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Moskovitz R, Pholcharee T, DonVito SM, Guloglu B, Lowe E, Mohring F, Moon RW, Higgins MK. Structural basis for DARC binding in reticulocyte invasion by Plasmodium vivax. Nat Commun 2023; 14:3637. [PMID: 37336887 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39357-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2023] [Accepted: 06/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The symptoms of malaria occur during the blood stage of infection, when the parasite replicates within human red blood cells. The human malaria parasite, Plasmodium vivax, selectively invades reticulocytes in a process which requires an interaction between the ectodomain of the human DARC receptor and the Plasmodium vivax Duffy-binding protein, PvDBP. Previous studies have revealed that a small helical peptide from DARC binds to region II of PvDBP (PvDBP-RII). However, it is also known that sulphation of tyrosine residues on DARC affects its binding to PvDBP and these residues were not observed in previous structures. We therefore present the structure of PvDBP-RII bound to sulphated DARC peptide, showing that a sulphate on tyrosine 41 binds to a charged pocket on PvDBP-RII. We use molecular dynamics simulations, affinity measurements and growth-inhibition experiments in parasites to confirm the importance of this interaction. We also reveal the epitope for vaccine-elicited growth-inhibitory antibody DB1. This provides a complete understanding of the binding of PvDBP-RII to DARC and will guide the design of vaccines and therapeutics to target this essential interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Re'em Moskovitz
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QU, UK
| | - Tossapol Pholcharee
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QU, UK
| | - Sophia M DonVito
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Bora Guloglu
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QU, UK
| | - Edward Lowe
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QU, UK
| | - Franziska Mohring
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Robert W Moon
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Matthew K Higgins
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QU, UK.
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Kar S, Sinha A. Plasmodium vivax Duffy Binding Protein-Based Vaccine: a Distant Dream. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2022; 12:916702. [PMID: 35909975 PMCID: PMC9325973 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.916702] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2022] [Accepted: 06/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The neglected but highly prevalent Plasmodium vivax in South-east Asia and South America poses a great challenge, with regards to long-term in-vitro culturing and heavily limited functional assays. Such visible challenges as well as narrowed progress in development of experimental research tools hinders development of new drugs and vaccines. The leading vaccine candidate antigen Plasmodium vivax Duffy Binding Protein (PvDBP), is essential for reticulocyte invasion by binding to its cognate receptor, the Duffy Antigen Receptor for Chemokines (DARC), on the host’s reticulocyte surface. Despite its highly polymorphic nature, the amino-terminal cysteine-rich region II of PvDBP (PvDBPII) has been considered as an attractive target for vaccine-mediated immunity and has successfully completed the clinical trial Phase 1. Although this molecule is an attractive vaccine candidate against vivax malaria, there is still a question on its viability due to recent findings, suggesting that there are still some aspects which needs to be looked into further. The highly polymorphic nature of PvDBPII and strain-specific immunity due to PvDBPII allelic variation in Bc epitopes may complicate vaccine efficacy. Emergence of various blood-stage antigens, such as PvRBP, PvEBP and supposedly many more might stand in the way of attaining full protection from PvDBPII. As a result, there is an urgent need to assess and re-assess various caveats connected to PvDBP, which might help in designing a long-term promising vaccine for P. vivax malaria. This review mainly deals with a bunch of rising concerns for validation of DBPII as a vaccine candidate antigen for P. vivax malaria.
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Gill J, Chakraborti S, Bharti P, Sharma A. Structural insights into global mutations in the ligand-binding domain of VAR2CSA and its implications on placental malaria vaccine. Int J Infect Dis 2021; 112:35-39. [PMID: 34450283 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijid.2021.08.054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2021] [Revised: 08/18/2021] [Accepted: 08/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Placental malaria is a public health burden particularly in Africa as it causes severe symptoms and results in stillbirths or maternal deaths. Plasmodium falciparum protein VAR2CSA drives placental malaria (PM) in pregnant women by adhering to chondroitin sulfate A (CSA) on the placenta. VAR2CSA is a primary vaccine candidate for PM with two vaccines based on it already under clinical trials. The first cryo-EM three-dimensional structure of Pf CSA-VAR2CSA complex revealed crucial interacting residues considered to be highly conserved across P. falciparum strains. In the current study, we have conducted a global sequence analysis of 1,114 VAR2CSA field isolate sequences from more than nine countries across three continents revealing numerous mutations in CSA-binding residues. Further, structural mapping has revealed significant polymorphisms on the ligand binding surfaces. The variants from this limited set of 1,114 sequences highlight the concerns that are vital in current considerations for development of vaccines based on VAR2CSA for placental malaria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jasmita Gill
- ICMR-National Institute of Malaria Research, New Delhi, India.
| | | | - Praveen Bharti
- ICMR-National Institute of Malaria Research, New Delhi, India
| | - Amit Sharma
- ICMR-National Institute of Malaria Research, New Delhi, India; Molecular Medicine Group, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi, India
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Mittal P, Mishra S, Kar S, Pande V, Sinha A, Sharma A. Global distribution of single amino acid polymorphisms in Plasmodium vivax Duffy-binding-like domain and implications for vaccine development efforts. Open Biol 2020; 10:200180. [PMID: 32993415 PMCID: PMC7536081 DOI: 10.1098/rsob.200180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Plasmodium vivax (Pv) malaria continues to be geographically widespread with approximately 15 million worldwide cases annually. Along with other proteins, Duffy-binding proteins (DBPs) are used by plasmodium for RBC invasion and the parasite-encoded receptor binding regions lie in their Duffy-binding-like (DBL) domains-thus making it a prime vaccine candidate. This study explores the sequence diversity in PvDBL globally, with an emphasis on India as it remains a major contributor to the global Pv malaria burden. Based on 1358 PvDBL protein sequences available in NCBI, we identified 140 polymorphic sites within 315 residues of PvDBL. Alarmingly, country-wise mapping of SAAPs from field isolates revealed varied and distinct polymorphic profiles for different nations. We report here 31 polymorphic residue positions in the global SAAP profile, most of which map to the PvDBL subdomain 2 (α1-α6). A distinct clustering of SAAPs distal to the DARC-binding sites is indicative of immune evasive strategies by the parasite. Analyses of PvDBL-neutralizing antibody complexes revealed that between 24% and 54% of interface residues are polymorphic. This work provides a framework to recce and expand the polymorphic space coverage in PvDBLs as this has direct implications for vaccine development studies. It also emphasizes the significance of surveying global SAAP distributions before or alongside the identification of vaccine candidates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Payal Mittal
- Molecular Medicine Group, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi, 110067, India.,ICMR-National Institute of Malaria Research, New Delhi, 110077, India
| | - Siddhartha Mishra
- Molecular Medicine Group, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi, 110067, India.,ICMR-National Institute of Malaria Research, New Delhi, 110077, India
| | - Sonalika Kar
- ICMR-National Institute of Malaria Research, New Delhi, 110077, India.,Department of Biotechnology, Kumaun University, Nainital, Uttarakhand, 263001 India
| | - Veena Pande
- Department of Biotechnology, Kumaun University, Nainital, Uttarakhand, 263001 India
| | - Abhinav Sinha
- ICMR-National Institute of Malaria Research, New Delhi, 110077, India
| | - Amit Sharma
- Molecular Medicine Group, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi, 110067, India.,ICMR-National Institute of Malaria Research, New Delhi, 110077, India
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