scholarly journals Genetic disruption of Plasmodium falciparum Merozoite surface antigen 180 (PfMSA180) suggests an essential role during parasite egress from erythrocytes

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanndita Bahl ◽  
Kritika Chaddha ◽  
Syed Yusuf Mian ◽  
Anthony A. Holder ◽  
Ellen Knuepfer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plasmodium Falciparum ◽  
Surface Antigen ◽  
Essential Role ◽  
Gene Knockout ◽  
Intervention Strategy ◽  
Merozoite Surface Antigen ◽  
Erythrocytic Cycle ◽  
And Function ◽  
Parasite Egress

AbstractPlasmodium falciparum, the parasite responsible for severe malaria, develops within erythrocytes. Merozoite invasion and subsequent egress of intraerythrocytic parasites are essential for this erythrocytic cycle, parasite survival and pathogenesis. In the present study, we report the essential role of a novel protein, P. falciparum Merozoite Surface Antigen 180 (PfMSA180), which is conserved across Plasmodium species and recently shown to be associated with the P. vivax merozoite surface. Here, we studied MSA180 expression, processing, localization and function in P. falciparum blood stages. Initially we examined its role in invasion, a process mediated by multiple ligand-receptor interactions and an attractive step for targeting with inhibitory antibodies through the development of a malaria vaccine. Using antibodies specific for different regions of PfMSA180, together with a parasite containing a conditional pfmsa180-gene knockout generated using CRISPR/Cas9 and DiCre recombinase technology, we demonstrate that this protein is unlikely to play a crucial role in erythrocyte invasion. However, deletion of the pfmsa180 gene resulted in a severe egress defect, preventing schizont rupture and blocking the erythrocytic cycle. Our study highlights an essential role of PfMSA180 in parasite egress, which could be targeted through the development of a novel malaria intervention strategy.

scholarly journals Essential Role of Septin 7 in Skeletal Muscle Structure and Function

2020 ◽  
Vol 118 (3) ◽  
pp. 258a
Author(s):  
Laszlo Csernoch ◽  
Mónika Gönczi ◽  
Zsolt Ráduly ◽  
László Szabó ◽  
Nóra Dobrosi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Essential Role ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
Muscle Structure ◽  
And Function

Structural and antigenic polymorphism of the 35- to 48-kilodalton merozoite surface antigen (MSA-2) of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum

1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 963-971
Author(s):  
B Fenton ◽  
J T Clark ◽  
C M Khan ◽  
J V Robinson ◽  
D Walliker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plasmodium Falciparum ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Surface Antigen ◽  
Dna Sequences ◽  
Amino Acid Sequences ◽  
Merozoite Surface Antigen ◽  
Parasite Plasmodium ◽  
Genes Encoding ◽  
Parasite Plasmodium Falciparum ◽  
Group B

Merozoite surface antigen MSA-2 of the human parasite Plasmodium falciparum is being considered for the development of a malaria vaccine. The antigen is polymorphic, and specific monoclonal antibodies differentiate five serological variants of MSA-2 among 25 parasite isolates. The variants are grouped into two major serogroups, A and B. Genes encoding two different variants from serogroup A have been sequenced, and their DNA together with deduced amino acid sequences were compared with sequences encoded by other alleles. The comparison shows that the serological classification reflects differences in DNA sequences and deduced primary structure of MSA-2 variants and serogroups. Thus, the overall homologies of DNA and amino acid sequences are over 95% among variants in the same serogroup. In contrast, similarities between the group A variants and a group B variant are only 70 and 64% for DNA and amino acid sequences, respectively. We propose that the MSA-2 protein is encoded by two highly divergent groups of alleles, with limited additional polymorphism displayed within each group.

scholarly journals Essential role of BRCA2 in ovarian development and function

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weinberg-Shukron A ◽  
Rachmiel M ◽  
Renbaum P ◽  
Gulsuner S ◽  
Walsh T ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Essential Role ◽  
Ovarian Development ◽  
And Function

scholarly journals Malaria Parasite Schizont Egress Antigen-1 Plays an Essential Role in Nuclear Segregation during Schizogony

mBio ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abigail J. Perrin ◽  
Claudine Bisson ◽  
Peter A. Faull ◽  
Matthew J. Renshaw ◽  
Rebecca A. Lees ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plasmodium Falciparum ◽  
Vaccine Antigen ◽  
Malaria Parasites ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Dependent Protein ◽  
Low Efficiency ◽  
And Function ◽  
Parasite Egress ◽  
Kinetochore Function ◽  
Merozoite Egress

ABSTRACT Malaria parasites cause disease through repeated cycles of intraerythrocytic proliferation. Within each cycle, several rounds of DNA replication produce multinucleated forms, called schizonts, that undergo segmentation to form daughter merozoites. Upon rupture of the infected cell, the merozoites egress to invade new erythrocytes and repeat the cycle. In human malarial infections, an antibody response specific for the Plasmodium falciparum protein PF3D7_1021800 was previously associated with protection against malaria, leading to an interest in PF3D7_1021800 as a candidate vaccine antigen. Antibodies to the protein were reported to inhibit egress, resulting in it being named schizont egress antigen-1 (SEA1). A separate study found that SEA1 undergoes phosphorylation in a manner dependent upon the parasite cGMP-dependent protein kinase PKG, which triggers egress. While these findings imply a role for SEA1 in merozoite egress, this protein has also been implicated in kinetochore function during schizont development. Therefore, the function of SEA1 remains unclear. Here, we show that P. falciparum SEA1 localizes in proximity to centromeres within dividing nuclei and that conditional disruption of SEA1 expression severely impacts the distribution of DNA and formation of merozoites during schizont development, with a proportion of SEA1-null merozoites completely lacking nuclei. SEA1-null schizonts rupture, albeit with low efficiency, suggesting that neither SEA1 function nor normal segmentation is a prerequisite for egress. We conclude that SEA1 does not play a direct mechanistic role in egress but instead acts upstream of egress as an essential regulator required to ensure the correct packaging of nuclei within merozoites. IMPORTANCE Malaria is a deadly infectious disease. Rationally designed novel therapeutics will be essential for its control and eradication. The Plasmodium falciparum protein PF3D7_1021800, annotated as SEA1, is under investigation as a prospective component of a malaria vaccine, based on previous indications that antibodies to SEA1 interfere with parasite egress from infected erythrocytes. However, a consensus on the function of SEA1 is lacking. Here, we demonstrate that SEA1 localizes to dividing parasite nuclei and is necessary for the correct segregation of replicated DNA into individual daughter merozoites. In the absence of SEA1, merozoites develop defectively, often completely lacking a nucleus, and, consequently, egress is impaired and/or aberrant. Our findings provide insights into the divergent mechanisms by which intraerythrocytic malaria parasites develop and divide. Our conclusions regarding the localization and function of SEA1 are not consistent with the hypothesis that antibodies against it confer protective immunity to malaria by blocking merozoite egress.

scholarly journals TLR7 modulating B-cell immune responses in the spleen of C57BL/6 mice infected with Schistosoma japonicum

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. e0009943
Author(s):  
Haixia Wei ◽  
Hongyan Xie ◽  
Jiale Qu ◽  
Anqi Xie ◽  
Shihao Xie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
B Cells ◽  
B Cell ◽  
Gene Knockout ◽  
Innate Immune ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Cell Responses ◽  
Splenic Cells ◽  
And Function ◽  
Egg Antigen

B cells played an important role in Schistosoma infection-induced diseases. TLR7 is an intracellular member of the innate immune receptor. The role of TLR7 on B cells mediated immune response is still unclear. Here, C57BL/6 mice were percutaneously infected by S. japonicum for 5–6 weeks. The percentages and numbers of B cells increased in the infected mice (p < 0.05), and many activation and function associated molecules were also changed on B cells. More splenic cells of the infected mice expressed TLR7, and B cells were served as the main cell population. Moreover, a lower level of soluble egg antigen (SEA) specific antibody and less activation associated molecules were found on the surface of splenic B cells from S. japonicum infected TLR7 gene knockout (TLR7 KO) mice compared to infected wild type (WT) mice (p < 0.05). Additionally, SEA showed a little higher ability in inducing the activation of B cells from naive WT mice than TLR7 KO mice (p < 0.05). Finally, the effects of TLR7 on B cells are dependent on the activation of NF-κB p65. Altogether, TLR7 was found modulating the splenic B cell responses in S. japonicum infected C57BL/6 mice.

Antibodies induced by Plasmodium falciparum merozoite surface antigen-2-designed pseudopeptides possess neutralizing properties of the in vitro malarial infection

Peptides ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 28 (10) ◽  
pp. 1954-1965 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Manuel Lozano ◽  
Francy J. Montoya-Fajardo ◽  
Johan Hoebeke ◽  
Gladys H. Cifuentes ◽  
Martha Forero ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plasmodium Falciparum ◽  
Surface Antigen ◽  
Malarial Infection ◽  
Merozoite Surface Antigen ◽  
Falciparum Merozoite

scholarly journals Biodegradation of Bisphenol A by Sphingobium sp. YC-JY1 and the Essential Role of Cytochrome P450 Monooxygenase

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (10) ◽  
pp. 3588
Author(s):  
Yang Jia ◽  
Adel Eltoukhy ◽  
Junhuan Wang ◽  
Xianjun Li ◽  
Thet Su Hlaing ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cytochrome P450 ◽  
Bisphenol A ◽  
Essential Role ◽  
Gene Knockout ◽  
Polluted Soil ◽  
Optimal Temperature ◽  
P450 Monooxygenase ◽  
Soil Microbial ◽  
Application Potential

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a widespread pollutant threatening the ecosystem and human health. An effective BPA degrader YC-JY1 was isolated and identified as Sphingobium sp. The optimal temperature and pH for the degradation of BPA by strain YC-JY1 were 30 °C and 6.5, respectively. The biodegradation pathway was proposed based on the identification of the metabolites. The addition of cytochrome P450 (CYP) inhibitor 1-aminobenzotriazole significantly decreased the degradation of BPA by Sphingobium sp. YC-JY1. Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) cells harboring pET28a-bisdAB achieved the ability to degrade BPA. The bisdB gene knockout strain YC-JY1ΔbisdB was unable to degrade BPA indicating that P450bisdB was an essential initiator of BPA metabolism in strain YC-JY1. For BPA polluted soil remediation, strain YC-JY1 considerably stimulated biodegradation of BPA associated with the soil microbial community. These results point out that strain YC-JY1 is a promising microbe for BPA removal and possesses great application potential.

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