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Elizalde-Torrent A, Trejo-Soto C, Méndez-Mora L, Nicolau M, Ezama O, Gualdrón-López M, Fernández-Becerra C, Alarcón T, Hernández-Machado A, Del Portillo HA. Pitting of malaria parasites in microfluidic devices mimicking spleen interendothelial slits. Sci Rep 2021; 11:22099. [PMID: 34764379 PMCID: PMC8585870 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-01568-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2021] [Accepted: 10/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The spleen is a hematopoietic organ that participates in cellular and humoral immunity. It also serves as a quality control mechanism for removing senescent and/or poorly deformable red blood cells (RBCs) from circulation. Pitting is a specialized process by which the spleen extracts particles, including malaria parasites, from within circulating RBCs during their passage through the interendothelial slits (IES) in the splenic cords. To study this physiological function in vitro, we have developed two microfluidic devices modeling the IES, according to the hypothesis that at a certain range of mechanical stress on the RBC, regulated through both slit size and blood flow, would force it undergo the pitting process without affecting the cell integrity. To prove its functionality in replicating pitting of malaria parasites, we have performed a characterization of P. falciparum-infected RBCs (P.f.-RBCs) after their passage through the devices, determining hemolysis and the proportion of once-infected RBCs (O-iRBCs), defined by the presence of a parasite antigen and absence of DAPI staining of parasite DNA using a flow cytometry-based approach. The passage of P.f.-RBCs through the devices at the physiological flow rate did not affect cell integrity and resulted in an increase of the frequency of O-iRBCs. Both microfluidic device models were capable to replicate the pitting of P.f.-RBCs ex vivo by means of mechanical constraints without cellular involvement, shedding new insights on the role of the spleen in the pathophysiology of malaria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleix Elizalde-Torrent
- ISGlobal Institute for Global Health, Hospital Clínic - Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute, Badalona, Spain
| | - Claudia Trejo-Soto
- Instituto de Física, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, 4059, Casilla, Chile
| | - Lourdes Méndez-Mora
- Department of Condensed Matter Physics, University of Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Marc Nicolau
- ISGlobal Institute for Global Health, Hospital Clínic - Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Oihane Ezama
- Department of Condensed Matter Physics, University of Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Melisa Gualdrón-López
- ISGlobal Institute for Global Health, Hospital Clínic - Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,IGTP Institut d'Investigació Germans Trias I Pujol, Badalona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Carmen Fernández-Becerra
- ISGlobal Institute for Global Health, Hospital Clínic - Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,IGTP Institut d'Investigació Germans Trias I Pujol, Badalona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Tomás Alarcón
- ICREA: Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies, Barcelona, Spain.,Centre de Recerca Matemàtica (CRM), Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.,Departament de Matemàtiques, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Aurora Hernández-Machado
- Department of Condensed Matter Physics, University of Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Spain. .,Centre de Recerca Matemàtica (CRM), Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain. .,Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (IN2UB), University of Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Hernando A Del Portillo
- ISGlobal Institute for Global Health, Hospital Clínic - Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. .,IGTP Institut d'Investigació Germans Trias I Pujol, Badalona, Barcelona, Spain. .,ICREA: Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies, Barcelona, Spain.
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2
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Llorà-Batlle O, Michel-Todó L, Witmer K, Toda H, Fernández-Becerra C, Baum J, Cortés A. Conditional expression of PfAP2-G for controlled massive sexual conversion in Plasmodium falciparum. Sci Adv 2020; 6:eaaz5057. [PMID: 32577509 PMCID: PMC7286680 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aaz5057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2019] [Accepted: 04/15/2020] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Malaria transmission requires that some asexual parasites convert into sexual forms termed gametocytes. The initial stages of sexual development, including sexually committed schizonts and sexual rings, remain poorly characterized, mainly because they are morphologically identical to their asexual counterparts and only a small subset of parasites undergo sexual development. Here, we describe a system for controlled sexual conversion in the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, based on conditional expression of the PfAP2-G transcription factor. Using this system, ~90 percent of the parasites converted into sexual forms upon induction, enabling the characterization of committed and early sexual stages without further purification. We characterized sexually committed schizonts and sexual rings at the transcriptomic and phenotypic levels, which revealed down-regulation of genes involved in solute transport upon sexual commitment, among other findings. The new inducible lines will facilitate the study of early sexual stages at additional levels, including multiomic characterization and drug susceptibility assays.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oriol Llorà-Batlle
- ISGlobal, Hospital Clinic–Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona 08036, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Lucas Michel-Todó
- ISGlobal, Hospital Clinic–Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona 08036, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Kathrin Witmer
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Haruka Toda
- ISGlobal, Hospital Clinic–Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona 08036, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Carmen Fernández-Becerra
- ISGlobal, Hospital Clinic–Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona 08036, Catalonia, Spain
- IGTP Institut d’Investigació Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona 08916, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Jake Baum
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Alfred Cortés
- ISGlobal, Hospital Clinic–Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona 08036, Catalonia, Spain
- ICREA, Barcelona 08010, Catalonia, Spain
- Corresponding author.
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3
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Díaz-Varela M, de Menezes-Neto A, Perez-Zsolt D, Gámez-Valero A, Seguí-Barber J, Izquierdo-Useros N, Martinez-Picado J, Fernández-Becerra C, Del Portillo HA. Proteomics study of human cord blood reticulocyte-derived exosomes. Sci Rep 2018; 8:14046. [PMID: 30232403 PMCID: PMC6145868 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-32386-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2018] [Accepted: 09/03/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Reticulocyte-derived exosomes (Rex), extracellular vesicles of endocytic origin, were initially discovered as a cargo-disposal mechanism of obsolete proteins in the maturation of reticulocytes into erythrocytes. In this work, we present the first mass spectrometry-based proteomics of human Rex (HuRex). HuRex were isolated from cultures of human reticulocyte-enriched cord blood using different culture conditions and exosome isolation methods. The newly described proteome consists of 367 proteins, most of them related to exosomes as revealed by gene ontology over-representation analysis and include multiple transporters as well as proteins involved in exosome biogenesis and erythrocytic disorders. Immunoelectron microscopy validated the presence of the transferrin receptor. Moreover, functional assays demonstrated active capture of HuRex by mature dendritic cells. As only seven proteins have been previously associated with HuRex, this resource will facilitate studies on the role of human reticulocyte-derived exosomes in normal and pathological conditions affecting erythropoiesis.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Armando de Menezes-Neto
- ISGlobal, Hospital Clínic - Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Instituto Aggeu Magalhães-FIOCRUZ, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
| | | | - Ana Gámez-Valero
- ISGlobal, Hospital Clínic - Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Pathology & REMAR-IVECAT Group, Hospital Universitari and Health Sciences Research Institute Germans Trias i Pujol, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Joan Seguí-Barber
- ISGlobal, Hospital Clínic - Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Nuria Izquierdo-Useros
- IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute, Badalona, Spain
- IGTP Institut d'Investigació Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona, Spain
| | - Javier Martinez-Picado
- IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute, Badalona, Spain
- Universitat de Vic - Universitat Central de Catalunya (UVic-UCC), Vic, Spain
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Carmen Fernández-Becerra
- ISGlobal, Hospital Clínic - Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
- IGTP Institut d'Investigació Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona, Spain.
| | - Hernando A Del Portillo
- ISGlobal, Hospital Clínic - Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
- IGTP Institut d'Investigació Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona, Spain.
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain.
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4
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Elizalde-Torrent A, Val F, Azevedo ICC, Monteiro WM, Ferreira LCL, Fernández-Becerra C, Del Portillo HA, Lacerda MVG. Sudden spleen rupture in a Plasmodium vivax-infected patient undergoing malaria treatment. Malar J 2018; 17:79. [PMID: 29433507 PMCID: PMC5809972 DOI: 10.1186/s12936-018-2228-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2017] [Accepted: 02/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Splenomegaly is one of the most common features of malaria. However, spontaneous splenic rupture, although unusual, represents a severe complication often leading to death. It is mostly seen in acute infection and primary attack, and it is most commonly associated with Plasmodium vivax. Here, a case of spontaneous splenic rupture diagnosed with a portable ultrasound apparatus shortly after starting treatment and with recurrent parasitaemia after splenectomy, is reported. Case description In November 2015, a 45-year-old Brazilian man presented to the hospital in Manaus with fever, headache and myalgia. He was diagnosed with P. vivax malaria and, after a normal G6PD test, he started treatment with chloroquine and primaquine and was discharged. Two days later, he went back to the hospital with abdominal pain, dyspnea, dry cough, pallor, oliguria and fever. Using a portable ultrasound, he was diagnosed of rupture of the spleen, which was removed by emergency surgery. After this episode, he suffered two more malaria episodes with high parasitaemia at approximately 2-month intervals. DNA from different portions of the spleen was extracted and a qualitative PCR was performed to detect P. vivax. Conclusions The splenic rupture suffered by this patient occurred 2 days after starting the treatment. Having a portable ultrasound apparatus may have saved the patient’s life, as it revealed a haemorrhage needing an urgent surgery. Parasites were detected by PCR in the extracted spleen. This patient suffered two more vivax malaria diagnosed episodes in spite of receiving and completing treatment with chloroquine and primaquine for each clinical attack. Splenic rupture during acute malaria is uncommon, but it is likely underdiagnosed and underreported, because the lack of means and equipment hinders diagnostic confirmation, especially in endemic areas.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Fernando Val
- Fundação de Medicina Tropical Dr. Heitor Vieira Dourado (FMT-HVD), Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil.,Universidade do Estado do Amazonas (UEA), Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
| | | | - Wuelton M Monteiro
- Fundação de Medicina Tropical Dr. Heitor Vieira Dourado (FMT-HVD), Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil.,Universidade do Estado do Amazonas (UEA), Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
| | - Luiz C L Ferreira
- Fundação de Medicina Tropical Dr. Heitor Vieira Dourado (FMT-HVD), Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
| | - Carmen Fernández-Becerra
- ISGlobal, Hospital Clínic, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Institut d'Investigació Germans Trias i Pujol (IGTP), Badalona, Spain
| | - Hernando A Del Portillo
- ISGlobal, Hospital Clínic, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. .,Institut d'Investigació Germans Trias i Pujol (IGTP), Badalona, Spain. .,Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Marcus V G Lacerda
- Fundação de Medicina Tropical Dr. Heitor Vieira Dourado (FMT-HVD), Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil. .,Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Instituto Leônidas e Maria Deane (FIOCRUZ-Amazonas), Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil.
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5
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Martín-Jaular L, de Menezes-Neto A, Monguió-Tortajada M, Elizalde-Torrent A, Díaz-Varela M, Fernández-Becerra C, Borras FE, Montoya M, Del Portillo HA. Corrigendum: Spleen-Dependent Immune Protection Elicited by CpG Adjuvanted Reticulocyte-Derived Exosomes from Malaria Infection Is Associated with Changes in T Cell Subsets' Distribution. Front Cell Dev Biol 2017; 4:153. [PMID: 28101500 PMCID: PMC5240026 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2016.00153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2016] [Accepted: 12/27/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Lorena Martín-Jaular
- ISGlobal, Barcelona Centre for International Health Research, Hospital Clínic-Universitat de Barcelona Barcelona, Spain
| | - Armando de Menezes-Neto
- ISGlobal, Barcelona Centre for International Health Research, Hospital Clínic-Universitat de Barcelona Barcelona, Spain
| | - Marta Monguió-Tortajada
- PVREX and REMAR-IVECAT Groups, Germans Trias i Pujol Health Science Research Institute (IGTP) Badalona, Spain
| | - Aleix Elizalde-Torrent
- ISGlobal, Barcelona Centre for International Health Research, Hospital Clínic-Universitat de Barcelona Barcelona, Spain
| | - Míriam Díaz-Varela
- ISGlobal, Barcelona Centre for International Health Research, Hospital Clínic-Universitat de Barcelona Barcelona, Spain
| | - Carmen Fernández-Becerra
- ISGlobal, Barcelona Centre for International Health Research, Hospital Clínic-Universitat de BarcelonaBarcelona, Spain; PVREX and REMAR-IVECAT Groups, Germans Trias i Pujol Health Science Research Institute (IGTP)Badalona, Spain
| | - Francesc E Borras
- PVREX and REMAR-IVECAT Groups, Germans Trias i Pujol Health Science Research Institute (IGTP) Badalona, Spain
| | - Maria Montoya
- Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal, Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries, Universitat de BarcelonaBarcelona, Spain; Virology, Pirbright InstitutePirbright, UK
| | - Hernando A Del Portillo
- ISGlobal, Barcelona Centre for International Health Research, Hospital Clínic-Universitat de BarcelonaBarcelona, Spain; PVREX and REMAR-IVECAT Groups, Germans Trias i Pujol Health Science Research Institute (IGTP)Badalona, Spain; ICREA, Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced StudiesBarcelona, Spain
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6
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Martín-Jaular L, de Menezes-Neto A, Monguió-Tortajada M, Elizalde-Torrent A, Díaz-Varela M, Fernández-Becerra C, Borras FE, Montoya M, Del Portillo HA. Spleen-Dependent Immune Protection Elicited by CpG Adjuvanted Reticulocyte-Derived Exosomes from Malaria Infection Is Associated with Changes in T cell Subsets' Distribution. Front Cell Dev Biol 2016; 4:131. [PMID: 27900319 PMCID: PMC5110551 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2016.00131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2016] [Accepted: 10/31/2016] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Reticulocyte-derived exosomes (rex) are 30–100 nm membrane vesicles of endocytic origin released during the maturation of reticulocytes to erythrocytes upon fusion of multivesicular bodies with the plasma membrane. Combination of CpG-ODN with rex obtained from BALB/c mice infected with the reticulocyte-prone non-lethal P. yoelii 17X malaria strain (rexPy), had been shown to induce survival and long lasting protection. Here, we show that splenectomized mice are not protected upon rexPy+CpG inmunizations and that protection is restored upon passive transfer of splenocytes obtained from animals immunized with rexPy+CpG. Notably, rexPy immunization of mice induced changes in PD1− memory T cells with effector phenotype. Proteomics analysis of rexPy confirmed their reticulocyte origin and demonstrated the presence of parasite antigens. Our studies thus prove, for what we believe is the first time, that rex from reticulocyte-prone malarial infections are associated with splenic long-lasting memory responses. To try extrapolating these data to human infections, in vitro experiments with spleen cells of human transplantation donors were performed. Plasma-derived exosomes from vivax malaria patients (exPv) were actively uptaken by human splenocytes and stimulated spleen cells leading to changes in T cell subsets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorena Martín-Jaular
- ISGlobal, Barcelona Centre for International Health Research, Hospital Clínic - Universitat de Barcelona Barcelona, Spain
| | - Armando de Menezes-Neto
- ISGlobal, Barcelona Centre for International Health Research, Hospital Clínic - Universitat de Barcelona Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Aleix Elizalde-Torrent
- ISGlobal, Barcelona Centre for International Health Research, Hospital Clínic - Universitat de Barcelona Barcelona, Spain
| | - Míriam Díaz-Varela
- ISGlobal, Barcelona Centre for International Health Research, Hospital Clínic - Universitat de Barcelona Barcelona, Spain
| | - Carmen Fernández-Becerra
- ISGlobal, Barcelona Centre for International Health Research, Hospital Clínic - Universitat de BarcelonaBarcelona, Spain; REMAR-IVECAT Group, Germans Trias i Pujol Health Science Research InstituteBadalona, Spain
| | - Francesc E Borras
- REMAR-IVECAT Group, Germans Trias i Pujol Health Science Research Institute Badalona, Spain
| | - Maria Montoya
- Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal, Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries, Universitat de BarcelonaBarcelona, Spain; Virology, Pirbright InstitutePirbright, UK
| | - Hernando A Del Portillo
- ISGlobal, Barcelona Centre for International Health Research, Hospital Clínic - Universitat de BarcelonaBarcelona, Spain; REMAR-IVECAT Group, Germans Trias i Pujol Health Science Research InstituteBadalona, Spain; Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced StudiesBarcelona, Spain
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7
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Requena P, Rui E, Padilla N, Martínez-Espinosa FE, Castellanos ME, Bôtto-Menezes C, Malheiro A, Arévalo-Herrera M, Kochar S, Kochar SK, Kochar DK, Umbers AJ, Ome-Kaius M, Wangnapi R, Hans D, Menegon M, Mateo F, Sanz S, Desai M, Mayor A, Chitnis CC, Bardají A, Mueller I, Rogerson S, Severini C, Fernández-Becerra C, Menéndez C, del Portillo H, Dobaño C. Plasmodium vivax VIR Proteins Are Targets of Naturally-Acquired Antibody and T Cell Immune Responses to Malaria in Pregnant Women. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2016; 10:e0005009. [PMID: 27711158 PMCID: PMC5053494 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0005009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2016] [Accepted: 08/29/2016] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
P. vivax infection during pregnancy has been associated with poor outcomes such as anemia, low birth weight and congenital malaria, thus representing an important global health problem. However, no vaccine is currently available for its prevention. Vir genes were the first putative virulent factors associated with P. vivax infections, yet very few studies have examined their potential role as targets of immunity. We investigated the immunogenic properties of five VIR proteins and two long synthetic peptides containing conserved VIR sequences (PvLP1 and PvLP2) in the context of the PregVax cohort study including women from five malaria endemic countries: Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, India and Papua New Guinea (PNG) at different timepoints during and after pregnancy. Antibody responses against all antigens were detected in all populations, with PNG women presenting the highest levels overall. P. vivax infection at sample collection time was positively associated with antibody levels against PvLP1 (fold-increase: 1.60 at recruitment -first antenatal visit-) and PvLP2 (fold-increase: 1.63 at delivery), and P. falciparum co-infection was found to increase those responses (for PvLP1 at recruitment, fold-increase: 2.25). Levels of IgG against two VIR proteins at delivery were associated with higher birth weight (27 g increase per duplicating antibody levels, p<0.05). Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from PNG uninfected pregnant women had significantly higher antigen-specific IFN-γ TH1 responses (p=0.006) and secreted less pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF and IL-6 after PvLP2 stimulation than P. vivax-infected women (p<0.05). These data demonstrate that VIR antigens induce the natural acquisition of antibody and T cell memory responses that might be important in immunity to P. vivax during pregnancy in very diverse geographical settings. Naturally-acquired antibody responses to novel recombinant proteins and synthetic peptides based on sequences from P. vivax VIR antigens were evaluated in women from five distinct geographical regions endemic for malaria, during and after pregnancy. Levels of IgG to VIR antigens were indicative of cumulative malaria exposure and increased with current P. vivax infection and P. falciparum co-infection. Antibody data were consistent with levels of malaria endemicity and current prevalence in the diverse geographical areas studied. In addition, the magnitude of IgG response to two VIR antigens at delivery was associated with higher birth weight. Furthermore, T cell responses to VIR antigens were naturally induced and their magnitude varied according to P. vivax infectious status. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from uninfected pregnant women from a highly endemic area produced higher TH1 (IFN-γ) and lower pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF and IL-6) upon stimulation with a long synthetic peptide representing conserved globular domains of VIR antigens than P. vivax-infected women. Data suggest that further investigation on these antigens as potential targets of immunity in naturally-exposed individuals is warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pilar Requena
- ISGlobal, Barcelona Ctr. Int. Health Res. (CRESIB), Hospital Clínic - Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Parasitology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Edmilson Rui
- ISGlobal, Barcelona Ctr. Int. Health Res. (CRESIB), Hospital Clínic - Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Norma Padilla
- Centro de Estudios en Salud, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala
| | - Flor E. Martínez-Espinosa
- Fundação de Medicina Tropical Dr. Heitor Vieira Dourado, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
- Instituto Leônidas e Maria Deane (ILMD/Fiocruz Amazonia), Brazil
| | | | - Camila Bôtto-Menezes
- Fundação de Medicina Tropical Dr. Heitor Vieira Dourado, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
- Universidade do Estado do Amazonas, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
| | - Adriana Malheiro
- Instituto de Ciências Biológicas. Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Manaus, Brazil
| | | | - Swati Kochar
- Department of Medicine, Medical College, Bikaner, Rajasthan, India
| | - Sanjay K. Kochar
- Department of Medicine, Medical College, Bikaner, Rajasthan, India
| | | | | | - Maria Ome-Kaius
- Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research, Madang, Papua New Guinea
| | - Regina Wangnapi
- Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research, Madang, Papua New Guinea
| | - Dhiraj Hans
- International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Delhi, India
| | - Michela Menegon
- Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immunomediated Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Francesca Mateo
- ISGlobal, Barcelona Ctr. Int. Health Res. (CRESIB), Hospital Clínic - Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Sergi Sanz
- ISGlobal, Barcelona Ctr. Int. Health Res. (CRESIB), Hospital Clínic - Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Meghna Desai
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Malaria Branch, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Alfredo Mayor
- ISGlobal, Barcelona Ctr. Int. Health Res. (CRESIB), Hospital Clínic - Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Chetan C. Chitnis
- International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Delhi, India
| | - Azucena Bardají
- ISGlobal, Barcelona Ctr. Int. Health Res. (CRESIB), Hospital Clínic - Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ivo Mueller
- ISGlobal, Barcelona Ctr. Int. Health Res. (CRESIB), Hospital Clínic - Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Parkville, Australia
| | - Stephen Rogerson
- Department of Medicine, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Carlo Severini
- Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immunomediated Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Carmen Fernández-Becerra
- ISGlobal, Barcelona Ctr. Int. Health Res. (CRESIB), Hospital Clínic - Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Clara Menéndez
- ISGlobal, Barcelona Ctr. Int. Health Res. (CRESIB), Hospital Clínic - Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Hernando del Portillo
- ISGlobal, Barcelona Ctr. Int. Health Res. (CRESIB), Hospital Clínic - Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- ICREA, Barcelona, Spain
- * E-mail: (HdP); (CD)
| | - Carlota Dobaño
- ISGlobal, Barcelona Ctr. Int. Health Res. (CRESIB), Hospital Clínic - Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- * E-mail: (HdP); (CD)
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8
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Mongui A, Pérez-Llanos FJ, Yamamoto MM, Lozano M, Zambrano MM, Del Portillo P, Fernández-Becerra C, Restrepo S, Del Portillo HA, Junca H. Development of a genetic tool for functional screening of anti-malarial bioactive extracts in metagenomic libraries. Malar J 2015; 14:233. [PMID: 26040274 PMCID: PMC4464701 DOI: 10.1186/s12936-015-0748-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2014] [Accepted: 05/26/2015] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The chemical treatment of Plasmodium falciparum for human infections is losing efficacy each year due to the rise of resistance. One possible strategy to find novel anti-malarial drugs is to access the largest reservoir of genomic biodiversity source on earth present in metagenomes of environmental microbial communities. Methods A bioluminescent P. falciparum parasite was used to quickly detect shifts in viability of microcultures grown in 96-well plates. A synthetic gene encoding the Dermaseptin 4 peptide was designed and cloned under tight transcriptional control in a large metagenomic insert context (30 kb) to serve as proof-of-principle for the screening platform. Results Decrease in parasite viability consistently correlated with bioluminescence emitted from parasite microcultures, after their exposure to bacterial extracts containing a plasmid or fosmid engineered to encode the Dermaseptin 4 anti-malarial peptide. Conclusions Here, a new technical platform to access the anti-malarial potential in microbial environmental metagenomes has been developed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alvaro Mongui
- RG Microbial Ecology: Metabolism, Genomics & Evolution - CorpoGen, Bogotá, Colombia. .,Department of Biological Sciences, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia.
| | - Francy J Pérez-Llanos
- RG Microbial Ecology: Metabolism, Genomics & Evolution - CorpoGen, Bogotá, Colombia. .,Department of Biological Sciences, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia.
| | - Marcio M Yamamoto
- Departamento de Parasitologia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
| | - Marcela Lozano
- RG Microbial Ecology: Metabolism, Genomics & Evolution - CorpoGen, Bogotá, Colombia.
| | - Maria M Zambrano
- RG Microbial Ecology: Metabolism, Genomics & Evolution - CorpoGen, Bogotá, Colombia.
| | - Patricia Del Portillo
- RG Microbial Ecology: Metabolism, Genomics & Evolution - CorpoGen, Bogotá, Colombia.
| | - Carmen Fernández-Becerra
- ICREA at ISGlobal, Barcelona Ctr Int Health Res (CRESIB), Hospital Clínic - Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Silvia Restrepo
- Department of Biological Sciences, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia.
| | - Hernando A Del Portillo
- ICREA at ISGlobal, Barcelona Ctr Int Health Res (CRESIB), Hospital Clínic - Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. .,Institució Catalana de Recerca I Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Howard Junca
- RG Microbial Ecology: Metabolism, Genomics & Evolution - CorpoGen, Bogotá, Colombia. .,Present Address: Applied Biology Program, Faculty of Basic & Applied Sciences, Universidad Militar Nueva Granada-UMNG, Campus Cajicá, Bogotá, DC, Colombia.
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Requena P, Barrios D, Robinson LJ, Samol P, Umbers AJ, Wangnapi R, Ome-Kaius M, Rosanas-Urgell A, Mayor A, López M, de Lazzari E, Arévalo-Herrera M, Fernández-Becerra C, del Portillo H, Chitnis CE, Siba PM, Rogerson S, Mueller I, Bardají A, Menéndez C, Dobaño C. Proinflammatory responses and higher IL-10 production by T cells correlate with protection against malaria during pregnancy and delivery outcomes. J Immunol 2015; 194:3275-85. [PMID: 25725110 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.1401038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Pregnancy triggers immunological changes aimed to tolerate the fetus. However, it has not been properly addressed whether similar changes occur in tropical areas with high infection pressure and whether these changes render women more susceptible to infectious diseases. We compared the frequencies of T cell subsets, including regulatory T cells, in pregnant and nonpregnant women from Papua New Guinea, a high malaria transmission area, and from Spain, a malaria-free country. We also assessed the relationship among these cellular subsets, malaria infection, and delivery outcomes. CD4(+)FOXP3(+)CD127(low) T cells (Tregs) were decreased in pregnant women in both countries but were not associated with malaria infection or poor delivery outcomes. An expansion of IFN-γ-producing cells and intracytoplasmic IFN-γ levels was found in pregnant compared with nonpregnant women only in Papua New Guinea. Increased CD4(+)IL-10(+)IFN-γ(+) frequencies and Treg-IFN-γ production were found in women with current Plasmodium falciparum infection. Higher CD4(+)IL-10(-)IFN-γ(+) T cells frequencies and production of proinflammatory cytokines (including TNF and IL-2) at recruitment (first antenatal visit) had a protective association with birth weight and future (delivery) P. falciparum infection, respectively. Higher intracellular IL-10 levels in T cells had a protective association with future P. falciparum infection and hemoglobin levels at delivery. The protective associations were found also with nonmalaria-specific T cell responses. Treg frequencies positively correlated with plasma eotaxin concentrations, but this subset did not express eotaxin receptor CCR3. Thus, an activated immune system during pregnancy might contribute to protection against malaria during pregnancy and poor delivery outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pilar Requena
- Malaria Program, Barcelona Centre for International Health Research, Hospital Clínic-University of Barcelona, 08036 Barcelona, Spain; Department of Parasitology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool L3 5QA, United Kingdom;
| | - Diana Barrios
- Malaria Program, Barcelona Centre for International Health Research, Hospital Clínic-University of Barcelona, 08036 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Leanne J Robinson
- Vector Borne Disease Unit, Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research, Madang 511, Papua New Guinea; Infection and Immunity Division, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Parkville, Victoria 3050, Australia
| | - Paula Samol
- Vector Borne Disease Unit, Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research, Madang 511, Papua New Guinea
| | - Alexandra J Umbers
- Department of Medicine, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3050, Australia
| | - Regina Wangnapi
- Vector Borne Disease Unit, Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research, Madang 511, Papua New Guinea
| | - Maria Ome-Kaius
- Vector Borne Disease Unit, Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research, Madang 511, Papua New Guinea
| | - Anna Rosanas-Urgell
- Vector Borne Disease Unit, Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research, Madang 511, Papua New Guinea
| | - Alfredo Mayor
- Malaria Program, Barcelona Centre for International Health Research, Hospital Clínic-University of Barcelona, 08036 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Marta López
- Department of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Hospital Clinic-August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute, Centre for Biomedical Network Research in Rare Diseases, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Elisa de Lazzari
- Malaria Program, Barcelona Centre for International Health Research, Hospital Clínic-University of Barcelona, 08036 Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Carmen Fernández-Becerra
- Malaria Program, Barcelona Centre for International Health Research, Hospital Clínic-University of Barcelona, 08036 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Hernando del Portillo
- Malaria Program, Barcelona Centre for International Health Research, Hospital Clínic-University of Barcelona, 08036 Barcelona, Spain; Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats, 08010 Barcelona, Spain; and
| | - Chetan E Chitnis
- Malaria Program, International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Delhi 110 067, India
| | - Peter M Siba
- Vector Borne Disease Unit, Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research, Madang 511, Papua New Guinea
| | - Stephen Rogerson
- Department of Medicine, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3050, Australia
| | - Ivo Mueller
- Malaria Program, Barcelona Centre for International Health Research, Hospital Clínic-University of Barcelona, 08036 Barcelona, Spain; Infection and Immunity Division, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Parkville, Victoria 3050, Australia
| | - Azucena Bardají
- Malaria Program, Barcelona Centre for International Health Research, Hospital Clínic-University of Barcelona, 08036 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Clara Menéndez
- Malaria Program, Barcelona Centre for International Health Research, Hospital Clínic-University of Barcelona, 08036 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Carlota Dobaño
- Malaria Program, Barcelona Centre for International Health Research, Hospital Clínic-University of Barcelona, 08036 Barcelona, Spain
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10
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Requena P, Campo JJ, Umbers AJ, Ome M, Wangnapi R, Barrios D, Robinson LJ, Samol P, Rosanas-Urgell A, Ubillos I, Mayor A, López M, de Lazzari E, Arévalo-Herrera M, Fernández-Becerra C, del Portillo H, Chitnis CE, Siba PM, Bardají A, Mueller I, Rogerson S, Menéndez C, Dobaño C. Pregnancy and Malaria Exposure Are Associated with Changes in the B Cell Pool and in Plasma Eotaxin Levels. J I 2014; 193:2971-83. [DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.1401037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
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11
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Martín-Jaular L, Elizalde-Torrent A, Thomson-Luque R, Ferrer M, Segovia JC, Herreros-Aviles E, Fernández-Becerra C, Del Portillo HA. Reticulocyte-prone malaria parasites predominantly invade CD71hi immature cells: implications for the development of an in vitro culture for Plasmodium vivax. Malar J 2013; 12:434. [PMID: 24289105 PMCID: PMC4220676 DOI: 10.1186/1475-2875-12-434] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2013] [Accepted: 11/22/2013] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The lack of a continuous in vitro culture system for blood stages of malarial parasites with a unique tropism for reticulocytes, such as Plasmodium vivax and the Plasmodium yoelii 17X reticulocyte-prone strain, hinders research in these organisms. The maturation of reticulocytes into erythrocytes is a complex process involving the selective removal of membrane proteins such as the transferrin receptor, CD71. In order to advance in the characterization of infected cells during experimental infections of BALB/c mice with P. yoelii 17X, CD71 expression in erythroid cells (TER119+) was assessed and in vitro culture of P. yoelii 17X was attempted by adding reticulocytes highly expressing CD71. Methods BALB/c mice were infected with P. yoelii 17X-GFP transgenic parasites and erythroid cells (TER119+) were analysed in blood, spleen and bone marrow cells. TER119, CD71 and GFP expression was assessed at different points post-infection by flow cytometry. Moreover, in vitro culture of P. yoelli 17X was attempted by adding red blood cells (RBCs) from mice with a pyruvate kinase deficiency, which contain high percentages of CD71hi cells in peripheral blood as compared to healthy animals. Results A predominance of erythroid cells lacking expression of CD71 (CD71-) was observed in peripheral blood and spleen in normal and infected animals up to ten days post-infection (pi). At ten days pi, however, a dramatic temporal switch to erythroid cells highly expressing CD71 (CD71hi) was observed in the spleen and at day 15 pi in peripheral blood of the infected cells. A distribution of erythroid cells expressing differently CD71 was noticed in the bone marrow. Yet, similar to peripheral blood and spleen, a predominance of CD71hi cells was observed at 15 days pi. Remarkably, CD71hi cells were the cells predominantly infected in these organs as well as in peripheral blood. Attempts were thus made to culture in vitro the P. yoelli 17X strain by adding RBCs from pyruvate kinase-deficient mice containing high percentages of CD71hi cells in peripheral blood. Conclusions The parasite preference for immature cells that are rare in normal peripheral blood could have important implications for the development of an in vitro culture system for P. vivax.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorena Martín-Jaular
- ICREA at Barcelona Centre for International H ealth Research (CRESIB, Hospital Clínic-Universitat de Barcelona)/ISGlobal, Barcelona, Spain.
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12
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Sanz S, Bandini G, Ospina D, Bernabeu M, Mariño K, Fernández-Becerra C, Izquierdo L. Biosynthesis of GDP-fucose and other sugar nucleotides in the blood stages of Plasmodium falciparum. J Biol Chem 2013; 288:16506-16517. [PMID: 23615908 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m112.439828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Carbohydrate structures play important roles in many biological processes, including cell adhesion, cell-cell communication, and host-pathogen interactions. Sugar nucleotides are activated forms of sugars used by the cell as donors for most glycosylation reactions. Using a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry-based method, we identified and quantified the pools of UDP-glucose, UDP-galactose, UDP-N-acetylglucosamine, GDP-mannose, and GDP-fucose in Plasmodium falciparum intraerythrocytic life stages. We assembled these data with the in silico functional reconstruction of the parasite metabolic pathways obtained from the P. falciparum annotated genome, exposing new active biosynthetic routes crucial for further glycosylation reactions. Fucose is a sugar present in glycoconjugates often associated with recognition and adhesion events. Thus, the GDP-fucose precursor is essential in a wide variety of organisms. P. falciparum presents homologues of GDP-mannose 4,6-dehydratase and GDP-L-fucose synthase enzymes that are active in vitro, indicating that most GDP-fucose is formed by a de novo pathway that involves the bioconversion of GDP-mannose. Homologues for enzymes involved in a fucose salvage pathway are apparently absent in the P. falciparum genome. This is in agreement with in vivo metabolic labeling experiments showing that fucose is not significantly incorporated by the parasite. Fluorescence microscopy of epitope-tagged versions of P. falciparum GDP-mannose 4,6-dehydratase and GDP-L-fucose synthase expressed in transgenic 3D7 parasites shows that these enzymes localize in the cytoplasm of P. falciparum during the intraerythrocytic developmental cycle. Although the function of fucose in the parasite is not known, the presence of GDP-fucose suggests that the metabolite may be used for further fucosylation reactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sílvia Sanz
- Barcelona Centre for International Health Research, Hospital Clínic-Universitat de Barcelona, CEK, 1a Planta, Rosselló 149-153, 08036, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Giulia Bandini
- College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Division of Biological Chemistry and Drug Discovery, Wellcome Trust Biocentre, Dundee DD15EH, Scotland, United Kingdom
| | - Diego Ospina
- Barcelona Centre for International Health Research, Hospital Clínic-Universitat de Barcelona, CEK, 1a Planta, Rosselló 149-153, 08036, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Maria Bernabeu
- Barcelona Centre for International Health Research, Hospital Clínic-Universitat de Barcelona, CEK, 1a Planta, Rosselló 149-153, 08036, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Karina Mariño
- College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Division of Biological Chemistry and Drug Discovery, Wellcome Trust Biocentre, Dundee DD15EH, Scotland, United Kingdom
| | - Carmen Fernández-Becerra
- Barcelona Centre for International Health Research, Hospital Clínic-Universitat de Barcelona, CEK, 1a Planta, Rosselló 149-153, 08036, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Luis Izquierdo
- Barcelona Centre for International Health Research, Hospital Clínic-Universitat de Barcelona, CEK, 1a Planta, Rosselló 149-153, 08036, Barcelona, Spain.
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Fernández-Becerra C, Pinazo MJ, González A, Alonso PL, del Portillo HA, Gascón J. Increased expression levels of the pvcrt-o and pvmdr1 genes in a patient with severe Plasmodium vivax malaria. Malar J 2009; 8:55. [PMID: 19341456 PMCID: PMC2682795 DOI: 10.1186/1475-2875-8-55] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2008] [Accepted: 04/02/2009] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Background There are increasing reports of severe clinical cases exclusively associated with Plasmodium vivax infections. Notably, this severity has been recently suggested to be associated with chloroquine resistance. Patients Two different patients presented at the Hospital Clinic in Barcelona with P. vivax malaria episodes. One patient had severe symptoms and the other mild symptoms. Both patients traveled through the Brazilian Amazon (Manaus) in 2007. For both patients the current diagnosis of malaria was the first. Two other patients with mild symptoms presented to the "Centro de Pesquisa em Medicina Tropical", also in the Brazilian Amazon (Rondônia) in 2000. Methods To exclude the possibility that the patient's severe symptoms were due to Plasmodium falciparum, a nested PCR was performed. A magnetic method was used to purify P. vivax free of human leukocytes. Quantitative real-time PCR was performed to compare the transcript levels of two main transporters likely to be involved in chloroquine resistance in P. vivax, namely the P. vivax chloroquine resistance transporter, pvcrt-o, and the P. vivax multidrug resistance transporter, pvmdr 1. Results Results demonstrated that the severe clinical symptoms were exclusively due to P. vivax. The patient presented acute respiratory conditions requiring admission to the intensive care unit. The magnetic method showed highly purified infected-reticulocytes with mature stages. In addition, it was found that parasites obtained from the severe patient had up to 2.9-fold increase in pvmdr1 levels and up to 21.9-fold increase in pvcrt-o levels compared to expression levels of parasites from the other patients with mild symptoms. Conclusion This is the first clinical case of severe disease exclusively associated with vivax malaria in Spain. Moreover, these findings suggest that clinical severity could be associated with increased expression levels of parasite genes likely involved in chloroquine resistance. It is necessary to further explore the potential of pvmdr1 and particularly pvcrt-o expression levels as molecular markers of severe disease in P. vivax.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carmen Fernández-Becerra
- Barcelona Centre for International Health Research (CRESIB), Hospital Clinic/IDIBAPS, Universitat de Barcelona, Roselló 132, 4a planta, 08036, Barcelona, Spain.
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14
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Sánchez-Moreno M, Fernández-Becerra C, Fernández-Ramos C, Luque F, Rodriguez-Cabezas MN, Dollet M, Osuna A. Trypanosomatid protozoa in plants of southeastern Spain: characterization by analysis of isoenzymes, kinetoplast DNA, and metabolic behavior. Parasitol Res 1998; 84:354-61. [PMID: 9610631 DOI: 10.1007/s004360050410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Three flagellates of the family Trypanosomatidae were isolated from mango fruits (Mangifera indica) and from the stems of clover (Trifolium glomeratum) and Amaranth (Amaranthus retroflexus) in southeastern Spain and were adapted to in vitro culture in monophase media. The parasites showed an ultrastructural pattern similar to that of other species of the genus Phytomonas. Mango and clover isolates differed from amaranth isolates in ultrastructural terms. The isolates were characterized by isoenzymatic analysis and by kDNA analysis using five different restriction endonucleases. With eight of the nine enzymatic systems, mango and clover isolates were distinguished from those of amaranth. Nevertheless, with the enzymes malate dehydrogenase and superoxide dismutase, flagellates isolated from clover were differentiated from those isolated from mango. Electrophoretic and restriction-endonuclease analysis of kDNA minicircles showed similar restriction cleavage patterns for the isolates from mango and clover, whereas the patterns of the amaranth isolates differed. The results of the present study confirm that the strains isolated from mango and clover constitute a phylogenetically closely related group of plant trypanosomatids, which is more distantly related to the strain isolated from amaranth. The similarities in the results obtained for isolates from mango and clover foliage, on the one hand, and those obtained from tomato and cherimoya fruits (studied previously), on the other, as well as the geographic proximity of the different plants support the contention that only one strain is involved, albeit one strain that can parasitize different plants. Furthermore, some of the plants appear to act as reservoirs for the parasites. On the other hand, the metabolism studies using [1H]-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy did not reveal that the catabolism of Phytomonas in general follows a pattern common to all the species or isolates. Phytomonas are incapable of completely degrading glucose, excreting a large part of their carbon skeleton into the medium as fermentative metabolites (acetate, ethanol, glycine, glycerol, and succinate).
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Affiliation(s)
- M Sánchez-Moreno
- Instituto de Biotecnología, Grupo de Bioquímica y Parasitología Molecular, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Spain.
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