Pathogenicity, stability, and immunogenicity of a knobless clone of Plasmodium falciparum in Colombian owl monkeys.

The pathogenicity, immunogenicity, and morphological stability of a knobless clone of strain FCR-3 of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum was investigated in Aotus monkeys. An early knob-bearing (K+), wild-type isolate of strain FCR-3 and the D3 knobless (K-) clone were adapted to Aotus monkey erythrocytes in continuous culture, establishing the parasites in Aotus cells without exposure to in vivo cellular or humoral immune responses. All monkeys, intact or splenectomized, which were infected with wild-type FCR-3 adapted to Aotus cells in vitro, developed virulent infections and had to be drug treated. The intact nonsplenectomized animals which received knobless D3 cloned parasites did not develop virulent infections even after multiple infections. The splenectomized monkeys which received the K- D3 clone had virulent infections. Late-stage wild-type K+ parasites sequestered in both intact and splenectomized monkeys, whereas late-stage D3 K- parasites did not sequester in the splenectomized animals. These results suggest that two elements affected the pathogenicity of the malaria parasites in these experiments. Knobs on K+-infected erythrocytes enabled these parasites to sequester, presumably by attachment to capillary endothelium. When present, the spleen eliminated circulating K- late-stage erythrocytes, presumably by selection on the basis of their nondeformability. Although clone D3 K- parasites are nonvirulent in intact monkeys, they induced some immunological protection against challenge with wild-type K+ parasites. The surface morphology of K--infected erythrocytes remains unaltered throughout these experiments, suggesting that loss of knobs is a stable condition.     

The primary structure of a Plasmodium falciparum polypeptide related to heat shock proteins

A cDNA library constructed from ring-stage RNA isolated from Plasmodium falciparum FCR-3/Gambia was screened with immune human serum and two related positive clones were isolated. Nucleotide sequence analysis of these recombinant clones revealed an open translational reading frame for 681 amino acids with a calculated molecular weight of 74.3 kDa. The deduced amino acid sequence of the polypeptide shows extensive homology to several heat shock proteins (hsp) which have been described. Northern and Southern hybridization analysis indicates that P. falciparum has a second gene which shares common sequences with the hsp gene described in this study.     

A comparison of knobby (K+) and knobless (K-) parasites from two strains of Plasmodium falciparum

Erythrocytes infected with Plasmodium falciparum develop knob-like protrusions on their membranes. Knobby (K+) parasites of the FCR-3 (Gambian) strain have been shown to possess a histidine-labelled protein of apparent molecular weight 80 000 which is absent from knobless (K-) variants of the same strain. Here we report similar findings with K+ and K- parasites of another strain, the Malayan Camp strain, and also with cloned K+ and K- parasites of the FCR-3 strain. A histidine-labelled protein unique to the two K+ parasites was identified as a broad band with an apparent molecular weight of 89 000 on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The presence of this protein in both K+ Malayan Camp parasites and K+ FCR-3 (Gambian) parasites and its absence from K- parasites of both strains is consistent with this protein being a major component of knobs.     

Structure of the knob protein (KP) gene of Plasmodium falciparum

We have determined the nucleotide sequence of the gene encoding the knob protein (KP) of Plasmodium falciparum (FCR-3/Gambia). The gene is interrupted by an intron which contains 34 imperfect tandemly repeated ATTTT sequences. The first exon encodes 33 amino acids with a hydrophobic core typical of signal peptides. The second exon has an open translational reading frame for 597 amino acids. The deduced protein sequence indicates that KP has multiple structural domains; unlike the N-terminal histidine-rich domain which we described previously, the C-terminal half is rich in lysine residues. Consistent with the apparent association of KP with the cytoplasmic surface of the host erythrocyte membrane, the protein is highly charged and hydrophilic.     

Histidine-rich protein genes and their transcripts in Plasmodium falciparum and P. lophurae

The presence of histidine-rich protein (HRP) related genes and gene products in Plasmodium falciparum was demonstrated using a synthetic pentahistidine-encoding oligonucleotide and a cloned HRP cDNA probe prepared from the avian parasite P. lophurae. In Northern blotting experiments, two knobby clones of P. falciparum were found to contain a 3500 nucleotide RNA species that hybridized with the oligonucleotide and HRP cDNA probes. As this component had the expected size for an mRNA encoding an 80-90 kDa protein and was absent from two knobless clones of P. falciparum, we concluded that it represented a 'knob protein' mRNA. Using the restriction enzyme EcoRI, three identical cross-hydribizing HRP gene fragments were found in the DNA of both knobby and knobless clones of P. falciparum. These fragments differed in size from those present in P. lophurae. These results suggest that the absence of knob protein mRNA in knobless clones is not due to loss of the corresponding gene(s).     

Isolation and characterization of a cysteine proteinase gene of Plasmodium falciparum.

We have previously identified a 28-kDa cysteine proteinase of Plasmodium falciparum trophozoites that appears to be an essential malarial hemoglobinase and a potential target for antimalarial chemotherapy. The trophozoite cysteine proteinase (TCP) shares a number of biochemical properties with the lysosomal cysteine proteinase cathepsin L. To isolate the gene encoding TCP, we synthesized degenerate oligonucleotides based on two amino acid sequences of cathepsin L that are well conserved among papain-family cysteine proteinases, and used the oligonucleotides to prime the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with P. falciparum genomic DNA. A 549-bp DNA fragment was amplified by PCR. This fragment was used as a hybridization probe to screen a lambda gt11 library of P. falciparum genomic DNA and isolate a 1.8-kb genomic clone (C1.8) that encoded an intact malarial cysteine proteinase gene. The sequence of C1.8 predicted a 67-kDa protein containing a typical signal sequence, a large pro sequence, and a 26.8-kDa mature proteinase with 37% amino acid identity to cathepsin L. Antisera directed against a peptide encoded by C1.8 recognized a 28-kDa trophozoite protein on immunoblots. In a Northern analysis, C1.8 hybridized predominantly with RNA from rings, the life-cycle stage immediately preceding the trophozoite stage. Taken together, these results strongly suggest that the P. falciparum cysteine proteinase gene we have isolated and characterized encodes TCP.     

原生动物阴道毛滴虫的酵酶长寿保障基因LAG1同源基因克隆和序列分析

为了探讨寄生性原虫阴道毛滴虫细胞生长和衰老相关基因,作者从阴道毛滴虫的cDNA表达文库中分离出一具910碱基对的cDNA克隆,其编码框长834 bp,推测蛋白质序列有277个氨基酸.序列分析显示该克隆与酵酶长寿保障基因LAG1同源性最高,其氨基酸序列中含有LAG1及其同源基因保守的Lag1结构域和TLC结构域以及6个跨膜螺旋区和一个C-未端的内质网保留信号域.因此推测该克隆系酵酶LAG1的同源基因,该基因可能参与阴道毛滴虫的神经酰胺生物合成以及调解细胞的生命期或细胞衰老.该基因的基因组DNA与其cDNA序列一致,提示该基因序列中可能无内含子.     

A novel protein antigen of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, located on the surface of gametes and sporozoites

A Plasmodium falciparum cDNA clone was isolated of which the insert is transcribed at high rates as a 1.4-kb mRNA in the sexual stages of the malaria parasite. The cDNA clone contains a copy of a non-interrupted gene which codes for a protein of 157 amino acids (Mr = 16607). This 16-kDa protein does not contain repetitive sequences and is characterised by a putative N-terminal signal sequence, a hydrophobic membrane anchor sequence and a highly hydrophilic C-terminal region suggesting that it is an integral membrane protein. Rabbit antisera raised against a synthetic peptide covering amino acids 31-47 of the 16-kDa protein and against recombinant fusion proteins recognised the 16-kDa antigen in protein extracts of gametocytes, macrogamete/zygotes and sporozoites by Western blot analysis. The rabbit antisera also reacted with gametes, gametocytes and sporozoites in a standard immunofluorescence assay. By immunoelectron microscopy using the protein A-gold method the 16-kDa protein could be clearly visualised on the surface of macrogametes and sporozoites, whereas the antigen was not detectable in the asexual erythrocytic stages of the parasite. The 16-kDa antigen of P. falciparum therefore might have the potential to elicit a dual protective immune response against the sporozoite and sexual stage parasites.     

Point mutations in the dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase gene as the molecular basis for pyrimethamine resistance in Plasmodium falciparum

The dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase (DHFR-TS) bifunctional complex from pyrimethamine-sensitive (3D7) and drug-resistant (HB3 and 7G8) clones from Plasmodium falciparum was purified to homogeneity. A modified sequence of purification steps with a 10-formylfolate affinity column at its center, allows the isolation of the enzyme complex with a 10-fold higher yield than previously reported, irrespective of the pyrimethamine resistance of the parasites. Titration of the homogenous DHFR-TS complex with the inhibitor revealed a 500-fold lower affinity of the enzyme from clone 7G8 for the drug than found with the enzyme from clone 3D7. Direct comparison of the homogenous enzyme preparations on SDS-PAGE revealed no difference in the molecular mass of the DHFR-TS from the 3 clones, nor could a reproducible difference be detected in the peptide patterns obtained after digesting the DHFR-TS complex with various proteases. The amplification of segments from the DHFR-TS coding region of the 3 clones and 7 isolates of P. falciparum by polymerase chain reaction resulted in fragments of the predicted length without any size heterogeneity. The DNA sequence of the DHFR coding region from FCR-3, 3D7, HB3 and 7G8 differs in a total of 4 nucleotides. One point mutation changes amino acid residue 108 from threonine (FCR-3) or serine (3D7) to asparagine (HB3 and 7G8). The presence of asparagine-108 appears to be the molecular basis of pyrimethamine resistance of HB3 and 7G8. The degree of resistance is associated with a point mutation affecting the codon for amino acid 51 in 7G8.     

A unique amino-terminal sequence predicted for the chicken proto-ets protein

Avian cellular sequences homologous to the ets domain of the avian leukemia retrovirus, E26, have been characterized, and shown to contain nine discrete regions within a single locus of about 60 kb. The structure of the viral homologous and nonhomologous domains of this chicken ets-1 gene is characterized and seen to define the unique amino acid sequences of the ets protein. We have isolated and sequenced an avian ets-1 cDNA clone obtained from chicken thymus. This cDNA clone contains an open reading frame (ORF) encoding the normal cellular product of 441 amino acids. This product is significantly smaller than that encoded by the v-ets domain of the E26 transforming protein, p135, which contains 491 amino acids. The open reading frame predicted by our sequence data results in a protein calculated to be 50 kDa, which is slightly smaller than that actually observed in chicken cells. The presence of termination codons 5' to this ORF demonstrates that the cDNA characterized contains the entire coding region for the chicken ets gene.     

Primary structure of the polymerase acidic (PA) gene of an influenza B virus (B/Sing/222/79)

A DNA copy of influenza B/Singapore/222/79 viral RNA segment 3 containing the gene coding for the polymerase acidic (PA) protein has been cloned in Escherichia coli plasmid pBR322, and its nucleotide sequence has been determined. The cDNA clone was incomplete and contained 1810 nucleotides (nt 396 to 2205). The remaining nucleotide sequence at both 5' and 3' ends of B PA gene was obtained by sequencing the viral RNA (minus sense) and messenger RNA (plus sense) using oligonucleotide primers. The influenza B PA gene contains 2304 nucleotides and codes for a protein of 725 amino acids with a molecular weight of 83,000. The predicted influenza B PA protein is less acidic than the influenza A PA protein. Computer alignment of the influenza B PA amino acid sequence with that of influenza A PA (A/PR/8/34) revealed an overall 38% direct homology which increases to 45% in the carboxyl terminus half of the protein. In addition, comparison of the secondary structural elements, hydropathy profile, and isofunctional amino acid changes between B PA and A PA proteins demonstrated a strong structural and possibly functional conservation between these two proteins. These data suggest that PA genes of influenza A and B viruses arose from a common ancestor gene.     

Nucleotide sequence of the coat protein coding region of tulip breaking virus

cDNA of tulip breaking virus-tulip (TBV-tulip) RNA was synthesized and cloned inE. coli. One clone that contains a 4.5 kb insert was identified by restriction enzyme analysis, dot immunobinding assay (DIBA), and partial sequencing. Then 1479 nucleotides of the 3-terminus of the clone were sequenced and revealed that the sequence contains one open reading frame (ORF), followed by an untranslated region of 255 nucleotides and a poly(A) tract. The deduced amino acid sequence was found to include the C terminus of the predicted RNA-dependent RNA polymerase and the coat protein. A glutamine-alanine dipeptide was identified as a putative NIa protease cleavage site at the N terminus of the coat protein.The nucleotide sequence data reported in this paper have been submitted to GenBank nucleotide sequence database and have been assigned the accession number X63630.     

Characterization and complete nucleotide sequence of a 5.8S ribosomal RNA gene from Plasmodium falciparum

The 5.8S and 5S rRNA components from the FCR-3/The Gambia strain of Plasmodium falciparum have been identified and the complete nucleotide sequence of a 5.8S ribosomal RNA gene determined. Unlike the 5S rRNA species, the 5.8S is a single homogeneous population of molecules of 157 nucleotides. Comparison of its nucleotide sequence with previously reported 5.8S rRNA sequences indicates that it is homologous to these molecules, but distantly related to them. The sequence of the 5.8S rRNA coding region from the pfrib-2 recombinant of the HG13 Gambian isolate of P. falciparum is identical.     

Translation initiation factor eIF-5A from Plasmodium falciparum

Eukaryotic translation initiation factor (eIF-5A) is a highly conserved and essential protein that contains the unique amino acid hypusine. The first step in the post-translational biosynthesis of hypusine, the transfer of an aminobutyl moiety from the polyamine substrate spermidine to the -amino group of a specific lysine residue in the eIF-5A precursor, is catalyzed by the enzyme deoxyhypusine synthase. A cDNA encoding a protein homologous to eIF-5A was isolated by plaque hybridization from a cDNA library of Plasmodium falciparum. The cloned cDNA contains an open reading frame encoding a protein of 161 amino acids, which shares a high sequence identity with other eukaryotic eIF-5A sequences. A phylogenetic tree constructed with eIF-5A from P. falciparum and 16 other eIF-5A sequences of eukaryotic and archaeal origin reveals that plasmodial eIF-5A together with other apicomplexan eIF-5A show a higher degree of homology to plant proteins than to animal and fungal sequences. The plasmodial eIF-5A gene was expressed as a six-histidine tagged fusion protein in Escherichia coli. Radioactive incorporation studies with [1,8-3H] spermidine indicated that this protein can serve as a substrate for human deoxyhypusine synthase. Results of quantitative real-time PCR studies with synchronized erythrocytic stages of P. falciparum revealed no significant induction or downregulation but only some variation in the expression level of plasmodial eIF-5A in ring, trophozoite and schizont stage.     

Cloning and characterization of a cDNA specific for bovine retina

A retina-specific cDNA clone (pCR18) was selected from a bovine retinal cDNA library and characterized. The clone pCR18 consisted of 905 base pairs and hybridized to the mRNA of about 12S from the bovine retina, but not that from the brain or liver. The nucleotide sequence revealed a long open reading frame which encodes a 147 amino acid polypeptide of about 15,700 Da. No significant sequence homology with the predicted protein was found in the protein sequence library of about 3500. Messenger RNA which hybridized to pCR18 translated a polypeptide of about 19,000 Da in a reticulocyte translation system. Southern blot analysis indicated that the bovine genome contains a single copy of this gene. Furthermore, RNA dot analysis showed that the poly(A)+ RNA from the human retinoblastoma cell lines (Y79 and WERI) hybridized to pCR18, whose intensity was comparable to that of the bovine retina. In situ hybridization revealed that pCR18 was expressed mostly in some ganglion cells of the rat retina. The results suggest that cDNA clone (pCR18) encodes a protein specific for the retina and mRNA for pCR18 is mostly localized in the retinal ganglion cells and also expressed in the human retinoblastoma cells, although its function remains to be elucidated.     

Molecular cloning and characterization of a novel human gene homologous to the murine ecotropic retroviral receptor.

A novel human cDNA homologous to the murine ecotropic retroviral receptor was cloned from a cDNA library derived from a human T-cell line. The human cDNA is highly homologous to the murine counterpart (87.6% amino acid identity), and its sequence predicts a protein with 629 amino acids (approximately 68 kDa), which is 7 amino acids more than the murine counterpart (622 amino acids). The predicted protein is highly hydrophobic and contains 14 potential transmembrane-spanning domains. No other gene and protein with significant homology to the cloned human gene and the predicted protein were identified by a computer-based search of sequence data banks other than the murine T-cell early activation gene (52.5% amino acid identity) and the murine ecotropic retroviral receptor gene. The human gene is ubiquitously expressed in human tissues and conserved among mammalian species. The genomic gene was also isolated from a cosmid library derived from human lymphocytes, and its organization was elucidated. The gene mapped to human chromosome 13.     

Molecular cloning and characterization of Coccidioides immitis antigen 2 cDNA.

Previous experiments have provided evidence that Coccidioides immitis antigen 2 (Ag2) is a major T-cell-reactive component of mycelia and spherule cell walls. Here we report the identification and cloning of the cDNA that encodes Ag2 from a lambda ZAP cDNA expression library constructed from spherule-derived RNA. DNA sequence analysis established that the 1,255-bp clone contains a 174-bp 5' untranslated region, a 582-bp open reading frame which encodes for a protein consisting of 194 amino acids, and a 375-bp 3' untranslated region, including a poly(A) tail. The recombinant Ag2 protein has a predicted molecular mass of 19.5 kDa and contains an 18-amino-acid N terminus which has been tentatively identified as a signal peptide. The Ag2 cDNA was ligated into the pGEX-4T-3 vector and expressed in Escherichia coli TG-1 cells as a glutathione S-transferase fusion protein. The recombinant fusion protein showed reactivity with sera from patients with coccidioidomycosis and elicited delayed-type footpad hypersensitivity responses in Coccidioides-immune mice. These results suggest that the Ag2 cDNA can be used for the large-scale production of this immunologically important protein.     

Cloning studies on the gene coding for L-(+)-lactate dehydrogenase of Plasmodium falciparum

We show that the L-(+)-lactate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.27;L-lactate: NAD+-oxidoreductase) of Plasmodium falciparum (LDH-P) is encoded in the parasite genome. A monoclonal antibody (McAb 7.2) has been shown to bind the LDH-P subunit which has an apparent molecular mass of 35 kDa. A polyclonal antiserum raised against affinity purified LDH-P has been used to isolate cDNA clones containing LDH-P epitopes from a lambda gt11Tn5 expression library. DNA sequence analysis of one clone, lambda LDH-P.1, reveals a single open reading frame which shows a degree of homology to the N-terminal domain of known LDH amino acid sequences.