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 Coordinated Hsp110 and Hsp104 Activities Power Protein Disaggregation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jayasankar Mohanakrishnan Kaimal ◽  
Ganapathi Kandasamy ◽  
Fabian Gasser ◽  
Claes Andréasson
Keyword(s):  
Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Heat Shock ◽  
Protein Aggregation ◽  
Yeast Cells ◽  
Eukaryotic Cells ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Dependent Protein ◽  
And Function ◽  
Cellular Dysfunction

ABSTRACT Protein aggregation is intimately associated with cellular stress and is accelerated during aging, disease, and cellular dysfunction. Yeast cells rely on the ATP-consuming chaperone Hsp104 to disaggregate proteins together with Hsp70. Hsp110s are ancient and abundant chaperones that form complexes with Hsp70. Here we provide in vivo data showing that the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Hsp110s Sse1 and Sse2 are essential for Hsp104-dependent protein disaggregation. Following heat shock, complexes of Hsp110 and Hsp70 are recruited to protein aggregates and function together with Hsp104 in the disaggregation process. In the absence of Hsp110, targeting of Hsp70 and Hsp104 to the aggregates is impaired, and the residual Hsp104 that still reaches the aggregates fails to disaggregate. Thus, coordinated activities of both Hsp104 and Hsp110 are required to reactivate aggregated proteins. These findings have important implications for the understanding of how eukaryotic cells manage misfolded and amyloid proteins.

scholarly journals Calcium-Dependent Protein Kinase 5 Is Required for Release of Egress-Specific Organelles in Plasmodium falciparum

mBio ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabrina Absalon ◽  
Karin Blomqvist ◽  
Rachel M. Rudlaff ◽  
Travis J. DeLano ◽  
Michael P. Pollastri ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plasmodium Falciparum ◽  
Protein Kinase ◽  
Blood Cell ◽  
Red Blood Cell ◽  
Malaria Parasite ◽  
Dependent Protein Kinase ◽  
Calcium Dependent ◽  
Dependent Protein ◽  
Parasite Egress ◽  
Calcium Dependent Protein Kinase

ABSTRACT The human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum requires efficient egress out of an infected red blood cell for pathogenesis. This egress event is highly coordinated and is mediated by several signaling proteins, including the plant-like P. falciparum calcium-dependent protein kinase 5 (PfCDPK5). Knockdown of PfCDPK5 results in an egress block where parasites are trapped inside their host cells. The mechanism of this PfCDPK5-dependent block, however, remains unknown. Here, we show that PfCDPK5 colocalizes with a specialized set of parasite organelles known as micronemes and is required for their discharge, implicating failure of this step as the cause of the egress defect in PfCDPK5-deficient parasites. Furthermore, we show that PfCDPK5 cooperates with the P. falciparum cGMP-dependent kinase (PfPKG) to fully activate the protease cascade critical for parasite egress. The PfCDPK5-dependent arrest can be overcome by hyperactivation of PfPKG or by physical disruption of the arrested parasite, and we show that both treatments facilitate the release of the micronemes required for egress. Our results define the molecular mechanism of PfCDPK5 function and elucidate the complex signaling pathway of parasite egress. IMPORTANCE The signs and symptoms of clinical malaria result from the replication of parasites in human blood. Efficient egress of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum out of an infected red blood cell is critical for pathogenesis. The P. falciparum calcium-dependent protein kinase 5 (PfCDPK5) is essential for parasite egress. Following PfCDPK5 knockdown, parasites remain trapped inside their host cell and do not egress, but the mechanism for this block remains unknown. We show that PfCDPK5 colocalizes with parasite organelles known as micronemes. We demonstrate that PfCDPK5 is critical for the discharge of these micronemes and that failure of this step is the molecular mechanism of the parasite egress arrest. We also show that hyperactivation of the cGMP-dependent kinase PKG can overcome this arrest. Our data suggest that small molecules that inhibit the egress signaling pathway could be effective antimalarial therapeutics.

scholarly journals Dihydroquinazolinone Inhibitors of Proliferation of Blood and Liver Stage Malaria Parasites

2013 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 1516-1522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily R. Derbyshire ◽  
Jaeki Min ◽  
W. Armand Guiguemde ◽  
Julie A. Clark ◽  
Michele C. Connelly ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plasmodium Falciparum ◽  
Plasmodium Berghei ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Blood Stage ◽  
Malaria Parasites ◽  
Liver Stage ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Minimal Toxicity ◽  
Structure Activity ◽  
Further Development

ABSTRACTDrugs that target both the liver and blood stages of malaria will be needed to reduce the disease's substantial worldwide morbidity and mortality. Evaluation of a 259-member library of compounds that block proliferation of the blood stage of malaria revealed several scaffolds—dihydroquinazolinones, phenyldiazenylpyridines, piperazinyl methyl quinolones, and bis-benzimidazoles—with promising activity against the liver stage. Focused structure-activity studies on the dihydroquinazolinone scaffold revealed several molecules with excellent potency against both blood and liver stages. One promising early lead with dual activity is 2-(p-bromophenyl)-3-(2-(diethylamino)ethyl)-2,3-dihydroquinazolin-4(1H)-one with 50% effective concentrations (EC50s) of 0.46 μM and 0.34 μM against liver stagePlasmodium bergheiANKA and blood stagePlasmodium falciparum3D7 parasites, respectively. Structure-activity relationships revealed that liver stage activity for this compound class requires a 3-dialkyl amino ethyl group and is abolished by substitution at theortho-position of the phenyl moiety. These compounds have minimal toxicity to mammalian cells and are thus attractive compounds for further development.

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 CCR4-Associated Factor 1 Coordinates the Expression of Plasmodium falciparum Egress and Invasion Proteins

2011 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 1257-1263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bharath Balu ◽  
Steven P. Maher ◽  
Alena Pance ◽  
Chitra Chauhan ◽  
Anatoli V. Naumov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plasmodium Falciparum ◽  
Regulation Of Gene Expression ◽  
Host Cells ◽  
Asexual Blood Stage ◽  
New Host ◽  
Associated Factor ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Content Development ◽  
Significant Gene ◽  
Parasite Egress

ABSTRACT Coordinated regulation of gene expression is a hallmark of the Plasmodium falciparum asexual blood-stage development cycle. We report that carbon catabolite repressor protein 4 (CCR4)-associated factor 1 (CAF1) is critical in regulating more than 1,000 genes during malaria parasites' intraerythrocytic stages, especially egress and invasion proteins. CAF1 knockout results in mistimed expression, aberrant accumulation and localization of proteins involved in parasite egress, and invasion of new host cells, leading to premature release of predominantly half-finished merozoites, drastically reducing the intraerythrocytic growth rate of the parasite. This study demonstrates that CAF1 of the CCR4-Not complex is a significant gene regulatory mechanism needed for Plasmodium development within the human host.

scholarly journals Analysis of the Conformation and Function of the Plasmodium falciparum Merozoite Proteins MTRAP and PTRAMP

2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 615-625 ◽  
Author(s):  
Onyinyechukwu Uchime ◽  
Raul Herrera ◽  
Karine Reiter ◽  
Svetlana Kotova ◽  
Richard L. Shimp ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plasmodium Falciparum ◽  
Binding Assay ◽  
Actin Binding ◽  
Parasite Development ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Content Development ◽  
Falciparum Merozoite ◽  
Erythrocyte Binding ◽  
And Function

ABSTRACT Thrombospondin repeat (TSR)-like domains are structures involved with cell adhesion. Plasmodium falciparum proteins containing TSR domains play crucial roles in parasite development. In particular, the preerythrocytic P. falciparum circumsporozoite protein is involved in hepatocyte invasion. The importance of these domains in two other malaria proteins, the merozoite-specific thrombospondin-related anonymous protein (MTRAP) and the thrombospondin-related apical membrane protein (PTRAMP), were assessed using near-full-length recombinant proteins composed of the extracellular domains produced in Escherichia coli . MTRAP is thought to be released from invasive organelles identified as micronemes during merozoite invasion to mediate motility and host cell invasion through an interaction with aldolase, an actin binding protein involved in the moving junction. PTRAMP function remains unknown. In this study, the conformation of recombinant MTRAP (rMTRAP) appeared to be a highly extended protein (2 nm by 33 nm, width by length, respectively), whereas rPTRAMP had a less extended structure. Using an erythrocyte binding assay, rMTRAP but not rPTRAMP bound human erythrocytes; rMTRAP binding was mediated through the TSR domain. MTRAP- and in general PTRAMP-specific antibodies failed to inhibit P. falciparum development in vitro . Altogether, MTRAP is a highly extended bifunctional protein that binds to an erythrocyte receptor and the merozoite motor.

scholarly journals An Endoplasmic Reticulum CREC Family Protein Regulates the Egress Proteolytic Cascade in Malaria Parasites

mBio ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel A. Fierro ◽  
Beejan Asady ◽  
Carrie F. Brooks ◽  
David W. Cobb ◽  
Alejandra Villegas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Protein Trafficking ◽  
Parasitophorous Vacuole ◽  
Aspartic Protease ◽  
Malaria Parasites ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Calcium Storage ◽  
Proteolytic Cascade ◽  
Family Protein ◽  
Parasite Egress

ABSTRACT The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is thought to play an essential role during egress of malaria parasites because the ER is assumed to be required for biogenesis and secretion of egress-related organelles. However, no proteins localized to the parasite ER have been shown to play a role in egress of malaria parasites. In this study, we generated conditional mutants of the Plasmodium falciparum endoplasmic reticulum-resident calcium-binding protein (PfERC), a member of the CREC family. Knockdown of the PfERC gene showed that this gene is essential for asexual growth of P. falciparum. Analysis of the intraerythrocytic life cycle revealed that PfERC is essential for parasite egress but is not required for protein trafficking or calcium storage. We found that PfERC knockdown prevents the rupture of the parasitophorous vacuole membrane. This is because PfERC knockdown inhibited the proteolytic maturation of the subtilisin-like serine protease SUB1. Using double mutant parasites, we showed that PfERC is required for the proteolytic maturation of the essential aspartic protease plasmepsin X, which is required for SUB1 cleavage. Further, we showed that processing of substrates downstream of the proteolytic cascade is inhibited by PfERC knockdown. Thus, these data establish that the ER-resident CREC family protein PfERC is a key early regulator of the egress proteolytic cascade of malaria parasites. IMPORTANCE The divergent eukaryotic parasites that cause malaria grow and divide within a vacuole inside a host cell, which they have to break open once they finish cell division. The egress of daughter parasites requires the activation of a proteolytic cascade, and a subtilisin-like protease initiates a proteolytic cascade to break down the membranes blocking egress. It is assumed that the parasite endoplasmic reticulum plays a role in this process, but the proteins in this organelle required for egress remain unknown. We have identified an early ER-resident regulator essential for the maturation of the recently discovered aspartic protease in the egress proteolytic cascade, plasmepsin X, which is required for maturation of the subtilisin-like protease. Conditional loss of PfERC results in the formation of immature and inactive egress proteases that are unable to breakdown the vacuolar membrane barring release of daughter parasites.

scholarly journals Adaptation of the [3H]Hypoxanthine Uptake Assay forIn Vitro-Cultured Plasmodium knowlesi Malaria Parasites

2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (7) ◽  
pp. 4361-4363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan S. J. Arnold ◽  
Jessica A. Engel ◽  
Ming Jang Chua ◽  
Gillian M. Fisher ◽  
Tina S. Skinner-Adams ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plasmodium Falciparum ◽  
Drug Discovery ◽  
Malaria Parasite ◽  
Plasmodium Knowlesi ◽  
Malaria Parasites ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Zoonotic Malaria ◽  
Uptake Assay

ABSTRACTThe zoonotic malaria parasitePlasmodium knowlesihas recently been established in continuousin vitroculture. Here, thePlasmodium falciparum[3H]hypoxanthine uptake assay was adapted forP. knowlesiand used to determine the sensitivity of this parasite to chloroquine, cycloguanil, and clindamycin. The data demonstrate thatP. knowlesiis sensitive to all drugs, with 50% inhibitory concentrations (IC50s) consistent with those obtained withP. falciparum. This assay provides a platform to useP. knowlesi in vitrofor drug discovery.

scholarly journals Using Lipoamidase as a Novel Probe To Interrogate the Importance of Lipoylation in Plasmodium falciparum

mBio ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugo Jhun ◽  
Maroya S. Walters ◽  
Sean T. Prigge
Keyword(s):  
Plasmodium Falciparum ◽  
Parasite Growth ◽  
Malaria Parasites ◽  
Subcellular Compartment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Growth And Survival ◽  
Bacterial Enzyme ◽  
Parasite Survival ◽  
Key Aspects ◽  
Insight Into

ABSTRACT Lipoate is a redox active cofactor that is covalently bound to key enzymes of oxidative metabolism. Plasmodium falciparum is auxotrophic for lipoate during the intraerythrocytic stages, but it is not known whether lipoate attachment to protein is required or whether attachment is required in a specific subcellular compartment of the parasite. To address these questions, we used an enzyme called lipoamidase (Lpa) as a probe of lipoate metabolism. Lpa was first described in Enterococcus faecalis, and it specifically cleaves protein-bound lipoate, inactivating enzymes requiring this cofactor. Enzymatically active Lpa could be expressed in the cytosol of P. falciparum without any effect on protein lipoylation or parasite growth. Similarly, Lpa could be expressed in the apicoplast, and although protein lipoylation was reduced, parasite growth was not inhibited. By contrast, while an inactive mutant of Lpa could be expressed in the mitochondrion, the active enzyme could not. We designed an attenuated mutant of Lpa and found that this enzyme could be expressed in the parasite mitochondrion, but only in conjunction with a chemical bypass system. These studies suggest that acetyl-CoA production and a cryptic function of the H protein are both required for parasite survival. Our study validates Lpa as a novel probe of metabolism that can be used in other systems and provides new insight into key aspects of mitochondrial metabolism that are responsible for lipoate auxotrophy in malaria parasites. IMPORTANCE Lipoate is an essential cofactor for a small number of enzymes that are important for central metabolism. Malaria parasites require lipoate scavenged from the human host for growth and survival; however, it is not known why this cofactor is so important. To address this question, we designed a probe of lipoate activity based on the bacterial enzyme lipoamidase (Lpa). Expression of this probe in different subcellular locations allowed us to define the mitochondrion as the compartment housing essential lipoate metabolism. To gain further insight into the specific uses of lipoate in the mitochondrion, we designed a series of catalytically attenuated probes and employed the probes in conjunction with a chemical bypass system. These studies suggest that two lipoylated proteins are required for parasite survival. We were able to express Lpa with different catalytic abilities in different subcellular compartments and driven by different promoters, demonstrating the versatility of this tool and suggesting that it can be used as a probe of lipoate metabolism in other organisms.

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