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Karagiannis K, Gannavaram S, Verma C, Pacheco-Fernandez T, Bhattacharya P, Nakhasi HL, Satoskar AR. Dual-scRNA-seq analysis reveals rare and uncommon parasitized cell populations in chronic L. donovani infection. Cell Rep 2023; 42:113097. [PMID: 37682713 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2022] [Revised: 06/21/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 09/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Although phagocytic cells are documented targets of Leishmania parasites, it is unclear whether other cell types can be infected. Here, we use unbiased single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to simultaneously analyze host cell and Leishmania donovani transcriptomes to identify and annotate parasitized cells in spleen and bone marrow in chronically infected mice. Our dual-scRNA-seq methodology allows the detection of heterogeneous parasitized populations. In the spleen, monocytes and macrophages are the dominant parasitized cells, while megakaryocytes, basophils, and natural killer (NK) cells are found to be unexpectedly infected. In the bone marrow, the hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) expressing phagocytic receptors FcγR and CD93 are the main parasitized cells. Additionally, we also detect parasitized cycling basal cells, eosinophils, and macrophages in chronically infected mice. Flow cytometric analysis confirms the presence of parasitized HSCs. Our unbiased dual-scRNA-seq method identifies rare, parasitized cells, potentially implicated in pathogenesis, persistence, and protective immunity, using a non-targeted approach.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sreenivas Gannavaram
- Division of Emerging and Transfusion Transmitted Diseases, CBER, FDA, Silver Spring, MD, USA
| | - Chaitenya Verma
- Department of Pathology, Wexner Medical Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | | | - Parna Bhattacharya
- Division of Emerging and Transfusion Transmitted Diseases, CBER, FDA, Silver Spring, MD, USA
| | - Hira L Nakhasi
- Division of Emerging and Transfusion Transmitted Diseases, CBER, FDA, Silver Spring, MD, USA
| | - Abhay R Satoskar
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; Department of Pathology, Wexner Medical Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
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Rangel GW, Llinás M. Re-Envisioning Anti-Apicomplexan Parasite Drug Discovery Approaches. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2021; 11:691121. [PMID: 34178727 PMCID: PMC8226314 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2021.691121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2021] [Accepted: 05/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Parasites of the phylum Apicomplexa impact humans in nearly all parts of the world, causing diseases including to toxoplasmosis, cryptosporidiosis, babesiosis, and malaria. Apicomplexan parasites have complex life cycles comprised of one or more stages characterized by rapid replication and biomass amplification, which enables accelerated evolutionary adaptation to environmental changes, including to drug pressure. The emergence of drug resistant pathogens is a major looming and/or active threat for current frontline chemotherapies, especially for widely used antimalarial drugs. In fact, resistant parasites have been reported against all modern antimalarial drugs within 15 years of clinical introduction, including the current frontline artemisinin-based combination therapies. Chemotherapeutics are a major tool in the public health arsenal for combatting the onset and spread of apicomplexan diseases. All currently approved antimalarial drugs have been discovered either through chemical modification of natural products or through large-scale screening of chemical libraries for parasite death phenotypes, and so far, none have been developed through a gene-to-drug pipeline. However, the limited duration of efficacy of these drugs in the field underscores the need for new and innovative approaches to discover drugs that can counter rapid resistance evolution. This review details both historical and current antimalarial drug discovery approaches. We also highlight new strategies that may be employed to discover resistance-resistant drug targets and chemotherapies in order to circumvent the rapid evolution of resistance in apicomplexan parasites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel W. Rangel
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and the Huck Center for Malaria Research, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States
| | - Manuel Llinás
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and the Huck Center for Malaria Research, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States
- Department of Chemistry, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States
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