signaling and its possible role in mediating depression linked to Plasmodium berghei exposure in utero.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Akhabue K Okojie
- Reproductive and Developmental Programming Research Group, Department of Physiology, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, Enugu, Nigeria. Department of Physiology, Madonna University, Elele, Rivers State, Nigeria..
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
26
|
Singh DK, Cheema HS, Saxena A, Singh S, Darokar MP, Bawankule DU, Shanker K, Luqman S. Fraxetin and ethyl acetate extract from Lawsonia inermis L. ameliorate oxidative stress in P. berghei infected mice by augmenting antioxidant defence system. Phytomedicine 2017; 36:262-272. [PMID: 29157824 DOI: 10.1016/j.phymed.2017.09.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [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: 03/14/2017] [Revised: 07/04/2017] [Accepted: 09/24/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Lawsonia inermis L. is a well-documented plant for cosmetic as well as medicinal properties. It is used by local communities in India and Nigeria for the treatment of many parasitic diseases, including malaria. HYPOTHESIS/PURPOSE Earlier studies on the plant's antiplasmodial activity were not assigned to any phytochemical with no quality assurance data. In this report, a recent chemically characterized extract and it's major constituent were investigated for in vitro antiplasmodial activity on chloroquine sensitive NF-54 strain. Furtherly, the potent extract and this constituent were assessed in vivo in Plasmodium berghei infected mice. The bioactive phytochemical and enriched extract were also monitored against various oxidative stress parameters. STUDY DESIGN/METHOD The extract characterization was done by the quantitative analysis of eight phytochemicals using gradient reverse phase HPLC method. In vitro antiplasmodial activity was evaluated on chloroquine sensitive NF-54 strain by the determination of pfLDH activity. In vivo activity of the most potent extract and constituent were evaluated in P. berghei infected mice upon oral administration. The estimation of oxidative stress was done by monitoring various enzymatic and non-enzymatic parameters. RESULTS The ethyl acetate extract of leaves (IC50 9.00 ± 0.68 µg/ml) and fraxetin (IC50 19.21 ± 1.04 µM) were the most effective in in vitro assays therefore selected for in vivo tests. The administration of the ethyl acetate extract of leaves and fraxetin to the infected mice resulted in significant (p < .05) suppression of parasitaemia as evidenced by a 70.44 ± 2.58% to 78.77 ± 3.43% reduction compared to non-infected group. In addition, a two-fold increase in mean survival time, a significant (p < .05) reduction in lipid peroxidation and an elevation in glutathione, catalase and superoxide dismutase were also observed in treated mice. The post-infection treatment also led to an augmentation of endogenous antioxidant enzymes (GST, GR, GPx) with respect to the infected control. A significant (p < .05) elevation in serum Nrf2-antioxidant response element level responsible for the activation of endogenous enzymes was also observed. CONCLUSION It was evident from the experiments that ethyl acetate extract of L. inermis and fraxetin were able to suppress the oxidative damage by augmenting endogenous antioxidant system and thus ameliorated the plasmodium infection in mice.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Dhananjay Kumar Singh
- CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Lucknow-226015, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Harveer Singh Cheema
- CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Lucknow-226015, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Archana Saxena
- CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Lucknow-226015, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Shilpi Singh
- CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Lucknow-226015, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Mahendra P Darokar
- CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Lucknow-226015, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Dnyaneshwar U Bawankule
- CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Lucknow-226015, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Karuna Shanker
- CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Lucknow-226015, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Suaib Luqman
- CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Lucknow-226015, Uttar Pradesh, India.
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Singh N, Barnes SJ, Kennedy S, Adams JH. Experimental evaluation of cryopreservative solutions to maintain in vitro and in vivo infectivity of P. berghei sporozoites. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0177304. [PMID: 28531172 PMCID: PMC5439657 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0177304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [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: 10/06/2016] [Accepted: 04/25/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The rodent malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei is an excellent model organism for laboratory-based experimental evaluation of anti-malarial therapeutics prior to studies with human malaria parasites. The rodent model is especially important for evaluation of pre-erythrocytic (PE) stage therapies, especially as current efforts to develop new PE vaccines and drugs is limited by access to P. falciparum and P. vivax sporozoites. Developing a more effective method for cryopreservation of sporozoites would help improve access to sporozoites for laboratories lacking suitable insectary facilities. In this study, P. berghei GFP-expressing sporozoites were purified from infected mosquitoes by manual dissection of salivary glands and different commercially-available, serum-free cryopreservative solutions were evaluated for efficient cryopreservation of the sporozoites. The cryopreservative solutions evaluated included CryoStor CS2, CryoSolutions DX5, CryoSolutions MC, Hestar 200, Voluven, Hetastarch, and Glycerolyte 57. The viability of fresh and post-thaw cryopreserved sporozoites was determined as a function of the relative sporozoite infectivity by infecting HC-04 cells in vitro, monitoring invasion and growth and development of liver stage parasites. Flow cytometer-based counting provided unbiased and fast quantitative assessment of parasite in vitro infection in infected HC-04 and in vivo infectivity was validated by injecting sporozoites IV into mice. CryoStor CS2 delivered the highest post-thaw recovery and infectivity of cryopreserved sporozoites. Sporozoites cryopreserved in CryoStor CS2 achieved 38% complete development of hepatic stages in HC-04 and 100% infectivity in mice. The cryopreservation method described here demonstrates a viable alternative for fresh Plasmodium sporozoites. The use of cryopreserved sporozoites should facilitate greater access to sporozoites for chemotherapeutic and vaccine research.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Naresh Singh
- Department of Global Health, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States of America
| | - Samantha J. Barnes
- Department of Global Health, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States of America
| | - Sandra Kennedy
- Department of Global Health, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States of America
| | - John H. Adams
- Department of Global Health, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
Dunst J, Azzouz N, Liu X, Tsukita S, Seeberger PH, Kamena F. Interaction between Plasmodium Glycosylphosphatidylinositol and the Host Protein Moesin Has No Implication in Malaria Pathology. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2017; 7:183. [PMID: 28560184 PMCID: PMC5432536 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2017.00183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2017] [Accepted: 04/27/2017] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor of Plasmodium falciparum origin is considered an important toxin leading to severe malaria pathology through stimulation of pro-inflammatory responses from innate immune cells. Even though the GPI-induced immune response is widely described to be mediated by pattern recognition receptors such as TLR2 and TLR4, previous studies have revealed that these two receptors are dispensable for the development of severe malaria pathology. Therefore, this study aimed at the identification of potential alternative Plasmodium GPI receptors. Herein, we have identified the host protein moesin as an interaction partner of Plasmodium GPI in vitro. Given previous reports indicating the relevance of moesin especially in the LPS-mediated induction of pro-inflammatory responses, we have conducted a series of in vitro and in vivo experiments to address the physiological relevance of the moesin-Plasmodium GPI interaction in the context of malaria pathology. We report here that although moesin and Plasmodium GPI interact in vitro, moesin is not critically involved in processes leading to Plasmodium-induced pro-inflammatory immune responses or malaria-associated cerebral pathology.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Josefine Dunst
- Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Free University BerlinBerlin, Germany
- Parasitology Unit, Max Planck Institute for Infection BiologyBerlin, Germany
| | - Nahid Azzouz
- Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Free University BerlinBerlin, Germany
- Department of Biomolecular Systems, Max Planck Institute for Colloids and InterfacesPotsdam, Germany
| | - Xinyu Liu
- Department of Chemistry, University of PittsburghPittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Sachiko Tsukita
- Department of Frontier Biosciences, Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka UniversityOsaka, Japan
| | - Peter H. Seeberger
- Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Free University BerlinBerlin, Germany
- Department of Biomolecular Systems, Max Planck Institute for Colloids and InterfacesPotsdam, Germany
| | - Faustin Kamena
- Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Free University BerlinBerlin, Germany
- Parasitology Unit, Max Planck Institute for Infection BiologyBerlin, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Capuccini B, Lin J, Talavera-López C, Khan SM, Sodenkamp J, Spaccapelo R, Langhorne J. Transcriptomic profiling of microglia reveals signatures of cell activation and immune response, during experimental cerebral malaria. Sci Rep 2016; 6:39258. [PMID: 27991544 PMCID: PMC5171943 DOI: 10.1038/srep39258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [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: 07/29/2016] [Accepted: 11/22/2016] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Cerebral malaria is a pathology involving inflammation in the brain. There are many immune cell types activated during this process, but there is little information on the response of microglia, in this severe complication. We examined microglia by genome wide transcriptomic analysis in a model of experimental cerebral malaria (ECM), in which C57BL/6 mice are infected with Plasmodium berghei ANKA. Thousands of transcripts were differentially expressed in microglia at two different time points during infection. Proliferation of microglia was a dominant feature before the onset of ECM, and supporting this, we observed an increase in numbers of these cells in the brain. When cerebral malaria symptoms were manifest, genes involved in immune responses and chemokine production were upregulated, which were possibly driven by Type I Interferon. Consistent with this hypothesis, in vitro culture of a microglial cell line with Interferon-β, but not infected red blood cells, resulted in production of several of the chemokines shown to be upregulated in the gene expression analysis. It appears that these responses are associated with ECM, as microglia from mice infected with a mutant P. berghei parasite (ΔDPAP3), which does not cause ECM, did not show the same level of activation or proliferation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Jingwen Lin
- The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK
| | | | - Shahid M. Khan
- Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA, Leiden, Netherlands
| | | | - Roberta Spaccapelo
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Perugia, 06132 Perugia, Italy
| | | |
Collapse
|
30
|
Chukwuocha UM, Fernández-Rivera O, Legorreta-Herrera M. Exploring the antimalarial potential of whole Cymbopogon citratus plant therapy. J Ethnopharmacol 2016; 193:517-523. [PMID: 27693771 DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2016.09.056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [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: 07/08/2016] [Revised: 09/24/2016] [Accepted: 09/28/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE Cymbopogon citratus (lemon grass) has been used in traditional medicine as an herbal infusion to treat fever and malaria. Generally, whole plant extracts possess higher biological activity than purified compounds. However, the antimalarial activity of the whole C. citratus plant has not been experimentally tested. AIM OF THE STUDY To evaluate the antimalarial activity of an herbal infusion and the whole Cymbopogon citratus plant in two experimental models of malaria. MATERIAL AND METHODS The plant was dried for 10 days at room temperature and was then milled and passed through brass sieves to obtain a powder, which was administered to CBA/Ca mice with a patent Plasmodium chabaudi AS or P. berghei ANKA infection. We analysed the effects of two different doses (1600 and 3200mg/kg) compared with those of the herbal infusion and chloroquine, used as a positive control. We also assessed the prophylactic antimalarial activities of the whole C. citratus plant and the combination of the whole plant and chloroquine. RESULTS The C. citratus whole plant exhibited prolonged antimalarial activity against both P. chabaudi AS and P. berghei ANKA. The low dose of the whole C. citratus plant displayed higher antimalarial activity than the high dose against P. berghei ANKA. As a prophylactic treatment, the whole plant exhibited higher antimalarial activity than either the herbal infusion or chloroquine. In addition, the combination of the whole C. citratus plant and chloroquine displayed higher activity than chloroquine alone against P. berghei ANKA patent infection. CONCLUSIONS We demonstrated the antimalarial activity of the whole C. citratus plant in two experimental models. The whole C. citratus plant elicited higher anti-malarial activity than the herbal infusion or chloroquine when used as a prophylactic treatment. The antimalarial activity of the whole C. citratus plant supports continued efforts towards developing whole plant therapies for the management of malaria and other infectious diseases prevalent in resource-poor communities.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Uchechukwu M Chukwuocha
- Laboratorio de Inmunología Molecular, FES Zaragoza, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Batalla 5 de Mayo esq. Fuerte de Loreto, Iztapalapa 09230, Ciudad de México, Mexico; Department of Public Health Technology, Federal University of Technology, Owerri PMB 1526, Imo State, Nigeria
| | - Omar Fernández-Rivera
- Laboratorio de Inmunología Molecular, FES Zaragoza, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Batalla 5 de Mayo esq. Fuerte de Loreto, Iztapalapa 09230, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Martha Legorreta-Herrera
- Laboratorio de Inmunología Molecular, FES Zaragoza, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Batalla 5 de Mayo esq. Fuerte de Loreto, Iztapalapa 09230, Ciudad de México, Mexico.
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
Pornthanakasem W, Riangrungroj P, Chitnumsub P, Ittarat W, Kongkasuriyachai D, Uthaipibull C, Yuthavong Y, Leartsakulpanich U. Role of Plasmodium vivax Dihydropteroate Synthase Polymorphisms in Sulfa Drug Resistance. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2016; 60:4453-63. [PMID: 27161627 PMCID: PMC4958149 DOI: 10.1128/aac.01835-15] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2015] [Accepted: 04/19/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Dihydropteroate synthase (DHPS) is a known sulfa drug target in malaria treatment, existing as a bifunctional enzyme together with hydroxymethyldihydropterin pyrophosphokinase (HPPK). Polymorphisms in key residues of Plasmodium falciparum DHPS (PfDHPS) have been characterized and linked to sulfa drug resistance in malaria. Genetic sequencing of P. vivax dhps (Pvdhps) from clinical isolates has shown several polymorphisms at the positions equivalent to those in the Pfdhps genes conferring sulfa drug resistance, suggesting a mechanism for sulfa drug resistance in P. vivax similar to that seen in P. falciparum To characterize the role of polymorphisms in the PvDHPS in sulfa drug resistance, various mutants of recombinant PvHPPK-DHPS enzymes were expressed and characterized. Moreover, due to the lack of a continuous in vitro culture system for P. vivax parasites, a surrogate P. berghei model expressing Pvhppk-dhps genes was established to demonstrate the relationship between sequence polymorphisms and sulfa drug susceptibility and to test the activities of PvDHPS inhibitors on the transgenic parasites. Both enzyme activity and transgenic parasite growth were sensitive to sulfadoxine to different degrees, depending on the number of mutations that accumulated in DHPS. Ki values and 50% effective doses were higher for mutant PvDHPS enzymes than the wild-type enzymes. Altogether, the study provides the first evidence of sulfa drug resistance at the molecular level in P. vivax Furthermore, the enzyme inhibition assay and the in vivo screening system can be useful tools for screening new compounds for their activities against PvDHPS.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Penchit Chitnumsub
- National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Pathum Thani, Thailand
| | - Wanwipa Ittarat
- National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Pathum Thani, Thailand
| | | | - Chairat Uthaipibull
- National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Pathum Thani, Thailand
| | - Yongyuth Yuthavong
- National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Pathum Thani, Thailand
| | | |
Collapse
|
32
|
Bane KS, Lepper S, Kehrer J, Sattler JM, Singer M, Reinig M, Klug D, Heiss K, Baum J, Mueller AK, Frischknecht F. The Actin Filament-Binding Protein Coronin Regulates Motility in Plasmodium Sporozoites. PLoS Pathog 2016; 12:e1005710. [PMID: 27409081 PMCID: PMC4943629 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1005710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [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: 12/15/2015] [Accepted: 05/26/2016] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Parasites causing malaria need to migrate in order to penetrate tissue barriers and enter host cells. Here we show that the actin filament-binding protein coronin regulates gliding motility in Plasmodium berghei sporozoites, the highly motile forms of a rodent malaria-causing parasite transmitted by mosquitoes. Parasites lacking coronin show motility defects that impair colonization of the mosquito salivary glands but not migration in the skin, yet result in decreased transmission efficiency. In non-motile sporozoites low calcium concentrations mediate actin-independent coronin localization to the periphery. Engagement of extracellular ligands triggers an intracellular calcium release followed by the actin-dependent relocalization of coronin to the rear and initiation of motility. Mutational analysis and imaging suggest that coronin organizes actin filaments for productive motility. Using coronin-mCherry as a marker for the presence of actin filaments we found that protein kinase A contributes to actin filament disassembly. We finally speculate that calcium and cAMP-mediated signaling regulate a switch from rapid parasite motility to host cell invasion by differentially influencing actin dynamics. Parasites causing malaria are transmitted by mosquitoes and need to migrate to cross tissue barriers. The form of the parasite transmitted by the mosquito, the so-called sporozoite, needs motility to enter the salivary glands, to migrate within the skin and to enter into blood capillaries and eventually hepatocytes, where the parasites differentiate into thousands of merozoites that invade red blood cells. Sporozoite motility is based on an actin-myosin motor, as is the case in many other eukaryotic cells. However, most eukaryotic cells move much slower than sporozoites. How these parasites reach their high speed is not clear but current evidence suggests that actin filaments need to be organized by either actin-binding proteins or membrane proteins that link the filaments to an extracellular substrate. The present study explores the role of the actin filament-binding protein coronin in the motility of sporozoites of the rodent model parasite Plasmodium berghei. We found that the deletion of P. berghei coronin leads to defects in parasite motility and thus lower infection of mosquito salivary glands, which translates into less efficient transmission of the parasites. Our experiments suggest that coronin organizes actin filaments to achieve rapid and directional motility. We also identify two signaling pathways that converge to regulate actin filament dynamics and suggest that they play a role in switching the parasite from its motility mode to a cell invasion mode.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kartik S. Bane
- Integrative Parasitology, Center for Infectious Diseases, University of Heidelberg Medical School, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Simone Lepper
- Integrative Parasitology, Center for Infectious Diseases, University of Heidelberg Medical School, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Jessica Kehrer
- Integrative Parasitology, Center for Infectious Diseases, University of Heidelberg Medical School, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Julia M. Sattler
- Integrative Parasitology, Center for Infectious Diseases, University of Heidelberg Medical School, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Mirko Singer
- Integrative Parasitology, Center for Infectious Diseases, University of Heidelberg Medical School, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Miriam Reinig
- Integrative Parasitology, Center for Infectious Diseases, University of Heidelberg Medical School, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Dennis Klug
- Integrative Parasitology, Center for Infectious Diseases, University of Heidelberg Medical School, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Kirsten Heiss
- Parasitology, Center for Infectious Diseases, University of Heidelberg Medical School, Heidelberg, Germany
- Malva GmbH, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Jake Baum
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Ann-Kristin Mueller
- Parasitology, Center for Infectious Diseases, University of Heidelberg Medical School, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Friedrich Frischknecht
- Integrative Parasitology, Center for Infectious Diseases, University of Heidelberg Medical School, Heidelberg, Germany
- * E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
Padín-Irizarry V, Colón-Lorenzo EE, Vega-Rodríguez J, Castro MDR, González-Méndez R, Ayala-Peña S, Serrano AE. Glutathione-deficient Plasmodium berghei parasites exhibit growth delay and nuclear DNA damage. Free Radic Biol Med 2016; 95:43-54. [PMID: 26952808 PMCID: PMC4934901 DOI: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2016.02.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2015] [Revised: 02/26/2016] [Accepted: 02/28/2016] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Plasmodium parasites are exposed to endogenous and exogenous oxidative stress during their complex life cycle. To minimize oxidative damage, the parasites use glutathione (GSH) and thioredoxin (Trx) as primary antioxidants. We previously showed that disruption of the Plasmodium berghei gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase (pbggcs-ko) or the glutathione reductase (pbgr-ko) genes resulted in a significant reduction of GSH in intraerythrocytic stages, and a defect in growth in the pbggcs-ko parasites. In this report, time course experiments of parasite intraerythrocytic development and morphological studies showed a growth delay during the ring to schizont progression. Morphological analysis shows a significant reduction in size (diameter) of trophozoites and schizonts with increased number of cytoplasmic vacuoles in the pbggcs-ko parasites in comparison to the wild type (WT). Furthermore, the pbggcs-ko mutants exhibited an impaired response to oxidative stress and increased levels of nuclear DNA (nDNA) damage. Reduced GSH levels did not result in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) damage or protein carbonylations in neither pbggcs-ko nor pbgr-ko parasites. In addition, the pbggcs-ko mutant parasites showed an increase in mRNA expression of genes involved in oxidative stress detoxification and DNA synthesis, suggesting a potential compensatory mechanism to allow for parasite proliferation. These results reveal that low GSH levels affect parasite development through the impairment of oxidative stress reduction systems and damage to the nDNA. Our studies provide new insights into the role of the GSH antioxidant system in the intraerythrocytic development of Plasmodium parasites, with potential translation into novel pharmacological interventions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Vivian Padín-Irizarry
- Department of Microbiology and Medical Zoology, University of Puerto Rico, School of Medicine, San Juan 00936-5067, Puerto Rico
| | - Emilee E Colón-Lorenzo
- Department of Microbiology and Medical Zoology, University of Puerto Rico, School of Medicine, San Juan 00936-5067, Puerto Rico
| | - Joel Vega-Rodríguez
- Department of Microbiology and Medical Zoology, University of Puerto Rico, School of Medicine, San Juan 00936-5067, Puerto Rico
| | - María Del R Castro
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Puerto Rico, School of Medicine, San Juan 00936-5067, Puerto Rico
| | - Ricardo González-Méndez
- Department of Radiological Sciences, University of Puerto Rico, School of Medicine, San Juan 00936-5067, Puerto Rico
| | - Sylvette Ayala-Peña
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Puerto Rico, School of Medicine, San Juan 00936-5067, Puerto Rico
| | - Adelfa E Serrano
- Department of Microbiology and Medical Zoology, University of Puerto Rico, School of Medicine, San Juan 00936-5067, Puerto Rico.
| |
Collapse
|
34
|
Chisholm SA, McHugh E, Lundie R, Dixon MWA, Ghosh S, O’Keefe M, Tilley L, Kalanon M, de Koning-Ward TF. Contrasting Inducible Knockdown of the Auxiliary PTEX Component PTEX88 in P. falciparum and P. berghei Unmasks a Role in Parasite Virulence. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0149296. [PMID: 26886275 PMCID: PMC4757573 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0149296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2015] [Accepted: 01/29/2016] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Pathogenesis of malaria infections is linked to remodeling of erythrocytes, a process dependent on the trafficking of hundreds of parasite-derived proteins into the host erythrocyte. Recent studies have demonstrated that the Plasmodium translocon of exported proteins (PTEX) serves as the central gateway for trafficking of these proteins, as inducible knockdown of the core PTEX constituents blocked the trafficking of all classes of cargo into the erythrocyte. However, the role of the auxiliary component PTEX88 in protein export remains less clear. Here we have used inducible knockdown technologies in P. falciparum and P. berghei to assess the role of PTEX88 in parasite development and protein export, which reveal that the in vivo growth of PTEX88-deficient parasites is hindered. Interestingly, we were unable to link this observation to a general defect in export of a variety of known parasite proteins, suggesting that PTEX88 functions in a different fashion to the core PTEX components. Strikingly, PTEX88-deficient P. berghei were incapable of causing cerebral malaria despite a robust pro-inflammatory response from the host. These parasites also exhibited a reduced ability to sequester in peripheral tissues and were removed more readily from the circulation by the spleen. In keeping with these findings, PTEX88-deficient P. falciparum-infected erythrocytes displayed reduced binding to the endothelial cell receptor, CD36. This suggests that PTEX88 likely plays a specific direct or indirect role in mediating parasite sequestration rather than making a universal contribution to the trafficking of all exported proteins.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Scott A. Chisholm
- School of Medicine, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, Victoria, Australia
| | - Emma McHugh
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Bio21 Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Rachel Lundie
- The Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Matthew W. A. Dixon
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Bio21 Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Sreejoyee Ghosh
- School of Medicine, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, Victoria, Australia
| | | | - Leann Tilley
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Bio21 Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Ming Kalanon
- School of Medicine, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, Victoria, Australia
| | | |
Collapse
|
35
|
Slavic K, Krishna S, Lahree A, Bouyer G, Hanson KK, Vera I, Pittman JK, Staines HM, Mota MM. A vacuolar iron-transporter homologue acts as a detoxifier in Plasmodium. Nat Commun 2016; 7:10403. [PMID: 26786069 PMCID: PMC4735874 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms10403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [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: 05/16/2015] [Accepted: 12/07/2015] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Iron is an essential micronutrient but is also highly toxic. In yeast and plant cells, a key detoxifying mechanism involves iron sequestration into intracellular storage compartments, mediated by members of the vacuolar iron-transporter (VIT) family of proteins. Here we study the VIT homologue from the malaria parasites Plasmodium falciparum (PfVIT) and Plasmodium berghei (PbVIT). PfVIT-mediated iron transport in a yeast heterologous expression system is saturable (Km ∼ 14.7 μM), and selective for Fe(2+) over other divalent cations. PbVIT-deficient P. berghei lines (Pbvit(-)) show a reduction in parasite load in both liver and blood stages of infection in mice. Moreover, Pbvit(-) parasites have higher levels of labile iron in blood stages and are more sensitive to increased iron levels in liver stages, when compared with wild-type parasites. Our data are consistent with Plasmodium VITs playing a major role in iron detoxification and, thus, normal development of malaria parasites in their mammalian host.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ksenija Slavic
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-028 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Sanjeev Krishna
- Institute for Infection & Immunity, St. George's, University of London, London SW17 0RE, UK
| | - Aparajita Lahree
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-028 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Guillaume Bouyer
- Institute for Infection & Immunity, St. George's, University of London, London SW17 0RE, UK
- Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 6, CNRS, UMR 8227, Comparative Physiology of Erythrocytes, Station Biologique de Roscoff, CS 90074, 29688 Roscoff, France
| | - Kirsten K. Hanson
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-028 Lisbon, Portugal
- Present address: University of Texas at San Antonio, Department of Biology and STCEID, San Antonio, Texas 78249, USA
| | - Iset Vera
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-028 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Jon K. Pittman
- Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, UK
| | - Henry M. Staines
- Institute for Infection & Immunity, St. George's, University of London, London SW17 0RE, UK
| | - Maria M. Mota
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-028 Lisbon, Portugal
| |
Collapse
|
36
|
Meadows DN, Bahous RH, Best AF, Rozen R. High Dietary Folate in Mice Alters Immune Response and Reduces Survival after Malarial Infection. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0143738. [PMID: 26599510 PMCID: PMC4658061 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0143738] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [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: 06/16/2015] [Accepted: 11/09/2015] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Malaria is a significant global health issue, with nearly 200 million cases in 2013 alone. Parasites obtain folate from the host or synthesize it de novo. Folate consumption has increased in many populations, prompting concerns regarding potential deleterious consequences of higher intake. The impact of high dietary folate on the host’s immune function and response to malaria has not been examined. Our goal was to determine whether high dietary folate would affect response to malarial infection in a murine model of cerebral malaria. Mice were fed control diets (CD, recommended folate level for rodents) or folic acid-supplemented diets (FASD, 10x recommended level) for 5 weeks before infection with Plasmodium berghei ANKA. Survival, parasitemia, numbers of immune cells and other infection parameters were assessed. FASD mice had reduced survival (p<0.01, Cox proportional hazards) and higher parasitemia (p< 0.01, joint model of parasitemia and survival) compared with CD mice. FASD mice had lower numbers of splenocytes, total T cells, and lower numbers of specific T and NK cell sub-populations, compared with CD mice (p<0.05, linear mixed effects). Increased brain TNFα immunoreactive protein (p<0.01, t-test) and increased liver Abca1 mRNA (p<0.01, t-test), a modulator of TNFα, were observed in FASD mice; these variables correlated positively (rs = 0.63, p = 0.01). Bcl-xl/Bak mRNA was increased in liver of FASD mice (p<0.01, t-test), suggesting reduced apoptotic potential. We conclude that high dietary folate increases parasite replication, disturbs the immune response and reduces resistance to malaria in mice. These findings have relevance for malaria-endemic regions, when considering anti-folate anti-malarials, food fortification or vitamin supplementation programs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Danielle N. Meadows
- Department of Human Genetics, McGill University, McGill University Health Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Renata H. Bahous
- Department of Human Genetics, McGill University, McGill University Health Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Ana F. Best
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Rima Rozen
- Department of Human Genetics, McGill University, McGill University Health Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Department of Pediatrics, McGill University, McGill University Health Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- * E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
37
|
Burda PC, Roelli MA, Schaffner M, Khan SM, Janse CJ, Heussler VT. A Plasmodium phospholipase is involved in disruption of the liver stage parasitophorous vacuole membrane. PLoS Pathog 2015; 11:e1004760. [PMID: 25786000 PMCID: PMC4364735 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1004760] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2014] [Accepted: 02/22/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The coordinated exit of intracellular pathogens from host cells is a process critical to the success and spread of an infection. While phospholipases have been shown to play important roles in bacteria host cell egress and virulence, their role in the release of intracellular eukaryotic parasites is largely unknown. We examined a malaria parasite protein with phospholipase activity and found it to be involved in hepatocyte egress. In hepatocytes, Plasmodium parasites are surrounded by a parasitophorous vacuole membrane (PVM), which must be disrupted before parasites are released into the blood. However, on a molecular basis, little is known about how the PVM is ruptured. We show that Plasmodium berghei phospholipase, PbPL, localizes to the PVM in infected hepatocytes. We provide evidence that parasites lacking PbPL undergo completely normal liver stage development until merozoites are produced but have a defect in egress from host hepatocytes. To investigate this further, we established a live-cell imaging-based assay, which enabled us to study the temporal dynamics of PVM rupture on a quantitative basis. Using this assay we could show that PbPL-deficient parasites exhibit impaired PVM rupture, resulting in delayed parasite egress. A wild-type phenotype could be re-established by gene complementation, demonstrating the specificity of the PbPL deletion phenotype. In conclusion, we have identified for the first time a Plasmodium phospholipase that is important for PVM rupture and in turn for parasite exit from the infected hepatocyte and therefore established a key role of a parasite phospholipase in egress. Leaving their host cell is a crucial process for intracellular pathogens, allowing successful infection of other cells and thereby spreading of infection. Plasmodium parasites infect hepatocytes and red blood cells, and inside these cells they are contained within a vacuole like many other intracellular pathogens. Before parasites can infect other cells, the surrounding parasitophorous vacuole membrane (PVM) needs to be ruptured. However, little is known about this process on a molecular level and Plasmodium proteins mediating lysis of the PVM during parasite egress have not so far been identified. In this study, we characterize a Plasmodium phospholipase and show that it localizes to the PVM of parasites within hepatocytes. We demonstrate that parasites lacking this protein have a defect in rupture of the PVM and thereby in host cell egress. In conclusion, our study shows for the first time that a phospholipase plays a role in PVM disruption of an intracellular eukaryotic parasite.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Paul-Christian Burda
- Institute of Cell Biology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Graduate School of Cellular Biology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- * E-mail:
| | | | - Marco Schaffner
- Institute of Cell Biology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Shahid M. Khan
- Leiden Malaria Research Group, Department of Parasitology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Chris J. Janse
- Leiden Malaria Research Group, Department of Parasitology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | | |
Collapse
|
38
|
Salman AM, Mogollon CM, Lin JW, van Pul FJA, Janse CJ, Khan SM. Generation of Transgenic Rodent Malaria Parasites Expressing Human Malaria Parasite Proteins. Methods Mol Biol 2015; 1325:257-286. [PMID: 26450395 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-2815-6_21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
We describe methods for the rapid generation of transgenic rodent Plasmodium berghei (Pb) parasites that express human malaria parasite (HMP) proteins, using the recently developed GIMO-based transfection methodology. Three different genetic modifications are described resulting in three types of transgenic parasites. (1) Additional Gene (AG) mutants. In these mutants the HMP gene is introduced as an "additional gene" into a silent/neutral locus of the Pb genome under the control of either a constitutive or stage-specific Pb promoter. This method uses the GIMO-transfection protocol and AG mutants are generated by replacing the positive-negative selection marker (SM) hdhfr::yfcu cassette in a neutral locus of a standard GIMO mother line with the HMP gene expression cassette, resulting in SM free transgenic parasites. (2) Double-step Replacement (DsR) mutants. In these mutants the coding sequence (CDS) of the Pb gene is replaced with the CDS of the HMP ortholog in a two-step GIMO-transfection procedure. This process involves first the replacement of the Pb CDS with the hdhfr::yfcu SM, followed by insertion of the HMP ortholog at the same locus thereby replacing hdhfr::yfcu with the HMP CDS. These steps use the GIMO-transfection protocol, which exploits both positive selection for Pb orthologous gene-deletion and negative selection for HMP gene-insertion, resulting in SM free transgenic parasites. (3) Double-step Insertion (DsI) mutants. When a Pb gene is essential for blood stage development the DsR strategy is not possible. In these mutants the HMP expression cassette is first introduced into the neutral locus in a standard GIMO mother line as described for AG mutants but under the control elements of the Pb orthologous gene; subsequently, the Pb ortholog CDS is targeted for deletion through replacement of the Pb CDS with the hdhfr::yfcu SM, resulting in transgenic parasites with a new GIMO locus permissive for additional gene-insertion modifications.The different types of transgenic parasites can be exploited to examine interactions of drugs/inhibitors or immune factors with HMP molecules in vivo. Mice either immunized with HMP-vaccines or treated with specific drugs can be infected/challenged with these transgenic mutants to evaluate drug or vaccine efficacy in vivo.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed M Salman
- Leiden Malaria Research Group, Department of Parasitology, LUMC, Leiden, The Netherlands
- The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | | | - Jing-Wen Lin
- Leiden Malaria Research Group, Department of Parasitology, LUMC, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Division of Parasitology, MRC National Institute for Medical Research, London, UK
| | - Fiona J A van Pul
- Leiden Malaria Research Group, Department of Parasitology, LUMC, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Chris J Janse
- Leiden Malaria Research Group, Department of Parasitology, LUMC, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Shahid M Khan
- Leiden Malaria Research Group, Department of Parasitology, LUMC, Leiden, The Netherlands.
| |
Collapse
|
39
|
Abstract
Host cell traversal by Plasmodium, the protozoan cause of malaria, is an essential part of this parasite's virulence. In this process, the parasite enters a host cell through a parasite-induced pore, traverses the host cell, and then exits the host cell. Two P. berghei proteins, SPECT1 and SPECT2, are required for host cell traversal by the sporozoite form of the parasite. In the absence of either, no pore formation is observed. While SPECT2 has sequence homology to pore-forming proteins, SPECT1 has no homology to proteins of known structure or function. Here we present the 2.75 Å resolution structure of a slightly truncated version of P. berghei SPECT1. The structure reveals that the protein forms a four-helix bundle, with the rare feature of having all of these helices in parallel or antiparallel alignment. Also notable is the presence of a large, conserved, hydrophobic internal cavity in the protein, which may constitute a ligand-binding site or be indicative of partial instability in SPECT1, or both. The structure of SPECT1 will make possible targeted mutagenesis experiments aimed at understanding its mechanism of action in host cell traversal.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Brent Y. Hamaoka
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Partho Ghosh
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
40
|
Thomé R, Bombeiro AL, Issayama LK, Rapôso C, Lopes SCP, da Costa TA, Di Gangi R, Ferreira IT, Longhini ALF, Oliveira ALR, da Cruz Höfling MA, Costa FTM, Verinaud L. Exacerbation of autoimmune neuro-inflammation in mice cured from blood-stage Plasmodium berghei infection. PLoS One 2014; 9:e110739. [PMID: 25329161 PMCID: PMC4201583 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0110739] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2014] [Accepted: 09/16/2014] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The thymus plays an important role shaping the T cell repertoire in the periphery, partly, through the elimination of inflammatory auto-reactive cells. It has been shown that, during Plasmodium berghei infection, the thymus is rendered atrophic by the premature egress of CD4+CD8+ double-positive (DP) T cells to the periphery. To investigate whether autoimmune diseases are affected after Plasmodium berghei NK65 infection, we immunized C57BL/6 mice, which was previously infected with P. berghei NK65 and treated with chloroquine (CQ), with MOG35-55 peptide and the clinical course of Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis (EAE) was evaluated. Our results showed that NK65+CQ+EAE mice developed a more severe disease than control EAE mice. The same pattern of disease severity was observed in MOG35-55-immunized mice after adoptive transfer of P. berghei-elicited splenic DP-T cells. The higher frequency of IL-17+- and IFN-γ+-producing DP lymphocytes in the Central Nervous System of these mice suggests that immature lymphocytes contribute to disease worsening. To our knowledge, this is the first study to integrate the possible relationship between malaria and multiple sclerosis through the contribution of the thymus. Notwithstanding, further studies must be conducted to assert the relevance of malaria-induced thymic atrophy in the susceptibility and clinical course of other inflammatory autoimmune diseases.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rodolfo Thomé
- Department of Structural and Functional Biology, Institute of Biology, University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil
| | - André Luis Bombeiro
- Department of Structural and Functional Biology, Institute of Biology, University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil
| | - Luidy Kazuo Issayama
- Department of Structural and Functional Biology, Institute of Biology, University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil
| | - Catarina Rapôso
- Department of Histology and Embryology, Institute of Biology, University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil
| | - Stefanie Costa Pinto Lopes
- Department of Genetics, Evolution and Bioagents, Institute of Biology, University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil
| | - Thiago Alves da Costa
- Department of Structural and Functional Biology, Institute of Biology, University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil
| | - Rosária Di Gangi
- Department of Structural and Functional Biology, Institute of Biology, University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil
| | - Isadora Tassinari Ferreira
- Department of Structural and Functional Biology, Institute of Biology, University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil
| | | | | | | | | | - Liana Verinaud
- Department of Structural and Functional Biology, Institute of Biology, University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
41
|
Adebajo AC, Odediran SA, Aliyu FA, Nwafor PA, Nwoko NT, Umana US. In vivo antiplasmodial potentials of the combinations of four nigerian antimalarial plants. Molecules 2014; 19:13136-46. [PMID: 25162955 PMCID: PMC6271372 DOI: 10.3390/molecules190913136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2014] [Revised: 08/18/2014] [Accepted: 08/19/2014] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Various combinations of Nauclea latifolia root, Artocarpus altilis stem bark, Murraya koenigii leaf and Enantia chlorantha stem bark used in African ethnomedicine as decoctions for malaria and fevers, and combinations with standard drugs, were investigated for antiplasmodial activities using Plasmodium berghei berghei-infected mice. The respective prophylactic and curative ED50 values of 189.4 and 174.5 mg/kg for N. latifolia and chemosuppressive ED50 value of 227.2 mg/kg for A. altilis showed that they were the best antimalarial herbal drugs. A 1.6-fold increase of the survival time given by the negative control was elicited by M. koenigii, thereby confirming its curative activity. Pyrimethamine with an ED50 of 0.5 ± 0.1 mg/kg for the prophylactic, and chloroquine with ED50 = 2.2 ± 0.1 and 2.2 ± 0.0 mg/kg for the chemosuppressive and curative tests, respectively, were significantly (p < 0.05) more active. Co-administrations of N. latifolia with the standard drugs significantly reduced their prophylactic, chemosuppressive and curative actions, possibly increasing the parasites' resistance. Binary combinations of N. latifolia or M. koenigii with any of the other plants significantly increased the prophylactic and suppressive activities of their individual plants, respectively. Also, E. chlorantha with A. altilis or N. latifolia enhanced their respective prophylactic or curative activities, making these combinations most beneficial against malaria infections. Combinations of three and four extracts gave varied activities. Hence, the results justified the combinations of ethnomedicinal plants in antimalarial herbal remedies and showed the importance of the three in vivo models in establishing antimalarial activity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Adeleke Clement Adebajo
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife 220282, Osun State, Nigeria.
| | - Samuel Akintunde Odediran
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife 220282, Osun State, Nigeria
| | - Fatimah Abosede Aliyu
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife 220282, Osun State, Nigeria
| | - Paul Alozie Nwafor
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Uyo, Uyo 520003, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria
| | - Ndifreke Thomas Nwoko
- Department of Pharmacognosy and Herbal Medicine, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Uyo, Uyo 520003, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria
| | - Usenobong Samuel Umana
- Department of Pharmacognosy and Herbal Medicine, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Uyo, Uyo 520003, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria
| |
Collapse
|
42
|
Pirta C, Banyal HS. 43 kDa and 66 kDa, two blood stage antigens induce immune response in Plasmodium berghei malaria. Indian J Exp Biol 2014; 52:781-786. [PMID: 25141540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
The hunt for an effective vaccine against malaria still continues. Several new target antigens as candidates for vaccine design are being explored and tested for their efficacy. In the present study the sera from mice immunized with 24,000 x g fraction of Plasmodium berghei has been used to identify highly immunogenic blood stage antigens. The protective antibodies present in immune sera were covalently immobilized on CNBr activated sepharose 4B and used for affinity chromatography purification of antigens present in blood stages of P. berghei. Two polypeptides of 66 and 43 kDa molecular weights proved to be highly immunogenic. They exhibited a strong humoral immune response in mice as evident by high titres in ELISA and IFA. Protective immunity by these two antigens was apparent by in vivo and in vitro studies. These two proteins could further be analysed and used as antigens in malaria vaccine design.
Collapse
|
43
|
Singhal N, Mastan BS, Kumar KA, Sijwali PS. Genetic ablation of plasmoDJ1, a multi-activity enzyme, attenuates parasite virulence and reduces oocyst production. Biochem J 2014; 461:189-203. [PMID: 25097910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Malaria parasites must respond to stresses and environmental signals to perpetuate efficiently during their multistage development in diverse environments. To gain insights into the parasite's stress response mechanisms, we investigated a conserved Plasmodium protein, which we have named plasmoDJ1 on the basis of the presence of a putative cysteine protease motif of the DJ-1/PfpI superfamily, for its activities, potential to respond to stresses and role in parasite development. PlasmoDJ1 is expressed in all intraerythrocytic stages and ookinetes. Its expression was increased 7-9-fold upon heat shock and oxidative stress due to H2O2 and artemisinin; its expression in a stress-sensitive Escherichia coli mutant conferred tolerance against oxidative stress, indicating that plasmoDJ1 has the potential to sense and/or protect from stresses. Recombinant plasmoDJ1 efficiently neutralized H2O2, facilitated renaturation of denatured citrate synthase and showed protease activity, indicating that plasmoDJ1 is a multi-activity protein. Mutation of the catalytic cysteine residue, but not other residues, reduced H2O2-neutralization activity by ~90% and significantly decreased chaperone and protease activities, indicating that these activities are intrinsic to plasmoDJ1. The plasmoDJ1 gene knockout in Plasmodium berghei ANKA attenuated virulence and reduced oocyst production, suggesting a major role for plasmoDJ1 in parasite development, which probably depends on its multiple activities.
Collapse
|
44
|
Tewari R, Patzewitz EM, Poulin B, Stewart L, Baker DA. Development of a transgenic Plasmodium berghei line (Pb pfpkg) expressing the P. falciparum cGMP-dependent protein kinase, a novel antimalarial drug target. PLoS One 2014; 9:e96923. [PMID: 24805991 PMCID: PMC4013051 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0096923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [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: 02/14/2014] [Accepted: 04/12/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
With the inevitable selection of resistance to antimalarial drugs in treated populations, there is a need for new medicines to enter the clinic and new targets to progress through the drug discovery pipeline. In this study we set out to develop a transgenic rodent model for testing inhibitors of the Plasmodium falciparum cyclic GMP-dependent kinase in vivo. A model was needed that would allow us to investigate whether differences in amino acid sequence of this enzyme between species influences in vivo efficacy. Here we report the successful development of a transgenic P. berghei line in which the cyclic GMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG) was replaced by the P. falciparum orthologue. We demonstrate that the P. falciparum orthologue was able to functionally complement the endogenous P. berghei pkg gene throughout blood stage development and early sexual development. However, subsequent development in the mosquito was severely compromised. We show that this is due to a defect in the female lineage of the transgenic by using genetic crosses with both male and female deficient P. berghei lines. This defect could be due to expression of a female-specific target in the mosquito stages of P. berghei that cannot be phosphorylated by the P. falciparum kinase. Using a previously reported anti-coccidial inhibitor of the cyclic GMP-dependent protein kinase, we show no difference in in vivo efficacy between the transgenic and control P. berghei lines. This in vivo model will be useful for screening future generations of cyclic GMP-dependent protein kinase inhibitors and allowing us to overcome any species-specific differences in the enzyme primary sequence that would influence in vivo efficacy in the rodent model. The approach will also be applicable to in vivo testing of other antimalarial compounds where the target is known.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rita Tewari
- Centre for Genetics and Genomics, School of Life Sciences, Queens Medical Centre, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
- * E-mail: (RT); (DAB)
| | - Eva-Maria Patzewitz
- Centre for Genetics and Genomics, School of Life Sciences, Queens Medical Centre, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Benoit Poulin
- Centre for Genetics and Genomics, School of Life Sciences, Queens Medical Centre, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Lindsay Stewart
- Department of Pathogen Molecular Biology, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | - David A. Baker
- Department of Pathogen Molecular Biology, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
- * E-mail: (RT); (DAB)
| |
Collapse
|
45
|
Ampawong S, Chaisri U, Viriyavejakul P, Nontprasert A, Grau GE, Pongponratn E. Electron microscopic features of brain edema in rodent cerebral malaria in relation to glial fibrillary acidic protein expression. Int J Clin Exp Pathol 2014; 7:2056-2067. [PMID: 24966914 PMCID: PMC4069908] [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] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2014] [Accepted: 04/04/2014] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
The mechanisms leading to cerebral malaria (CM) are not completely understood. Brain edema has been suggested as having an important role in experimental CM. In this study, CBA/CaH mice were infected with Plasmodium berghei ANKA blood-stage and when typical symptoms of CM developed on day 7, brain tissues were processed for electron-microscopic and immunohistochemical studies. The study demonstrated ultrastructural hallmarks of cerebral edema by perivascular edema and astroglial dilatation confirming existing evidence of vasogenic and cytogenic edema. This correlates closely with the clinical features of CM. An adaptive response of astrocytic activity, represented by increasing glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expression in the perivascular area and increasing numbers of large astrocyte clusters were predominately found in the CM mice. The presence of multivesicular and lamellar bodies indicates the severity of cerebral damage in experimental CM. Congestion of the microvessels with occluded white blood cells (WBCs), parasitized red blood cells (PRBCs) and platelets is also a crucial covariate role for CM pathogenesis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sumate Ampawong
- Department of Tropical Pathology, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University420/6, Ratchawithi Road, Ratchathewi, Bangkok, 10400, Thailand
| | - Urai Chaisri
- Department of Tropical Pathology, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University420/6, Ratchawithi Road, Ratchathewi, Bangkok, 10400, Thailand
| | - Parnpen Viriyavejakul
- Department of Tropical Pathology, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University420/6, Ratchawithi Road, Ratchathewi, Bangkok, 10400, Thailand
| | - Apichart Nontprasert
- Department of Clinical Tropical Medicine, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University420/6, Ratchawithi Road, Ratchathewi, Bangkok, 10400, Thailand
| | - Georges E Grau
- Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine and Bosch Institute, University of Sydney92-94, Parramatta Road, Camperdown, NSW, 2050, Australia
| | - Emsri Pongponratn
- Department of Tropical Pathology, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University420/6, Ratchawithi Road, Ratchathewi, Bangkok, 10400, Thailand
| |
Collapse
|
46
|
El-Assaad F, Wheway J, Hunt NH, Grau GER, Combes V. Production, fate and pathogenicity of plasma microparticles in murine cerebral malaria. PLoS Pathog 2014; 10:e1003839. [PMID: 24651155 PMCID: PMC3961352 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1003839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [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: 07/25/2013] [Accepted: 11/04/2013] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
In patients with cerebral malaria (CM), higher levels of cell-specific microparticles (MP) correlate with the presence of neurological symptoms. MP are submicron plasma membrane-derived vesicles that express antigens of their cell of origin and phosphatidylserine (PS) on their surface, facilitating their role in coagulation, inflammation and cell adhesion. In this study, the in vivo production, fate and pathogenicity of cell-specific MP during Plasmodium berghei infection of mice were evaluated. Using annexin V, a PS ligand, and flow cytometry, analysis of platelet-free plasma from infected mice with cerebral involvement showed a peak of MP levels at the time of the neurological onset. Phenotypic analyses showed that MP from infected mice were predominantly of platelet, endothelial and erythrocytic origins. To determine the in vivo fate of MP, we adoptively transferred fluorescently labelled MP from mice with CM into healthy or infected recipient mice. MP were quickly cleared following intravenous injection, but microscopic examination revealed arrested MP lining the endothelium of brain vessels of infected, but not healthy, recipient mice. To determine the pathogenicity of MP, we transferred MP from activated endothelial cells into healthy recipient mice and this induced CM-like brain and lung pathology. This study supports a pathogenic role for MP in the aggravation of the neurological lesion and suggests a causal relationship between MP and the development of CM. Cerebral malaria (CM) is a potentially fatal neurological syndrome characterised by unrousable coma. Since the detection of high levels of plasma microparticles (MP) in patients with CM, it has been demonstrated that inhibition of MP production confers protection from murine CM. However, the precise mechanisms of action of these MP during CM have not been completely deciphered. In this study, we used experimental models of CM to measure the production and origins of MP over the course of infection. We found low baseline circulating MP in healthy mice and these were subsequently raised at the time of the neurological syndrome. Phenotypic analyses showed that circulating MP were predominantly from activated host cells that have previously been established to participate in CM pathogenesis. We show for the first time transferred MP impairing endothelial integrity and inducing CM-like pathology in the brain and lung of healthy animals. Our study dissects what tissues these MP localise to exert their effects, as little is known about their fate following the initial release. These data suggest a causal relationship between MP and the development of CM and also warrant further investigation into the representation of MP as a marker of CM risk.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Fatima El-Assaad
- Vascular Immunology Unit, Department of Pathology, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Julie Wheway
- Vascular Immunology Unit, Department of Pathology, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Nicholas H. Hunt
- Molecular Immunopathology Unit, Department of Pathology, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Georges E. R. Grau
- Vascular Immunology Unit, Department of Pathology, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Valery Combes
- Vascular Immunology Unit, Department of Pathology, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
- * E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
47
|
Oliveira-Lima OC, Bernardes D, Xavier Pinto MC, Esteves Arantes RM, Carvalho-Tavares J. Mice lacking inducible nitric oxide synthase develop exacerbated hepatic inflammatory responses induced by Plasmodium berghei NK65 infection. Microbes Infect 2013; 15:903-10. [PMID: 23988520 DOI: 10.1016/j.micinf.2013.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2013] [Revised: 08/03/2013] [Accepted: 08/06/2013] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Infection of mice with Plasmodium berghei NK65 represents a well-recognized malaria model in which infection is accompanied by an intense hepatic inflammatory response. Enzyme-inducible nitric oxide synthase is an important regulator of inflammation and leukocyte recruitment in microvessels, but these functions have yet to be evaluated in experimental malaria. In this study, we assessed the involvement of inducible nitric oxide synthase in inflammatory responses to murine experimental malaria induced by P. berghei NK65. We observed that wild type (WT) and nitric oxide synthase (iNOS)-deficient mice (iNOS(-/-)) mice showed similar levels of parasitemia following P. berghei NK65 infection, although infected iNOS(-/-) mice presented early mortality. Inducible nitric oxide synthase deficiency led to increased leukocyte rolling and adhesion to the liver in iNOS(-/-) mice relative to the WT animals, as observed via intravital microscopy. Infected iNOS(-/-) mice also exhibited increased hepatic leukocyte migration and subsequent liver damage, which was associated with high serum levels of the cytokines TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-10. Our data suggest potential role for the iNOS enzyme as a regulator of hepatic inflammatory response induced by P. berghei NK65-infection, and its absence leads to exacerbated inflammation and sequential associated-hepatic damage in the animals.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Onésia Cristina Oliveira-Lima
- Núcleo de Neurociências, Departamento de Fisiologia e Biofísica, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antônio Carlos, 6627, Pampulha, Belo Horizonte, MG 31270-901, Brazil
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
48
|
Kabiru AY, Gbodi ATA, Bello UM, Makun HA, Amah DJ, Ogbadoyi EO. Evaluation of haematological changes in Plasmodium-berghei-infected mice administered with aqueous extract of Phyllantus amarus. Pak J Biol Sci 2013; 16:510-516. [PMID: 24498819 DOI: 10.3923/pjbs.2013.510.516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
This study was designed to evaluate the changes in some hematological parameters of P-berghei-infected mice treated with aqueous extract of Phyllantus amarus, a plant that is used traditionally to treat malaria patients in some Nigerian communities. The aqueous extract of the leaves at 200, 400 and 600 mg kg(-1) body weight/day dose levels were used to treat the test groups immediately after infection for the suppressive test and 72 hours post infection for the curative test while a standard antimalarial drug, Artesunate, at a dose of 50 mg kg(-1) body weight was administered on the positive control group. The negative control group was left untreated. The level of parasitemia, variation in weight, Percentage Packed Cell Volume (% PCV), erythrocytes (RBC) and leukocytes (WBC) counts in the different groups were monitored throughout the period of study. The crude extract was screened for its phytochemical composition. The crude extract at 200, 400 and 600 mg kg(-1) body weight/day suppressed parasitemia by 54.67, 61.25 and 61.24% after treating for four days in the suppressive test as against 72.32% for the standard drug while the level of parasitemia was reduced by 64.35, 66.71 and 67.13%, respectively after treating for five days in the curative test as against 71.87% for the standard drug. The variations in the values of Percentage Packed Cell Volume (% PCV), weight, leukocyte and erythrocyte counts for treated groups before and after treatment was not significant (p < 0.05). Alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, glycosides, saponin, carbohydrate and phenols were found to be present in the crude extract. The findings of this study show that the use of Phyllantus amarus as antimalaria regimen by local medical practitioners does not adversely affect the weight and the haematological parameters determined.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- A Y Kabiru
- Trypanosomiasis and Malaria Research Unit, Department of Biochemistry, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria
| | - A Timothy A Gbodi
- Trypanosomiasis and Malaria Research Unit, Department of Biochemistry, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria
| | - U M Bello
- Trypanosomiasis and Malaria Research Unit, Department of Biochemistry, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria
| | - Hussaini Anthony Makun
- Trypanosomiasis and Malaria Research Unit, Department of Biochemistry, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria
| | - D J Amah
- Trypanosomiasis and Malaria Research Unit, Department of Biochemistry, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria
| | - E O Ogbadoyi
- Trypanosomiasis and Malaria Research Unit, Department of Biochemistry, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria
| |
Collapse
|
49
|
Turturice BA, Lamm MA, Tasch JJ, Zalewski A, Kooistra R, Schroeter EH, Sharma S, Kawazu SI, Kanzok SM. Expression of cytosolic peroxiredoxins in Plasmodium berghei ookinetes is regulated by environmental factors in the mosquito bloodmeal. PLoS Pathog 2013; 9:e1003136. [PMID: 23382676 PMCID: PMC3561267 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1003136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2012] [Accepted: 11/29/2012] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The Plasmodium ookinete develops over several hours in the bloodmeal of its mosquito vector where it is exposed to exogenous stresses, including cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS). How the parasite adapts to these challenging conditions is not well understood. We have systematically investigated the expression of three cytosolic antioxidant proteins, thioredoxin-1 (Trx-1), peroxiredoxin-1 (TPx-1), and 1-Cys peroxiredoxin (1-Cys Prx), in developing ookinetes of the rodent parasite Plasmodium berghei under various growth conditions. Transcriptional profiling showed that tpx-1 and 1-cys prx but not trx-1 are more strongly upregulated in ookinetes developing in the mosquito bloodmeal when compared to ookinetes growing under culture conditions. Confocal immunofluorescence imaging revealed comparable expression patterns on the corresponding proteins. 1-Cys Prx in particular exhibited strong expression in mosquito-derived ookinetes but was not detectable in cultured ookinetes. Furthermore, ookinetes growing in culture upregulated tpx-1 and 1-cys prx when challenged with exogenous ROS in a dose-dependent fashion. This suggests that environmental factors in the mosquito bloodmeal induce upregulation of cytosolic antioxidant proteins in Plasmodium ookinetes. We found that in a parasite line lacking TPx-1 (TPx-1KO), expression of 1-Cys Prx occurred significantly earlier in mosquito-derived TPx-1KO ookinetes when compared to wild type (WT) ookinetes. The protein was also readily detectable in cultured TPx-1KO ookinetes, indicating that 1-Cys Prx at least in part compensates for the loss of TPx-1 in vivo. We hypothesize that this dynamic expression of the cytosolic peroxiredoxins reflects the capacity of the developing Plasmodium ookinete to rapidly adapt to the changing conditions in the mosquito bloodmeal. This would significantly increase its chances of survival, maturation and subsequent escape. Our results also emphasize that environmental conditions must be taken into account when investigating Plasmodium-mosquito interactions. The malaria parasite Plasmodium is transmitted by Anopheles mosquitoes. Within the midgut of the insect, it is exposed to multiple environmental stresses, including cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS). To avoid destruction, the parasite develops into a motile ookinete capable of leaving the midgut. Yet, ookinete development lasts over several hours and requires the parasite to adapt to an increasingly challenging environment. Here we show that ookinetes of the rodent parasite Plasmodium berghei during development in the mosquito midgut increase the expression of the protective antioxidant proteins peroxiredoxin-1 (TPx-1) and 1-Cys peroxiredoxin (1-Cys Prx). This upregulation was also inducible in cultured ookinetes by challenging them with ROS. This suggests that ookinetes actively modulate the expression of their antioxidant proteins in response to the changing conditions in the mosquito. We also found that ookinetes lacking TPx-1 (TPx-1KO) upregulated 1-Cys Prx expression significantly earlier than wild type ookinetes. This indicates that the TPx-1KO parasites compensate for the loss of TPx-1 by altering the expression pattern of the functionally related 1-Cys Prx. The observed dynamic regulation of the cytosolic antioxidant proteins may help the Plasmodium ookinete to adapt to rapidly changing environmental conditions and thus to increase the probability of survival, maturation and escape from the mosquito midgut.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin A. Turturice
- Department of Biology, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Michael A. Lamm
- Department of Biology, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - James J. Tasch
- Department of Biology, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Angelika Zalewski
- Department of Biology, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Rachel Kooistra
- Department of Biology, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Eric H. Schroeter
- Department of Biology, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Sapna Sharma
- Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Shin-Ichiro Kawazu
- Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinarian Medicine, National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Stefan M. Kanzok
- Department of Biology, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
50
|
Affiliation(s)
- Diana S Hansen
- The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
| |
Collapse
|