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Rono MK, Nyonda MA, Simam JJ, Ngoi JM, Mok S, Kortok MM, Abdullah AS, Elfaki MM, Waitumbi JN, El-Hassan IM, Marsh K, Bozdech Z, Mackinnon MJ. Adaptation of Plasmodium falciparum to its transmission environment. Nat Ecol Evol 2017; 2:377-387. [PMID: 29255304 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-017-0419-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2017] [Accepted: 11/20/2017] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Success in eliminating malaria will depend on whether parasite evolution outpaces control efforts. Here, we show that Plasmodium falciparum parasites (the deadliest of the species causing human malaria) found in low-transmission-intensity areas have evolved to invest more in transmission to new hosts (reproduction) and less in within-host replication (growth) than parasites found in high-transmission areas. At the cellular level, this adaptation manifests as increased production of reproductive forms (gametocytes) early in the infection at the expense of processes associated with multiplication inside red blood cells, especially membrane transport and protein trafficking. At the molecular level, this manifests as changes in the expression levels of genes encoding epigenetic and translational machinery. Specifically, expression levels of the gene encoding AP2-G-the transcription factor that initiates reproduction-increase as transmission intensity decreases. This is accompanied by downregulation and upregulation of genes encoding HDAC1 and HDA1-two histone deacetylases that epigenetically regulate the parasite's replicative and reproductive life-stage programmes, respectively. Parasites in reproductive mode show increased reliance on the prokaryotic translation machinery found inside the plastid-derived organelles. Thus, our dissection of the parasite's adaptive regulatory architecture has identified new potential molecular targets for malaria control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin K Rono
- Kenya Medical Research Institute-Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Kilifi, Kenya.,Pwani University Bioscience Research Centre, Pwani University, Kilifi, Kenya.,Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Mary A Nyonda
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Medicine, Medical Faculty, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | | | - Joyce M Ngoi
- Kenya Medical Research Institute-Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Kilifi, Kenya
| | - Sachel Mok
- Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Moses M Kortok
- Kenya Medical Research Institute-Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Kilifi, Kenya
| | | | - Mohammed M Elfaki
- Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Jazan University, Gizan, Jazan, Saudi Arabia
| | - John N Waitumbi
- Walter Reed Army Institute of Research/Kenya Medical Research Institute, Kisumu, Kenya
| | - Ibrahim M El-Hassan
- Faculty of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Jazan University, Gizan, Jazan, Saudi Arabia
| | - Kevin Marsh
- Kenya Medical Research Institute-Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Kilifi, Kenya.,Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Zbynek Bozdech
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
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Chen DS, Barry AE, Leliwa-Sytek A, Smith TA, Peterson I, Brown SM, Migot-Nabias F, Deloron P, Kortok MM, Marsh K, Daily JP, Ndiaye D, Sarr O, Mboup S, Day KP. A molecular epidemiological study of var gene diversity to characterize the reservoir of Plasmodium falciparum in humans in Africa. PLoS One 2011; 6:e16629. [PMID: 21347415 PMCID: PMC3036650 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0016629] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [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: 08/31/2010] [Accepted: 01/06/2011] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The reservoir of Plasmodium infection in humans has traditionally been defined by blood slide positivity. This study was designed to characterize the local reservoir of infection in relation to the diverse var genes that encode the major surface antigen of Plasmodium falciparum blood stages and underlie the parasite's ability to establish chronic infection and transmit from human to mosquito. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We investigated the molecular epidemiology of the var multigene family at local sites in Gabon, Senegal and Kenya which differ in parasite prevalence and transmission intensity. 1839 distinct var gene types were defined by sequencing DBLα domains in the three sites. Only 76 (4.1%) var types were found in more than one population indicating spatial heterogeneity in var types across the African continent. The majority of var types appeared only once in the population sample. Non-parametric statistical estimators predict in each population at minimum five to seven thousand distinct var types. Similar diversity of var types was seen in sites with different parasite prevalences. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE Var population genomics provides new insights into the epidemiology of P. falciparum in Africa where malaria has never been conquered. In particular, we have described the extensive reservoir of infection in local African sites and discovered a unique var population structure that can facilitate superinfection through minimal overlap in var repertoires among parasite genomes. Our findings show that var typing as a molecular surveillance system defines the extent of genetic complexity in the reservoir of infection to complement measures of malaria prevalence. The observed small scale spatial diversity of var genes suggests that var genetics could greatly inform current malaria mapping approaches and predict complex malaria population dynamics due to the import of var types to areas where no widespread pre-existing immunity in the population exists.
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Affiliation(s)
- Donald S. Chen
- Department of Medical Parasitology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America
- Department of Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Alyssa E. Barry
- Department of Medical Parasitology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America
- Peter Medawar Building for Pathogen Research and Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- Centre for Population Health, Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Australia
- Department of Medicine, Central and Eastern Clinical School, Monash University, Victoria, Australia
| | - Aleksandra Leliwa-Sytek
- Department of Medical Parasitology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Terry-Ann Smith
- Department of Medical Parasitology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Ingrid Peterson
- Department of Medical Parasitology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Stuart M. Brown
- Center for Health Informatics and Bioinformatics, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Florence Migot-Nabias
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Faculté de Pharmacie, Université Paris 5, Paris, France
| | - Philippe Deloron
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Faculté de Pharmacie, Université Paris 5, Paris, France
| | - Moses M. Kortok
- Kenya Medical Research Institute, Centre for Geographic Medicine Research, Kilifi, Kenya
| | - Kevin Marsh
- Kenya Medical Research Institute, Centre for Geographic Medicine Research, Kilifi, Kenya
| | - Johanna P. Daily
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Department of Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, United States of America
| | - Daouda Ndiaye
- Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar, Senegal
| | - Ousmane Sarr
- Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar, Senegal
| | - Souleymane Mboup
- Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar, Senegal
| | - Karen P. Day
- Department of Medical Parasitology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America
- Peter Medawar Building for Pathogen Research and Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
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Mackinnon MJ, Li J, Mok S, Kortok MM, Marsh K, Preiser PR, Bozdech Z. Comparative transcriptional and genomic analysis of Plasmodium falciparum field isolates. PLoS Pathog 2009; 5:e1000644. [PMID: 19898609 PMCID: PMC2764095 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1000644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [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: 12/19/2008] [Accepted: 10/05/2009] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Mechanisms for differential regulation of gene expression may underlie much of the phenotypic variation and adaptability of malaria parasites. Here we describe transcriptional variation among culture-adapted field isolates of Plasmodium falciparum, the species responsible for most malarial disease. It was found that genes coding for parasite protein export into the red cell cytosol and onto its surface, and genes coding for sexual stage proteins involved in parasite transmission are up-regulated in field isolates compared with long-term laboratory isolates. Much of this variability was associated with the loss of small or large chromosomal segments, or other forms of gene copy number variation that are prevalent in the P. falciparum genome (copy number variants, CNVs). Expression levels of genes inside these segments were correlated to that of genes outside and adjacent to the segment boundaries, and this association declined with distance from the CNV boundary. This observation could not be explained by copy number variation in these adjacent genes. This suggests a local-acting regulatory role for CNVs in transcription of neighboring genes and helps explain the chromosomal clustering that we observed here. Transcriptional co-regulation of physical clusters of adaptive genes may provide a way for the parasite to readily adapt to its highly heterogeneous and strongly selective environment.
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Bull PC, Buckee CO, Kyes S, Kortok MM, Thathy V, Guyah B, Stoute JA, Newbold CI, Marsh K. Plasmodium falciparum antigenic variation. Mapping mosaic var gene sequences onto a network of shared, highly polymorphic sequence blocks. Mol Microbiol 2008; 68:1519-34. [PMID: 18433451 PMCID: PMC2440560 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.2008.06248.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [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] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1) is a potentially important family of immune targets, encoded by an extremely diverse gene family called var. Understanding of the genetic organization of var genes is hampered by sequence mosaicism that results from a long history of non-homologous recombination. Here we have used software designed to analyse social networks to visualize the relationships between large collections of short var sequences tags sampled from clinical parasite isolates. In this approach, two sequences are connected if they share one or more highly polymorphic sequence blocks. The results show that the majority of analysed sequences including several var-like sequences from the chimpanzee parasite Plasmodium reichenowi can be either directly or indirectly linked together in a single unbroken network. However, the network is highly structured and contains putative subgroups of recombining sequences. The major subgroup contains the previously described group A var genes, previously proposed to be genetically distinct. Another subgroup contains sequences found to be associated with rosetting, a parasite virulence phenotype. The mosaic structure of the sequences and their division into subgroups may reflect the conflicting problems of maximizing antigenic diversity and minimizing epitope sharing between variants while maintaining their host cell binding functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter C Bull
- Kenya Medical Research Institute, Centre for Geographic Medicine Research, Coast, Kilifi, Kenya.
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Bull PC, Kyes S, Buckee CO, Montgomery J, Kortok MM, Newbold CI, Marsh K. An approach to classifying sequence tags sampled from Plasmodium falciparum var genes. Mol Biochem Parasitol 2007; 154:98-102. [PMID: 17467073 PMCID: PMC1906845 DOI: 10.1016/j.molbiopara.2007.03.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2006] [Revised: 03/16/2007] [Accepted: 03/16/2007] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Peter C Bull
- Kenya Medical Research Institute Centre for Geographic Medicine Research, Coast, Kilifi, Kenya.
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Bull PC, Berriman M, Kyes S, Quail MA, Hall N, Kortok MM, Marsh K, Newbold CI. Plasmodium falciparum variant surface antigen expression patterns during malaria. PLoS Pathog 2005; 1:e26. [PMID: 16304608 PMCID: PMC1287908 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.0010026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 127] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [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: 05/31/2005] [Accepted: 10/11/2005] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The variant surface antigens expressed on Plasmodium falciparum–infected erythrocytes are potentially important targets of immunity to malaria and are encoded, at least in part, by a family of var genes, about 60 of which are present within every parasite genome. Here we use semi-conserved regions within short var gene sequence “tags” to make direct comparisons of var gene expression in 12 clinical parasite isolates from Kenyan children. A total of 1,746 var clones were sequenced from genomic and cDNA and assigned to one of six sequence groups using specific sequence features. The results show the following. (1) The relative numbers of genomic clones falling in each of the sequence groups was similar between parasite isolates and corresponded well with the numbers of genes found in the genome of a single, fully sequenced parasite isolate. In contrast, the relative numbers of cDNA clones falling in each group varied considerably between isolates. (2) Expression of sequences belonging to a relatively conserved group was negatively associated with the repertoire of variant surface antigen antibodies carried by the infected child at the time of disease, whereas expression of sequences belonging to another group was associated with the parasite “rosetting” phenotype, a well established virulence determinant. Our results suggest that information on the state of the host–parasite relationship in vivo can be provided by measurements of the differential expression of different var groups, and need only be defined by short stretches of sequence data. Hope that it will be possible to develop a malaria vaccine is supported by the fact that individuals who have grown up in malaria endemic regions learn to carry malarial infections without suffering disease. Surprisingly little is still known about how this immunity develops. Much current research focuses on how the host develops immune responses to parasite antigens that are exposed to the host immune system. A major family of such antigens are inserted into the surface of parasite-infected erythrocytes, where they undergo antigenic switching to evade a developing antibody response. These proteins are encoded by a family of approximately 60 var genes, variants of which are present in every parasite genome. The extreme diversity of the var genes has prevented meaningful comparison of their expression in clinical isolates. However, the authors of this paper show that var genes can be placed in groups that have a similar representation in the genomes of all parasites that the authors collected from Kenyan children. Having demonstrated an underlying similarity at the genomic level, the authors show that the var expression patterns vary markedly between different patients. The expression levels of specific groups of var genes was associated with poorly developed antibody responses in the children and a well-established parasite virulence phenotype. The study provides tools for exploring how host and parasite adapt to one another as immunity develops.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter C Bull
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
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Griffiths MJ, Shafi MJ, Popper SJ, Hemingway CA, Kortok MM, Wathen A, Rockett KA, Mott R, Levin M, Newton CR, Marsh K, Relman DA, Kwiatkowski DP. Genomewide analysis of the host response to malaria in Kenyan children. J Infect Dis 2005; 191:1599-611. [PMID: 15838786 DOI: 10.1086/429297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 93] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2004] [Accepted: 11/24/2004] [Indexed: 11/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Malaria is a global problem, and there is a critical need for further understanding of the disease process. When malarial parasites invade and develop within the bloodstream, they stimulate a profound host response whose main clinical sign is fever. To explore this response, we measured host gene expression in whole blood from Kenyan children hospitalized with either acute malaria or other febrile illnesses. Genomewide analysis of expression identified 2 principal gene-expression profiles related to neutrophil and erythroid activity. In addition to these general acute responses, a third gene-expression profile was associated with host parasitemia; mediators of erythrophagocytosis and cellular stress were notable components of this response. The delineation of subjects on the basis of patterns of gene expression provides a molecular perspective of the host response to malaria and further functional insight into the underlying processes of pathogenesis.
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Knight JC, McGuire W, Kortok MM, Kwiatkowski D. Accuracy of genotyping of single-nucleotide polymorphisms by PCR-ELISA allele-specific oligonucleotide hybridization typing and by amplification refractory mutation system. Clin Chem 1999; 45:1860-3. [PMID: 10508136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/14/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- J C Knight
- Molecular Infectious Diseases Group, Institute of Molecular Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DS, United Kingdom
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