1
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Mahanta PJ, Lhouvum K. Plasmodium falciparum proteases as new drug targets with special focus on metalloproteases. Mol Biochem Parasitol 2024; 258:111617. [PMID: 38554736 DOI: 10.1016/j.molbiopara.2024.111617] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2023] [Revised: 02/15/2024] [Accepted: 03/10/2024] [Indexed: 04/02/2024]
Abstract
Malaria poses a significant global health threat particularly due to the prevalence of Plasmodium falciparum infection. With the emergence of parasite resistance to existing drugs including the recently discovered artemisinin, ongoing research seeks novel therapeutic avenues within the malaria parasite. Proteases are promising drug targets due to their essential roles in parasite biology, including hemoglobin digestion, merozoite invasion, and egress. While exploring the genomic landscape of Plasmodium falciparum, it has been revealed that there are 92 predicted proteases, with only approximately 14 of them having been characterized. These proteases are further distributed among 26 families grouped into five clans: aspartic proteases, cysteine proteases, metalloproteases, serine proteases, and threonine proteases. Focus on metalloprotease class shows further role in organelle processing for mitochondria and apicoplasts suggesting the potential of metalloproteases as viable drug targets. Holistic understanding of the parasite intricate life cycle and identification of potential drug targets are essential for developing effective therapeutic strategies against malaria and mitigating its devastating global impact.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kimjolly Lhouvum
- Department of Biotechnology, National Institute of Technology, Arunachal Pradesh, India.
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2
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Introini V, Govendir MA, Rayner JC, Cicuta P, Bernabeu M. Biophysical Tools and Concepts Enable Understanding of Asexual Blood Stage Malaria. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2022; 12:908241. [PMID: 35711656 PMCID: PMC9192966 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.908241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2022] [Accepted: 04/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Forces and mechanical properties of cells and tissues set constraints on biological functions, and are key determinants of human physiology. Changes in cell mechanics may arise from disease, or directly contribute to pathogenesis. Malaria gives many striking examples. Plasmodium parasites, the causative agents of malaria, are single-celled organisms that cannot survive outside their hosts; thus, thost-pathogen interactions are fundamental for parasite’s biological success and to the host response to infection. These interactions are often combinations of biochemical and mechanical factors, but most research focuses on the molecular side. However, Plasmodium infection of human red blood cells leads to changes in their mechanical properties, which has a crucial impact on disease pathogenesis because of the interaction of infected red blood cells with other human tissues through various adhesion mechanisms, which can be probed and modelled with biophysical techniques. Recently, natural polymorphisms affecting red blood cell biomechanics have also been shown to protect human populations, highlighting the potential of understanding biomechanical factors to inform future vaccines and drug development. Here we review biophysical techniques that have revealed new aspects of Plasmodium falciparum invasion of red blood cells and cytoadhesion of infected cells to the host vasculature. These mechanisms occur differently across Plasmodium species and are linked to malaria pathogenesis. We highlight promising techniques from the fields of bioengineering, immunomechanics, and soft matter physics that could be beneficial for studying malaria. Some approaches might also be applied to other phases of the malaria lifecycle and to apicomplexan infections with complex host-pathogen interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viola Introini
- Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- *Correspondence: Viola Introini,
| | - Matt A. Govendir
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Julian C. Rayner
- Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Pietro Cicuta
- Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Maria Bernabeu
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
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3
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Wilairat P, Auparakkitanon S. Plug for the parasitophorous duct: a solution of two conundra. Malar J 2020; 19:370. [PMID: 33066767 PMCID: PMC7566142 DOI: 10.1186/s12936-020-03445-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2020] [Accepted: 10/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND We present two conundra in the biology of intraerythrocytic malaria parasite: how an apparent open parasitophorous duct provide direct access of only a select set of serum proteins to the parasitophorous vacuole, and how proteases mediate membrane lysis to allow merozoite egress. SOLUTION We posit the existence of a parasitophorous vacuolar duct plug that is originally formed from a tight junction (or parts thereof) between merozoite apical surface and red blood cell plasma membrane, which by moving over the parasite surface towards the posterior end draws the parasite into the host cell interior, and by remaining at the passage orifice provides a location of transporter(s) for import of serum proteins into parasitophorous vacuole and an opening for merozoite egress upon its dissolution/dismantling through protease(s) action. CONCLUSION This notion obviates the need of a distinct intact parasitophorous vacuolar membrane, which in the proposed model is an extension of the red blood cell membrane but still forms an intracellular compartment for parasite growth and development. The model is testable using existing high-resolution electron and X-ray tomography tools.
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Affiliation(s)
- Prapon Wilairat
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Rama 6 Road, Bangkok, 10400, Thailand.
| | - Saranya Auparakkitanon
- Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Rama 6 Road, Bangkok, 10400, Thailand
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4
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Recho P, Fouchard J, Wyatt T, Khalilgharibi N, Charras G, Kabla A. Tug-of-war between stretching and bending in living cell sheets. Phys Rev E 2020; 102:012401. [PMID: 32795061 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.102.012401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2020] [Accepted: 06/09/2020] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
The balance between stretching and bending deformations characterizes shape transitions of thin elastic sheets. While stretching dominates the mechanical response in tension, bending dominates in compression after an abrupt buckling transition. Recently, experimental results in suspended living epithelial monolayers have shown that, due to the asymmetry in surface stresses generated by molecular motors across the thickness e of the epithelium, the free edges of such tissues spontaneously curl out-of-plane, stretching the sheet in-plane as a result. This suggests that a competition between bending and stretching sets the morphology of the tissue margin. In this paper, we use the framework of non-Euclidean plates to incorporate active pre-strain and spontaneous curvature to the theory of thin elastic shells. We show that, when the spontaneous curvature of the sheet scales like 1/e, stretching and bending energies have the same scaling in the limit of a vanishingly small thickness and therefore both compete, in a way that is continuously altered by an external tension, to define the three-dimensional shape of the tissue.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Recho
- LIPhy, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR 5588, Université Grenoble Alpes, F-38000 Grenoble, France.,Department of Engineering, Cambridge University, Cambridge, England, United Kingdom
| | - J Fouchard
- London Centre for Nanotechnology, University College London, London, England, United Kingdom
| | - T Wyatt
- London Centre for Nanotechnology, University College London, London, England, United Kingdom.,Centre for Computation, Mathematics, and Physics in the Life Sciences and Experimental Biology, University College London, London, England, United Kingdom
| | - N Khalilgharibi
- London Centre for Nanotechnology, University College London, London, England, United Kingdom.,Centre for Computation, Mathematics, and Physics in the Life Sciences and Experimental Biology, University College London, London, England, United Kingdom
| | - G Charras
- London Centre for Nanotechnology, University College London, London, England, United Kingdom.,Institute for the Physics of Living Systems, University College London, London, England, United Kingdom.,Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, London, England, United Kingdom
| | - A Kabla
- Department of Engineering, Cambridge University, Cambridge, England, United Kingdom
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5
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Measuring Membrane Viscosity in the Widening Gyre. Biophys J 2020; 118:1511-1513. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2020.01.040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2020] [Revised: 01/29/2020] [Accepted: 01/31/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
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6
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Aguiar L, Biosca A, Lantero E, Gut J, Vale N, Rosenthal PJ, Nogueira F, Andreu D, Fernàndez-Busquets X, Gomes P. Coupling the Antimalarial Cell Penetrating Peptide TP10 to Classical Antimalarial Drugs Primaquine and Chloroquine Produces Strongly Hemolytic Conjugates. Molecules 2019; 24:molecules24244559. [PMID: 31842498 PMCID: PMC6943437 DOI: 10.3390/molecules24244559] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2019] [Revised: 12/05/2019] [Accepted: 12/10/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Recently, we disclosed primaquine cell penetrating peptide conjugates that were more potent than parent primaquine against liver stage Plasmodium parasites and non-toxic to hepatocytes. The same strategy was now applied to the blood-stage antimalarial chloroquine, using a wide set of peptides, including TP10, a cell penetrating peptide with intrinsic antiplasmodial activity. Chloroquine-TP10 conjugates displaying higher antiplasmodial activity than the parent TP10 peptide were identified, at the cost of an increased hemolytic activity, which was further confirmed for their primaquine analogues. Fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry suggest that these drug-peptide conjugates strongly bind, and likely destroy, erythrocyte membranes. Taken together, the results herein reported put forward that coupling antimalarial aminoquinolines to cell penetrating peptides delivers hemolytic conjugates. Hence, despite their widely reported advantages as carriers for many different types of cargo, from small drugs to biomacromolecules, cell penetrating peptides seem unsuitable for safe intracellular delivery of antimalarial aminoquinolines due to hemolysis issues. This highlights the relevance of paying attention to hemolytic effects of cell penetrating peptide-drug conjugates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luísa Aguiar
- LAQV-REQUIMTE, Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal;
| | - Arnau Biosca
- Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal, Hospital Clínic-Universitat de Barcelona), Rosselló 149-153, 08036 Barcelona, Spain; (A.B.); (E.L.); (X.F.-B.)
- Nanomalaria Group, Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Baldiri Reixac 10-12, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Elena Lantero
- Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal, Hospital Clínic-Universitat de Barcelona), Rosselló 149-153, 08036 Barcelona, Spain; (A.B.); (E.L.); (X.F.-B.)
- Nanomalaria Group, Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Baldiri Reixac 10-12, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jiri Gut
- School of Medicine, University of California at San Francisco, 1001 Potrero Avenue, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94110, USA; (J.G.); (P.J.R.)
| | - Nuno Vale
- Departamento de Farmacologia, Departamento de Ciências do Medicamento, Faculdade de Farmácia da Universidade do Porto, Rua de Jorge Viterbo Ferreira 228, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal;
- IPATIMUP—Instituto de Patologia e Imunologia Molecular da Universidade do Porto, Rua Júlio Amaral de Carvalho 45, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal
- i3S, Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Rua Alfredo Allen 208, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal
| | - Philip J. Rosenthal
- School of Medicine, University of California at San Francisco, 1001 Potrero Avenue, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94110, USA; (J.G.); (P.J.R.)
| | - Fátima Nogueira
- Global Health and Tropical Medicine, Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 1349-008 Lisbon, Portugal;
| | - David Andreu
- Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona Biomedical Research Park, Dr. Aiguader 88, 08003 Barcelona, Spain;
| | - Xavier Fernàndez-Busquets
- Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal, Hospital Clínic-Universitat de Barcelona), Rosselló 149-153, 08036 Barcelona, Spain; (A.B.); (E.L.); (X.F.-B.)
- Nanomalaria Group, Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Baldiri Reixac 10-12, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
- Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Institute (IN2UB), University of Barcelona, Martí i Franquès 1, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Paula Gomes
- LAQV-REQUIMTE, Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal;
- Correspondence:
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7
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Host Cytoskeleton Remodeling throughout the Blood Stages of Plasmodium falciparum. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 2019; 83:83/4/e00013-19. [PMID: 31484690 DOI: 10.1128/mmbr.00013-19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The asexual intraerythrocytic development of Plasmodium falciparum, causing the most severe form of human malaria, is marked by extensive host cell remodeling. Throughout the processes of invasion, intracellular development, and egress, the erythrocyte membrane skeleton is remodeled by the parasite as required for each specific developmental stage. The remodeling is facilitated by a plethora of exported parasite proteins, and the erythrocyte membrane skeleton is the interface of most of the observed interactions between the parasite and host cell proteins. Host cell remodeling has been extensively described and there is a vast body of information on protein export or the description of parasite-induced structures such as Maurer's clefts or knobs on the host cell surface. Here we specifically review the molecular level of each host cell-remodeling step at each stage of the intraerythrocytic development of P. falciparum We describe key events, such as invasion, knob formation, and egress, and identify the interactions between exported parasite proteins and the host cell cytoskeleton. We discuss each remodeling step with respect to time and specific requirement of the developing parasite to explain host cell remodeling in a stage-specific manner. Thus, we highlight the interaction with the host membrane skeleton as a key event in parasite survival.
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8
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Tan H, Li S, Li K, Yu C, Lu Z, Zhou Y. Shape Transformations of Vesicles Self-Assembled from Amphiphilic Hyperbranched Multiarm Copolymers via Simulation. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2019; 35:6929-6938. [PMID: 30091926 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.8b02206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
The understanding of shape transformations of vesicles is of fundamental importance in biological and clinical sciences. Hyperbranched polymer vesicles (branched polymersomes) are newly emerging polymer vesicles with special structure and property. They have also been regarded as a good model for biomembranes. However, the shape transformations of hyperbranched polymer vesicles have not been studied from either an experimental or theoretical level. Herein, the shape transformations of vesicles self-assembled from amphiphilic hyperbranched multiarm copolymers (HMCs) in response to the interaction parameters between the hydrophobic core and hydrophilic arms and the polymer concentrations are investigated carefully through dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulations. In the morphological phase diagram, two types of vesicles are obtained: one type corresponds to vesicles without holes formed at low concentrations including unilamellar vesicles, double-lamellar vesicles, discocyte-shaped vesicles, and tubular vesicles, and the other type corresponds to vesicles with holes formed at high concentrations including stomatocyte-shaped vesicles, toroidal vesicles, genus-3 (G-3) toroidal vesicles with three holes, and genus-4 (G-4) toroidal vesicles with four holes. In addition, both the self-assembly mechanisms and the dynamics for the formation of these vesicles have been systematically studied. The current work will offer theoretical support for fabricating novel vesicles with various shapes from hyperbranched polymers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haina Tan
- School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites , Shanghai Jiao Tong University , 800 Dongchuan Road , Shanghai , China 200240
| | - Shanlong Li
- School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites , Shanghai Jiao Tong University , 800 Dongchuan Road , Shanghai , China 200240
| | - Ke Li
- School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites , Shanghai Jiao Tong University , 800 Dongchuan Road , Shanghai , China 200240
| | - Chunyang Yu
- School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites , Shanghai Jiao Tong University , 800 Dongchuan Road , Shanghai , China 200240
| | - Zhongyuan Lu
- Institute of Theoretical Chemistry, State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials , Jilin University , Changchun , China 130021
| | - Yongfeng Zhou
- School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites , Shanghai Jiao Tong University , 800 Dongchuan Road , Shanghai , China 200240
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9
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Haas PA, Höhn SSMH, Honerkamp-Smith AR, Kirkegaard JB, Goldstein RE. The noisy basis of morphogenesis: Mechanisms and mechanics of cell sheet folding inferred from developmental variability. PLoS Biol 2018; 16:e2005536. [PMID: 30001335 PMCID: PMC6063725 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.2005536] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2018] [Revised: 07/27/2018] [Accepted: 06/05/2018] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Variability is emerging as an integral part of development. It is therefore imperative to ask how to access the information contained in this variability. Yet most studies of development average their observations and, discarding the variability, seek to derive models, biological or physical, that explain these average observations. Here, we analyse this variability in a study of cell sheet folding in the green alga Volvox, whose spherical embryos turn themselves inside out in a process sharing invagination, expansion, involution, and peeling of a cell sheet with animal models of morphogenesis. We generalise our earlier, qualitative model of the initial stages of inversion by combining ideas from morphoelasticity and shell theory. Together with three-dimensional visualisations of inversion using light sheet microscopy, this yields a detailed, quantitative model of the entire inversion process. With this model, we show how the variability of inversion reveals that two separate, temporally uncoupled processes drive the initial invagination and subsequent expansion of the cell sheet. This implies a prototypical transition towards higher developmental complexity in the volvocine algae and provides proof of principle of analysing morphogenesis based on its variability. Biological noise is unavoidable in—and even necessary for—development. Here, we ask whether this variability can teach us something about the process that underlies it. We show how to access the information hidden in the variability in an analysis of the variability of cell sheet folding in the green alga Volvox globator. Through a combination of light sheet microscopy and mathematical modelling, we show how the inversion process, by which the spherical embryos of Volvox turn themselves inside out, results from two separate mechanisms of bending and stretching (expansion and subsequent contraction). Our analysis therefore uncovers a prototypical transition of developmental complexity in Volvox and the related volvocine algae, from a morphogenetic process driven by a single mechanism to one driven by two separate mechanisms. This complements the similarly prototypical transition from one cell type to two cell types that has made the volvocine algae a model system for the evolution of multicellularity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierre A. Haas
- Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, Centre for Mathematical Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Stephanie S. M. H. Höhn
- Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, Centre for Mathematical Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Aurelia R. Honerkamp-Smith
- Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, Centre for Mathematical Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Department of Physics, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Julius B. Kirkegaard
- Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, Centre for Mathematical Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Raymond E. Goldstein
- Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, Centre for Mathematical Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
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10
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Dasanna AK, Lansche C, Lanzer M, Schwarz US. Rolling Adhesion of Schizont Stage Malaria-Infected Red Blood Cells in Shear Flow. Biophys J 2017; 112:1908-1919. [PMID: 28494961 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2017.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2016] [Revised: 03/27/2017] [Accepted: 04/03/2017] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
To avoid clearance by the spleen, red blood cells infected with the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum (iRBCs) adhere to the vascular endothelium through adhesive protrusions called "knobs" that the parasite induces on the surface of the host cell. However, the detailed relation between the developing knob structure and the resulting movement in shear flow is not known. Using flow chamber experiments on endothelial monolayers and tracking of the parasite inside the infected host cell, we find that trophozoites (intermediate-stage iRBCs) tend to flip due to their biconcave shape, whereas schizonts (late-stage iRBCs) tend to roll due to their almost spherical shape. We then use adhesive dynamics simulations for spherical cells to predict the effects of knob density and receptor multiplicity per knob on rolling adhesion of schizonts. We find that rolling adhesion requires a homogeneous coverage of the cell surface by knobs and that rolling adhesion becomes more stable and slower for higher knob density. Our experimental data suggest that schizonts are at the border between transient and stable rolling adhesion. They also allow us to establish an estimate for the molecular parameters for schizont adhesion to the vascular endothelium and to predict bond dynamics in the contact region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anil K Dasanna
- BioQuant-Center for Quantitative Biology, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany; Institute of Theoretical Physics, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Christine Lansche
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Michael Lanzer
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Ulrich S Schwarz
- BioQuant-Center for Quantitative Biology, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany; Institute of Theoretical Physics, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.
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11
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Collins CR, Hackett F, Atid J, Tan MSY, Blackman MJ. The Plasmodium falciparum pseudoprotease SERA5 regulates the kinetics and efficiency of malaria parasite egress from host erythrocytes. PLoS Pathog 2017; 13:e1006453. [PMID: 28683142 PMCID: PMC5500368 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1006453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2017] [Accepted: 06/07/2017] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Egress of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum from its host red blood cell is a rapid, highly regulated event that is essential for maintenance and completion of the parasite life cycle. Egress is protease-dependent and is temporally associated with extensive proteolytic modification of parasite proteins, including a family of papain-like proteins called SERA that are expressed in the parasite parasitophorous vacuole. Previous work has shown that the most abundant SERA, SERA5, plays an important but non-enzymatic role in asexual blood stages. SERA5 is extensively proteolytically processed by a parasite serine protease called SUB1 as well as an unidentified cysteine protease just prior to egress. However, neither the function of SERA5 nor the role of its processing is known. Here we show that conditional disruption of the SERA5 gene, or of both the SERA5 and related SERA4 genes simultaneously, results in a dramatic egress and replication defect characterised by premature host cell rupture and the failure of daughter merozoites to efficiently disseminate, instead being transiently retained within residual bounding membranes. SERA5 is not required for poration (permeabilization) or vesiculation of the host cell membrane at egress, but the premature rupture phenotype requires the activity of a parasite or host cell cysteine protease. Complementation of SERA5 null parasites by ectopic expression of wild-type SERA5 reversed the egress defect, whereas expression of a SERA5 mutant refractory to processing failed to rescue the phenotype. Our findings implicate SERA5 as an important regulator of the kinetics and efficiency of egress and suggest that proteolytic modification is required for SERA5 function. In addition, our study reveals that efficient egress requires tight control of the timing of membrane rupture. Malaria, a disease that kills hundreds of thousands of people each year, is caused by a single-celled parasite that grows in red blood cells of infected individuals. Following each round of parasite multiplication, the infected red cells are actively ruptured in a process called egress, releasing a new generation of parasites. Egress is essential for progression to clinical disease, but little is known about how it is controlled. In this work we set out to address the function in egress of a Plasmodium falciparum protein called SERA5, an abundant component of the vacuole in which the parasite grows. We show that parasites lacking SERA5 (or lacking both SERA5 and a closely-related protein called SERA4) undergo accelerated but defective egress in which the bounding vacuole and red cell membranes do not rupture properly. This impedes the escape and subsequent replication of the newly-developed parasites. We also show that modification of SERA5 by parasites proteases just prior to egress is important for SERA5 function. Our results show that SERA5 is a ‘negative regulator’ of egress, controlling the speed of the pathway that leads to disruption of the membranes surrounding the intracellular parasite. Our findings increase our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying malarial egress and show that efficient egress requires tight control of the timing of membrane rupture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine R. Collins
- Malaria Biochemistry Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, United Kingdom
| | - Fiona Hackett
- Malaria Biochemistry Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, United Kingdom
| | - Jonathan Atid
- Malaria Biochemistry Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, United Kingdom
| | - Michele Ser Ying Tan
- Malaria Biochemistry Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, United Kingdom
| | - Michael J. Blackman
- Malaria Biochemistry Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Pathogen Molecular Biology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
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12
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Hale VL, Watermeyer JM, Hackett F, Vizcay-Barrena G, van Ooij C, Thomas JA, Spink MC, Harkiolaki M, Duke E, Fleck RA, Blackman MJ, Saibil HR. Parasitophorous vacuole poration precedes its rupture and rapid host erythrocyte cytoskeleton collapse in Plasmodium falciparum egress. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 114:3439-3444. [PMID: 28292906 PMCID: PMC5380091 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1619441114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
In the asexual blood stages of malarial infection, merozoites invade erythrocytes and replicate within a parasitophorous vacuole to form daughter cells that eventually exit (egress) by sequential rupture of the vacuole and erythrocyte membranes. The current model is that PKG, a malarial cGMP-dependent protein kinase, triggers egress, activating malarial proteases and other effectors. Using selective inhibitors of either PKG or cysteine proteases to separately inhibit the sequential steps in membrane perforation, combined with video microscopy, electron tomography, electron energy loss spectroscopy, and soft X-ray tomography of mature intracellular Plasmodium falciparum parasites, we resolve intermediate steps in egress. We show that the parasitophorous vacuole membrane (PVM) is permeabilized 10-30 min before its PKG-triggered breakdown into multilayered vesicles. Just before PVM breakdown, the host red cell undergoes an abrupt, dramatic shape change due to the sudden breakdown of the erythrocyte cytoskeleton, before permeabilization and eventual rupture of the erythrocyte membrane to release the parasites. In contrast to the previous view of PKG-triggered initiation of egress and a gradual dismantling of the host erythrocyte cytoskeleton over the course of schizont development, our findings identify an initial step in egress and show that host cell cytoskeleton breakdown is restricted to a narrow time window within the final stages of egress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoria L Hale
- Crystallography, Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Birkbeck College, London, WC1E 7HX, United Kingdom
| | - Jean M Watermeyer
- Crystallography, Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Birkbeck College, London, WC1E 7HX, United Kingdom
| | - Fiona Hackett
- Francis Crick Institute, London, NW1 1AT, United Kingdom
| | - Gema Vizcay-Barrena
- Centre for Ultrastructural Imaging, Kings College London, London, SE1 9RT, United Kingdom
| | | | - James A Thomas
- Francis Crick Institute, London, NW1 1AT, United Kingdom
| | | | | | | | - Roland A Fleck
- Centre for Ultrastructural Imaging, Kings College London, London, SE1 9RT, United Kingdom
| | - Michael J Blackman
- Francis Crick Institute, London, NW1 1AT, United Kingdom
- Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, WC1E 7HT, United Kingdom
| | - Helen R Saibil
- Crystallography, Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Birkbeck College, London, WC1E 7HX, United Kingdom;
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Chiaruttini N, Redondo-Morata L, Colom A, Humbert F, Lenz M, Scheuring S, Roux A. Relaxation of Loaded ESCRT-III Spiral Springs Drives Membrane Deformation. Cell 2015; 163:866-79. [PMID: 26522593 PMCID: PMC4644223 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2015.10.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 221] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2015] [Revised: 05/26/2015] [Accepted: 09/08/2015] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
ESCRT-III is required for lipid membrane remodeling in many cellular processes, from abscission to viral budding and multi-vesicular body biogenesis. However, how ESCRT-III polymerization generates membrane curvature remains debated. Here, we show that Snf7, the main component of ESCRT-III, polymerizes into spirals at the surface of lipid bilayers. When covering the entire membrane surface, these spirals stopped growing when densely packed: they had a polygonal shape, suggesting that lateral compression could deform them. We reasoned that Snf7 spirals could function as spiral springs. By measuring the polymerization energy and the rigidity of Snf7 filaments, we showed that they were deformed while growing in a confined area. Furthermore, we observed that the elastic expansion of compressed Snf7 spirals generated an area difference between the two sides of the membrane and thus curvature. This spring-like activity underlies the driving force by which ESCRT-III could mediate membrane deformation and fission. Snf7 forms highly flexible filaments that spontaneously curl Snf7 filaments forms spirals at the surface of lipid membranes Snf7 spirals are springs as they can deform under lateral compression Relaxation of compressed Snf7 spirals leads to membrane deformation
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Chiaruttini
- University of Geneva, Department of Biochemistry, quai Ernest Ansermet 30, 1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland
| | - Lorena Redondo-Morata
- U1006 INSERM, Aix-Marseille Université, Parc Scientifique et Technologique de Luminy, 163 avenue de Luminy, 13009 Marseille, France
| | - Adai Colom
- University of Geneva, Department of Biochemistry, quai Ernest Ansermet 30, 1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland; Swiss National Centre for Competence in Research Programme Chemical Biology, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland; U1006 INSERM, Aix-Marseille Université, Parc Scientifique et Technologique de Luminy, 163 avenue de Luminy, 13009 Marseille, France
| | - Frédéric Humbert
- University of Geneva, Department of Biochemistry, quai Ernest Ansermet 30, 1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland
| | - Martin Lenz
- LPTMS,CNRS, Univ. Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, 91405 Orsay, France
| | - Simon Scheuring
- U1006 INSERM, Aix-Marseille Université, Parc Scientifique et Technologique de Luminy, 163 avenue de Luminy, 13009 Marseille, France.
| | - Aurélien Roux
- University of Geneva, Department of Biochemistry, quai Ernest Ansermet 30, 1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland; Swiss National Centre for Competence in Research Programme Chemical Biology, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland.
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Characterization of red blood cells with multiwavelength transmission spectroscopy. BIOMED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2015; 2015:382641. [PMID: 25654099 PMCID: PMC4309305 DOI: 10.1155/2015/382641] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2014] [Accepted: 11/15/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Multiwavelength transmission (MWT) spectroscopy was applied to the investigation of the morphological parameters and composition of red blood cells (RBCs). The MWT spectra were quantitatively analyzed with a Mie theory based interpretation model modified to incorporate the effects of the nonsphericity and orientation of RBCs. The MWT spectra of the healthy and anemic samples were investigated for the RBC indices in open and blinded studies. When MWT performance was evaluated against a standard reference system, very good agreement between two methods, with R2 > 0.85 for all indices studied, was demonstrated. The RBC morphological parameters were used to characterize three types of anemia and to draw an association between RBC morphology and anemia severity. The MWT spectra of RBCs infected with malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum at different life cycle stages were analyzed for RBC morphological parameters. The changes in the RBC volume, surface area, aspect ratio, and hemoglobin composition were used to trace the morphological and compositional alterations in the infected RBCs occurring with parasites' development and to provide insights into parasite-host interactions. The MWT method was shown to be reliable for determination of the RBC morphological parameters and to be valuable for identification of the RBC pathologic changes and disease states.
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15
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Zhang B, Liu B, Zhang H, Wang J. Erythrocyte stiffness during morphological remodeling induced by carbon ion radiation. PLoS One 2014; 9:e112624. [PMID: 25401336 PMCID: PMC4234377 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0112624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2014] [Accepted: 09/03/2014] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The adverse effect induced by carbon ion radiation (CIR) is still an unavoidable hazard to the treatment object. Thus, evaluation of its adverse effects on the body is a critical problem with respect to radiation therapy. We aimed to investigate the change between the configuration and mechanical properties of erythrocytes induced by radiation and found differences in both the configuration and the mechanical properties with involving in morphological remodeling process. Syrian hamsters were subjected to whole-body irradiation with carbon ion beams (1, 2, 4, and 6 Gy) or X-rays (2, 4, 6, and 12 Gy) for 3, 14 and 28 days. Erythrocytes in peripheral blood and bone marrow were collected for cytomorphological analysis. The mechanical properties of the erythrocytes were determined using atomic force microscopy, and the expression of the cytoskeletal protein spectrin-α1 was analyzed via western blotting. The results showed that dynamic changes were evident in erythrocytes exposed to different doses of carbon ion beams compared with X-rays and the control (0 Gy). The magnitude of impairment of the cell number and cellular morphology manifested the subtle variation according to the irradiation dose. In particular, the differences in the size, shape and mechanical properties of the erythrocytes were well exhibited. Furthermore, immunoblot data showed that the expression of the cytoskeletal protein spectrin-α1 was changed after irradiation, and there was a common pattern among its substantive characteristics in the irradiated group. Based on these findings, the present study concluded that CIR could induce a change in mechanical properties during morphological remodeling of erythrocytes. According to the unique characteristics of the biomechanical categories, we deduce that changes in cytomorphology and mechanical properties can be measured to evaluate the adverse effects generated by tumor radiotherapy. Additionally, for the first time, the current study provides a new strategy for enhancing the assessment of the curative effects and safety of clinical radiotherapy, as well as reducing adverse effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Baoping Zhang
- School of Civil Engineering and Mechanics, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, PR China
- Key Laboratory of Mechanics on Disaster and Environment in Western China, The Ministry of Education of China, Lanzhou University, 730000, PR China
- Institute of Biomechanics and Medical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, PR China
| | - Bin Liu
- Institute of Biomechanics and Medical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, PR China
- Department of Heavy Ion Radiation Medicine, Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, PR China
| | - Hong Zhang
- Department of Heavy Ion Radiation Medicine, Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, PR China
| | - Jizeng Wang
- School of Civil Engineering and Mechanics, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, PR China
- Key Laboratory of Mechanics on Disaster and Environment in Western China, The Ministry of Education of China, Lanzhou University, 730000, PR China
- Institute of Biomechanics and Medical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, PR China
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Tiffert T, Lew VL. Dynamic morphology and cytoskeletal protein changes during spontaneous inside-out vesiculation of red blood cell membranes. Pflugers Arch 2014; 466:2279-88. [PMID: 24615169 PMCID: PMC4233320 DOI: 10.1007/s00424-014-1483-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2013] [Revised: 02/06/2014] [Accepted: 02/13/2014] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Vesicle preparations from cell plasma membranes, red blood cells in particular, are extensively used in transport and enzymic studies and in the fields of drug delivery and drug-transport interactions. Here we investigated the role of spectrin–actin, the main components of the red cell cortical cytoskeleton, in a particular mechanism of vesicle generation found to be relevant to the egress process of Plasmodium falciparum merozoites from infected red blood cells. Plasma membranes from red blood cells lysed in ice-cold media of low ionic strength and free of divalent cations spontaneously and rapidly vesiculate upon incubation at 37 °C rendering high yields of inside-out vesicles. We tested the working hypothesis that the dynamic shape transformations resulted from changes in spectrin–actin configuration within a disintegrating cytoskeletal mesh. We showed that cytoskeletal-free membranes behave like a two-dimensional fluid lacking shape control, that spectrin–actin remain attached to vesiculating membranes for as long as spontaneous movement persists, that most of the spectrin–actin detachment occurs terminally at the time of vesicle sealing and that naked membrane patches increasingly appear during vesiculation. These results support the proposed role of spectrin–actin in spontaneous vesiculation. The implications of these results to membrane dynamics and to the mechanism of merozoite egress are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teresa Tiffert
- Physiological Laboratory, Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EG, UK,
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Salva R, Le Meins JF, Sandre O, Brûlet A, Schmutz M, Guenoun P, Lecommandoux S. Polymersome shape transformation at the nanoscale. ACS NANO 2013; 7:9298-311. [PMID: 24047230 DOI: 10.1021/nn4039589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 87] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Polymer vesicles, also named polymersomes, are valuable candidates for drug delivery and micro- or nanoreactor applications. As far as drug delivery is concerned, the shape of the carrier is believed to have a strong influence on the biodistribution and cell internalization. Polymersomes can be submitted to an osmotic imbalance when injected in physiological media leading to morphological changes. To understand these osmotic stress-induced variations in membrane properties and shapes, several nanovesicles made of the graft polymer poly(dimethylsiloxane)-g-poly(ethylene oxide) (PDMS-g-PEO) or the triblock copolymer PEO-b-PDMS-b-PEO were osmotically stressed and observed by light scattering, neutron scattering (SANS), and cryo-transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM). Hypotonic shock leads to a swelling of the vesicles, comparable to optically observable giant polymersomes, and hypertonic shock leads to collapsed structures such as stomatocytes and original nested vesicles, the latter being only observed for bilayers classically formed by amphiphilic copolymers. Complementary SANS and cryo-TEM experiments are shown to be in quantitative agreement and highlight the importance of the membrane structure on the behavior of these nanopolymersomes under hypertonic conditions as the final morphology reached depends whether or not the copolymers assemble into a bilayer. The vesicle radius and membrane curvature are also shown to be critical parameters for such transformations: the shape evolution trajectory agrees with theoretical models only for large enough vesicle radii above a threshold value around 4 times the membrane thickness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Romain Salva
- Université de Bordeaux /IPB, ENSCBP, 16 avenue Pey-Berland, 33607 Pessac, France, LCPO, UMR 5629, Pessac, France
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Blackman MJ, Carruthers VB. Recent insights into apicomplexan parasite egress provide new views to a kill. Curr Opin Microbiol 2013; 16:459-64. [PMID: 23725669 PMCID: PMC3755044 DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2013.04.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2013] [Revised: 04/23/2013] [Accepted: 04/25/2013] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
A hallmark of apicomplexan pathogens such as Plasmodium, Toxoplasma and Cryptosporidium is that they invade, replicate within, and then egress from their host cells. Egress usually results in lysis of the host cell, with deleterious consequences for the host. In the case of malaria, for example, much of the disease pathology is associated with cyclical waves of host erythrocyte destruction. This review highlights recent advances in mapping the signaling pathways that lead to egress and the parasite molecules involved in responding to and transmitting those signals. The review also discusses new findings for effector molecules that mediate disruption of the bounding membranes that enclose the intracellular parasite and the manner in which membrane rupture occurs to finally release invasive forms of the parasite.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J. Blackman
- Division of Parasitology, MRC National Institute for Medical Research, The Ridgeway, Mill Hill, London NW7 1AA, United Kingdom
| | - Vern B. Carruthers
- Microbiology and Immunology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-5620
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