Subcellular localization of acetyl-CoA carboxylase in the apicomplexan parasite Toxoplasma gondii

Apicomplexan parasites such as Toxoplasma gondii contain a primitive plastid, the apicoplast, whose genome consists of a 35-kb circular DNA related to the plastid DNA of plants. Plants synthesize fatty acids in their plastids. The first committed step in fatty acid synthesis is catalyzed by acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC). This enzyme is encoded in the nucleus, synthesized in the cytosol, and transported into the plastid. In the present work, two genes encoding ACC from T. gondii were cloned and the gene structure was determined. Both ORFs encode multidomain proteins, each with an N-terminal extension, compared with the cytosolic ACCs from plants. The N-terminal extension of one isozyme, ACC1, was shown to target green fluorescent protein to the apicoplast of T. gondii. In addition, the apicoplast contains a biotinylated protein, consistent with the assertion that ACC1 is localized there. The second ACC in T. gondii appears to be cytosolic. T. gondii mitochondria also contain a biotinylated protein, probably pyruvate carboxylase. These results confirm the essential nature of the apicoplast and explain the inhibition of parasite growth in cultured cells by herbicides targeting ACC.     

Growth of Toxoplasma gondii is inhibited by aryloxyphenoxypropionate herbicides targeting acetyl-CoA carboxylase

Aryloxyphenoxypropionates, inhibitors of the plastid acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) of grasses, also inhibit Toxoplasma gondii ACC. Clodinafop, the most effective of the herbicides tested, inhibits growth of T. gondii in human fibroblasts by 70% at 10 microM in 2 days and effectively eliminates the parasite in 2-4 days at 10-100 microM. Clodinafop is not toxic to the host cell even at much higher concentrations. Parasite growth inhibition by different herbicides is correlated with their ability to inhibit ACC enzyme activity, suggesting that ACC is a target for these agents. Fragments of genes encoding the biotin carboxylase domain of multidomain ACCs of T. gondii, Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium knowlesi, and Cryptosporidium parvum were sequenced. One T. gondii ACC (ACC1) amino acid sequence clusters with P. falciparum ACC, P. knowlesi ACC, and the putative Cyclotella cryptica chloroplast ACC. Another sequence (ACC2) clusters with that of C. parvum ACC, probably the cytosolic form.     

应用环介导等温扩增技术检测弓形虫

目的 用环介导等温扩增（LAMP）技术检测弓形虫。 方法　 用酚-氯仿法提取弓形虫速殖子基因组 DNA,设计两对扩增弓形虫 B1基因的 LAMP 引物。以间日疟原虫、恶性疟原虫、卡氏肺孢子虫、日本血吸虫及小鼠白细胞作对照,进行LAMP反应,产物经 SYBR Green I显色及电泳后观察结果,绿色判为阳性,棕色判为阴性。将弓形虫速殖子经倍比稀释为（2～3）×106个/ml至（2～3）×10-1个/ml 等8个浓度,进行LAMP反应,验证该方法的敏感性。 结果 LAMP反应结果显示,弓形虫速殖子检测管经显色后呈绿色,对照组均呈棕色。弓形虫的LAMP产物经电泳后呈LAMP特征性梯状条带,对照组均无扩增产物。LAMP技术可检测到的弓形虫速殖子最低浓度为2～3个/ml。 结论 LAMP技术在弓形虫检测中显示出较好的特异性与敏感性。     

Generation and characterisation of monoclonal antibodies specific to Plasmodium falciparum enolase

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Glycolysis is the sole source of energy for the intraerythrocytic stages of Plasmodium falciparum, making glycolytic enzymes putative therapeutic targets. Enolase, a single copy gene in P. falciparum is one such enzyme whose activity is elevated approximately 10-15 fold in infected RBC's. It holds the possibility of having multiple biological functions in the parasite and hence can be a suitable candidate for diagnostic and chemotherapeutic purposes. METHODS: We have aimed at generating parasite-specific reagents in the form of monoclonal antibodies. We have raised monoclonal antibodies against the recombinant P. falciparum enolase. RESULTS: Two IgG monoclonals were obtained with 1:1000 titre and specific for P. falciparum enolase. Apicomplexan parasites including P. falciparum enolase has a plant like pentapeptide sequence (104EWGWS108) which is uniquely different from the host counterpart. A peptide spanning this pentapeptide region (ELDGSKNEWGWSKSK) coupled to BSA was used to raise parasite-specific antibody. Four monoclonals were obtained with 1:1000 titre and of IgM isotype. INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSION: All the monoclonals are specific for P. falciparum enolase and one of them display reactivity against native P. falciparum enolase signifying this pentapeptide to be surface exposed and immunogenic.     

In vitro genetic analysis of an erythrocyte determinant of malaria infection

Invasion of erythrocytes by Plasmodium falciparum is an obligatory step in the life cycle of the parasite. A major challenge is the unambiguous identification and characterization of host receptors. Because erythrocytes lack nuclei, direct genetic analyses have been limited. In this work, we combined an in vitro erythrocyte culture system, which supports P. falciparum invasion and growth, with lentiviral transduction to knock down gene expression. We genetically demonstrate, in an isogenic background, that glycophorin A is required for efficient strain-specific parasite invasion. We establish the feasibility of in vitro systematic functional analysis of essential erythrocyte determinants of malaria and erythrocyte biology.     

Control of Plasmodium falciparum erythrocytic cycle: γδ T cells target the red blood cell-invasive merozoites

The control of Plasmodium falciparum erythrocytic parasite density is essential for protection against malaria, because it prevents pathogenesis and progression toward severe disease. P falciparum blood-stage parasite cultures are inhibited by human Vγ9Vδ2 γδ T cells, but the underlying mechanism remains poorly understood. Here, we show that both intraerythrocytic parasites and the extracellular red blood cell-invasive merozoites specifically activate Vγ9Vδ2 T cells in a γδ T cell receptor-dependent manner and trigger their degranulation. In contrast, the γδ T cell-mediated antiparasitic activity only targets the extracellular merozoites. Using perforin-deficient and granulysin-silenced T-cell lines, we demonstrate that granulysin is essential for the in vitro antiplasmodial process, whereas perforin is dispensable. Patients infected with P falciparum exhibited elevated granulysin plasma levels associated with high levels of granulysin-expressing Vδ2(+) T cells endowed with parasite-specific degranulation capacity. This indicates in vivo activation of Vγ9Vδ2 T cells along with granulysin triggering and discharge during primary acute falciparum malaria. Altogether, this work identifies Vγ9Vδ2 T cells as unconventional immune effectors targeting the red blood cell-invasive extracellular P falciparum merozoites and opens novel perspectives for immune interventions harnessing the antiparasitic activity of Vγ9Vδ2 T cells to control parasite density in malaria patients.     

A spatially localized rhomboid protease cleaves cell surface adhesins essential for invasion by Toxoplasma

Apicomplexan parasites cause serious human and animal diseases, the treatment of which requires identification of new therapeutic targets. Host-cell invasion culminates in the essential cleavage of parasite adhesins, and although the cleavage site for several adhesins maps within their transmembrane domains, the protease responsible for this processing has not been discovered. We have identified, cloned, and characterized the five nonmitochondrial rhomboid intramembrane proteases encoded in the recently completed genome of Toxoplasma gondii. Four T. gondii rhomboids (TgROMs) were active proteases with similar substrate specificity. TgROM1, TgROM4, and TgROM5 were expressed in the tachyzoite stage responsible for the disease, whereas TgROM2 and TgROM3 were expressed in the oocyst stage involved in transmission. Although both TgROM5 and TgROM4 localized to the cell surface in tachyzoites, TgROM5 was primarily at the posterior of the parasite, whereas adhesins were sequestered in internal micronemes. Upon microneme secretion, as occurs during invasion, the MIC2 adhesin was secreted to the apical end and translocated to the posterior, the site of cleavage, where it colocalized only with TgROM5. Moreover, only TgROM5 was able to cleave MIC adhesins in a cell-based assay, indicating that it likely provides the key protease activity necessary for invasion. T. gondii rhomboids have clear homologues in other apicomplexans including malaria; thus, our findings provide a model for studying invasion by this deadly pathogen and offer a target for therapeutic intervention.     

A set of independent selectable markers for transfection of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum

Genomic information is rapidly accumulating for the human malaria pathogen, Plasmodium falciparum. Our ability to perform genetic manipulations to understand Plasmodium gene function is limited. Dihydrofolate reductase is the only selectable marker presently available for transfection of P. falciparum. Additional markers are needed for complementation and for expression of mutated forms of essential genes. We tested parasite sensitivity to different drugs for which selectable markers are available. Two of these drugs that were very effective as antiplasmodial inhibitors in culture, blasticidin and geneticin (G418), were selected for further study. The genes BSD, encoding blasticidin S deaminase of Aspergillus terreus, and NEO, encoding neomycin phosphotransferase II from transposon Tn 5, were expressed under the histidine-rich protein III (HRPIII) gene promoter and tested for their ability to confer resistance to blasticidin or G418, respectively. After transfection, blasticidin and G418-resistant parasites tested positive for plasmid replication and BSD or NEO expression. Cross-resistance assays indicate that these markers are independent. The plasmid copy number and the enzymatic activity depended directly on the concentration of the drug used for selection. These markers set the stage for new methods of functional analysis of the P. falciparum genome.     

Transformation of Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasites by homologous integration of plasmids that confer resistance to pyrimethamine.

Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasites were transformed with plasmids containing P. falciparum or Toxoplasma gondii dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase (dhfr-ts) coding sequences that confer resistance to pyrimethamine. Under pyrimethamine pressure, transformed parasites were obtained that maintained the transfected plasmids as unrearranged episomes for several weeks. These parasite populations were replaced after 2 to 3 months by parasites that had incorporated the transfected DNA into nuclear chromosomes. Depending upon the particular construct used for transformation, homologous integration was detected in the P. falciparum dhfr-ts locus (chromosome 4) or in hrp3 and hrp2 sequences that were used in the plasmid constructs as gene control regions (chromosomes 13 and 8, respectively). Transformation by homologous integration sets the stage for targeted gene alterations and knock-outs that will advance understanding of P. falciparum.     

弓形虫与疟原虫入侵引起宿主细胞骨架重组相关GTP酶不同定位的观察

弓形虫与疟原虫均是顶复门(Phylum Apicomplexa),孢子纲(Class Sporozoea), 真球虫目(Order Eucoccidiida)的细胞内寄生原虫,入侵宿主细胞后均寄生于纳虫泡内进行发育增殖。细胞内寄生原虫的入侵均需要宿主细胞的细胞骨架发生重组,RhoGTP酶是哺乳动物细胞（有核细胞及红细胞）调节细胞骨架重组的重要酶类。我们在研究中发现宿主细胞的RhoA及Rac1GTP酶在弓形虫速殖子侵染后被纳入了纳虫泡膜（Parasitophorous Vacuole Membrane,PVM）上并高丰度聚集,然而在疟原虫裂殖子侵染的红细胞内却没有发现这两种GTP酶在纳虫泡膜上聚集的现象。宿主细胞RhoA及Rac1GTP酶在弓形虫及疟原虫感染宿主细胞后的不同分布,显示这两种原虫感染引起宿主细胞骨架重组的途径是不同的。     

Insights into the pyrimidine biosynthetic pathway of human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum as chemotherapeutic target

Malaria is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in humans. Artemisinins remain as the first-line treatment for Plasmodium falciparum(P. falciparum) malaria although drug resistance has already emerged and spread in Southeast Asia. Thus, to fight this disease, there is an urgent need to develop new antimalarial drugs for malaria chemotherapy. Unlike human host cells, P. falciparum cannot salvage preformed pyrimidine bases or nucleosides from the extracellular environment and relies solely on nucleotides synthesized through the de novo biosynthetic pathway. This review presents significant progress on understanding the de novo pyrimidine pathway and the functional enzymes in the human parasite P. falciparum. Current knowledge in genomics and metabolomics are described, particularly focusing on the parasite purine and pyrimidine nucleotide metabolism. These include gene annotation, characterization and molecular mechanism of the enzymes that are different from the human host pathway. Recent elucidation of the three-dimensional crystal structures and the catalytic reactions of three enzymes: dihydroorotate dehydrogenase, orotate phosphoribosyltransferase, and orotidine 5'-monophosphate decarboxylase, as well as their inhibitors are reviewed in the context of their therapeutic potential against malaria.     

弓形虫基因组文库的建立、特异克隆的筛选和弓形虫病的DNA诊断

首次建立弓形虫人株(ZS_2株)基因组文库,筛选出一个弓形虫特异DNA片段的克隆。对该克隆的DNA片段(1.1kb)进行了限制性内切酶图谱分析。应用Southern印迹法及斑点印迹法检测,结果示同位素~(32)P标记的该克隆DNA片段能与弓形虫DNA、人工感染弓形虫幼猪白细胞和胸腺DNA、弓形虫感染病人DNA杂交,但不与正常人、正常幼猪外周血白细胞、正常小鼠脾脏、恶性疟原虫、肺孢子虫、pBR322的DNA杂交。斑点杂交检测低限为100个弓形虫或500pg弓形虫DNA。该探针已成功地应用于多种弓形虫感染病例的检测,为弓形虫病提供了一个特异、灵敏的DNA诊断方法。     

Gene selective mRNA cleavage inhibits the development of Plasmodium falciparum

Unique peptide-morpholino oligomer (PMO) conjugates have been designed to bind and promote the cleavage of specific mRNA as a tool to inhibit gene function and parasite growth. The new conjugates were validated using the P. falciparum gyrase mRNA as a target (PfGyrA). Assays in vitro demonstrated a selective degradation of the PfGyrA mRNA directed by the external guide sequences, which are morpholino oligomers in the conjugates. Fluorescence microscopy revealed that labeled conjugates are delivered into Plasmodium-infected erythrocytes during all intraerythrocytic stages of parasite development. Consistent with the expression of PfGyrA in all stages of parasite development, proliferation assays showed that these conjugates have potent antimalarial activity, blocking early development, maturation, and replication of the parasite. The conjugates were equally effective against drug sensitive and resistant P. falciparum strains. The potency, selectivity, and predicted safety of PMO conjugates make this approach attractive for the development of a unique class of target-specific antimalarials and for large-scale functional analysis of the malarial genome.     

PCR扩增环子孢子蛋白基因3' 端片段用于检测恶性疟原虫的初步研究

目的 :建立 PCR检测恶性疟原虫的新方法。方法 :作者采用自行设计并合成的一对恶性疟原虫特异引物 ,经 PCR扩增环子孢子蛋白 ( CSP)基因 3 端保守区序列 2 4 5bp片段 ,观察了它的特异性、敏感性和稳定性。结果 :1从 4株培养的恶性疟原虫和 2例恶性疟患者血样中均扩增出约 2 4 5bp的 DNA目的片段 ,用业已鉴定的 CSP基因序列作模板再行扩增证实其为恶性疟原虫CSP基因片段 ;2对间日疟原虫、利什曼原虫、弓形虫和健康人血样进行 PCR反应 ,均未见扩增条带 ;3本检测系统可检出恶性疟原虫感染血样中 0 .18个原虫所含的 DNA模板 ;4采用不同方法制备模板及不同反应方式均能获得满意结果 ;结论 :PCR扩增恶性疟原虫 CSP基因 3 端片段用于恶性疟原虫检测具有灵敏、高度特异且稳定性好等优点。     

An anti-Chitinase malaria transmission-blocking single-chain antibody as an effector molecule for creating a Plasmodium falciparum-refractory mosquito

Indirect evidence has suggested the existence of a second chitinase gene, PgCHT2, in the avian malaria parasite Plasmodium gallinaceum. We have now identified PgCHT2 as the orthologue of the P. falciparum chitinase gene PfCHT1, a malaria transmission-blocking target. Computational phylogenetic evidence and biochemical and cell biological functional data support the hypothesis that an avian-related Plasmodium species was the ancestor of both P. falciparum and P. reichenowi, and this single lineage gave rise to another lineage of malaria parasites, including P. vivax, P. knowlesi, P. berghei, P. yoelii, and P. chabaudi. A recombinant PfCHT1/PgCHT2-neutralizing single-chain antibody significantly reduced P. falciparum and P. gallinaceum parasite transmission to mosquitoes. This single-chain antibody is the first anti-P. falciparum effector molecule to be validated for making a malaria transmission-refractory transgenic Anopheles species mosquito. P. gallinaceum is a relevant animal model that facilitates a mechanistic understanding of P. falciparum invasion of the mosquito midgut.     

弓形虫表观遗传学研究进展

弓形虫复杂的生活史包含多个生命阶段、多种宿主和多种生存环境,从一个阶段向另一个阶段的转换,对外部环境的适应,均需要精密的基因表达调控机制。生物信息学分析表明,弓形虫缺乏其他真核生物典型的转录因子,却存在着丰富的表观遗传学机制。相关研究证明,弓形虫在转录后水平存在着以组蛋白修饰为主的大量修饰机制,如乙酰化、甲基化、磷酸化、泛素化和类泛素化等;同时发现弓形虫非编码RNA在弓形虫的基因表达调控中发挥了重要作用。这些结果为进一步揭示弓形虫的致病机制,从而有效防治弓形虫感染提供了可靠依据。     

Construction of a genomic DNA library of the Toxoplasma gondii ZS2 strain, screening of specific clones, and DNA diagnosis of toxoplasmosis.

We have constructed a genomic DNA library of the Toxoplasma gondii ZS2 strain and isolated a specific cloned DNA sequence from this organism. The restriction map of this cloned 1.1-kb DNA fragment was analyzed. Southern and dot-blot analyses showed that the 32P-labeled DNA fragment hybridized to parasite DNA, to DNAs from peripheral blood leukocytes and the thymus of baby pigs that were artificially infected with T. gondii, and to DNAs of T. gondii-positive anencephalic and hydrocephalic fetuses. It did not hybridize with DNA from controls, (i.e., normal human and baby pig peripheral blood leukocytes, spleen of normal mice, Plasmodium falciparum, Pneumocystis carinii, and pBR322). As few as 100 T. gondii parasites or 500 pg of purified DNA from T. gondii can be detected by dot-blot hybridization. This probe method was specific and sensitive, and has been used successfully in detecting various clinical cases of toxoplasmosis with T. gondii.