Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Damian Madan, Rafael Rivera, Corrie Ortega, Justin C. Touchon, Corinna Kimball, Geert-Jan Van Gemert, Wouter Graumans, Stephanie Matsuura, Sean S. Parghi, David Bell, Teun Bousema, Chris Drakeley, Katharine A. Collins, Thomas R. Burkot
Summary: This study demonstrates that measuring spermatozoa quantity in female Anopheles mosquitoes is an effective approach to assess mosquito age, which can improve vector control strategies for mosquito-borne diseases.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Catarina Rosa, Parul Singh, Patty Chen, Ameya Sinha, Aurelie Claes, Peter R. Preiser, Peter C. Dedon, Sebastian Baumgarten, Artur Scherf, Jessica M. Bryant
Summary: The complex life cycle of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum is driven by specific transcriptional programs, but the mechanisms behind gene activation or silencing at specific times are unclear. In this study, researchers investigated the role of the cohesin subunit SMC3 in P. falciparum. They found that knockdown of SMC3 during the early stages of the parasite's life cycle resulted in the upregulation of certain genes involved in erythrocyte egress and invasion, which are normally expressed at later stages. ChIP-seq analyses revealed that SMC3 binding at the promoter regions of these genes correlated with gene repression and chromatin accessibility during the parasite life cycle.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Rebecca L. Clements, Alexander A. Morano, Francesca M. Navarro, James P. McGee, Esrah W. Du, Vincent A. Streva, Scott E. Lindner, Jeffrey D. Dvorin
Summary: This study identifies a basal complex protein, PfBLEB, as a key player in gametocytogenesis. Parasites lacking PfBLEB are unable to form mature gametocytes, highlighting the importance of PfBLEB. The study also provides a potential molecular target for the eradication of malaria transmission.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Shanmuga S. Mahalingam, Nandini Shukla, Jean-Claude Farre, Katarzyna Zientara-Rytter, Suresh Subramani
Summary: Understanding the connections between peroxisome biogenesis and degradation is crucial for maintaining peroxisome homeostasis. Future research holds exciting avenues for further exploration in this area.
TRENDS IN BIOCHEMICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Review
Cell Biology
Francesca Florini, Joseph E. Visone, Kirk W. Deitsch
Summary: Cellular decision-making at the level of gene expression is crucial for the development and evolution of organisms, leading to phenotypic diversity and adaptive subpopulations. Organisms and parasites have evolved different strategies to choose one gene from a large family for expression.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ami G. Sangster, Robert J. Gooding, Andrew Garven, Hamid Ghaedi, David M. Berman, Scott K. Davey
Summary: Muscle invasive bladder cancer is characterized by abundant mutations, particularly in DNA damage response and chromatin modification genes. The significance of these mutations and their interactions in the development and progression of the disease have been explored through the identification of mutually exclusive mutation patterns. The discovery of these patterns sheds light on the mechanisms underlying muscle invasive bladder cancer and may guide therapeutic development.
Article
Microbiology
Torben Rehn, Pedro Lubiana, Thi Huyen Trang Nguyen, Eva Pansegrau, Marius Schmitt, Lisa Katharina Roth, Jana Brehmer, Thomas Roeder, Daniel Cadar, Nahla Galal Metwally, Iris Bruchhaus
Summary: This study reveals the ability of P. falciparum expressing vir genes to bind to CD36, and finds that this cytoadhesion is dependent on the presence of PfEMP1 proteins. These findings are important for studying VIR proteins.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Adeyemi T. Kayode, Fehintola V. Ajogbasile, Kazeem Akano, Jessica N. Uwanibe, Paul E. Oluniyi, Philomena J. Eromon, Onikepe A. Folarin, Akintunde Sowunmi, Dyann F. Wirth, Christian T. Happi
Summary: The Nigerian Federal Ministry of Health revised the treatment policy for malaria in 2005, introducing artemisinin-based combination therapies and discouraging the use of Sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) for uncomplicated malaria, except for in pregnancy and children. There is a concern of increasing reports of SP resistance, especially in the non-pregnant population, emphasizing the need for continual monitoring of SP efficacy through estimating polymorphisms in specific genes.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Henry J. Sutton, Racheal Aye, Azza H. Idris, Rachel Vistein, Eunice Nduati, Oscar Kai, Jedida Mwacharo, Xi Li, Xin Gao, T. Daniel Andrews, Marios Koutsakos, Thi H. O. Nguyen, Maxim Nekrasov, Peter Milburn, Auda Eltahla, Andrea A. Berry, K. C. Natasha, Sumana Chakravarty, B. Kim Lee Sim, Adam K. Wheatley, Stephen J. Kent, Stephen L. Hoffman, Kirsten E. Lyke, Philip Bejon, Fabio Luciani, Katherine Kedzierska, Robert A. Seder, Francis M. Ndungu, Ian A. Cockburn
Summary: Using single-cell RNA sequencing, researchers explored the diversity of human B cells in healthy individuals and those exposed to malaria, identifying two distinct lineages with atypical B cells being part of the alternative lineage. Upon malaria vaccination, the alternative lineage cells respond to initial immunization and booster doses, but develop an atypical phenotype with repeated boosts, indicating that atypical cells are a normal component of healthy immune responses.
Article
Immunology
Gladys J. Keitany, Bethany J. Jenkins, Harold T. Obiakor, Shaji Daniel, Atis Muehlenbachs, Jean-Philippe Semblat, Benoit Gamain, Justin Y. A. Doritchamou, Sanjay A. Desai, Nicholas J. MacDonald, David L. Narum, Robert Morrison, Tracy Saveria, Marissa Vignali, Andrew Oleinikov, Michal Fried, Patrick E. Duffy
Summary: This study characterizes an invariant protein associated with placental malaria (PM), PfCSA-L, which binds both VAR2CSA and placental CSA with high affinity. Unlike VAR2CSA, PfCSA-L is peripherally associated with the outer surface of knobs through protein-protein interactions with VAR2CSA. The findings suggest that sequestration of infected red blood cells (iRBCs) involves complexes of invariant and variant surface proteins, allowing parasites to maintain diversity and function on the iRBC surface.
JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Christine S. Hopp, Jeff Skinner, Sarah L. Anzick, Christopher M. Tipton, Mary E. Peterson, Shanping Li, Safiatou Doumbo, Kassoum Kayentao, Aissata Ongoiba, Craig Martens, Boubacar Traore, Peter D. Crompton
Summary: During acute infection, Plasmodium-specific atypical B cells (atBCs) exhibit similar intracellular signaling cascades to activated B cells (actBCs) and have distinct transcriptional characteristics. These atBCs may play a role in humoral immune responses.
SCIENCE IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Gabriel J. Foster, Mackenzie A. C. Sievert, Katrina Button-Simons, Katelyn M. Vendrely, Jeanne Romero-Severson, Michael T. Ferdig
Summary: The use of cyclical regression covariates (CRC) can effectively eliminate the confounding effect of developmentally driven transcriptional changes in clinical samples, leading to reduced errors in transcriptome analysis. This method has immediate application in parasite transcriptome sequencing directly from clinical blood samples and in cost-constrained in vitro experiments.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Amber J. LaPeruta, Jelena Micic, John L. Woolford Jr
Summary: During eukaryotic ribosome biogenesis, pre-ribosomes are released from the nucleolus when ribosomal protein binding causes rRNA to fold, leading to a decrease in the interaction between unfolded rRNA and nucleolar components.
NUCLEIC ACIDS RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Gregory M. Martin, Jonathan L. Torres, Tossapol Pholcharee, David Oyen, Yevel Flores-Garcia, Grace Gibson, Re'em Moskovitz, Nathan Beutler, Diana D. D. Jung, Jeffrey Copps, Wen-Hsin Lee, Gonzalo Gonzalez-Paez, Daniel Emerling, Randall S. MacGill, Emily Locke, C. Richter King, Fidel Zavala, Ian A. Wilson, Andrew B. Ward
Summary: In this study, the authors used cryo-EM to determine the structures of potent human antibodies and demonstrated their protective effects in vivo. They focused on antibodies targeting the circumsporozoite protein of Plasmodium falciparum, an important antigen for developing malaria vaccines. Through structural and functional analyses, they revealed the diverse structures of the antibody-PfCSP complexes and highlighted the key role of mutated homotypic contacts in high avidity binding and protection against malaria infection.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Biology
Gemma Moncunill, Jason Carnes, William Chad Young, Lindsay Carpp, Stephen De Rosa, Joseph J. Campo, Augusto Nhabomba, Maxmillian Mpina, Chenjerai Jairoce, Greg Finak, Paige Haas, Carl Muriel, Phu Van, Hector Sanz, Sheetij Dutta, Benjamin Mordmuller, Selidji T. Agnandji, Nuria Diez-Padrisa, Nana Aba Williams, John J. Aponte, Clarissa Valim, Daniel E. Neafsey, Claudia Daubenberger, M. Juliana McElrath, Carlota Dobano, Ken Stuart, Raphael Gottardo
Summary: In a malaria vaccine trial in African infants and children, the RTS,S/AS01 vaccine showed moderate efficacy. The vaccination led to changes in immune responses and specific gene expression in the blood cells. Understanding these changes can provide insights into the mechanism of vaccine protection.
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Enric Ros, Adrian Gabriel Torres, Lluis Ribas de Pouplana
Summary: The genetic code serves as a guide for cells to incorporate amino acids into proteins. Scientists can artificially expand this code by manipulating the translation machinery to enhance protein functionality. By drawing parallels between natural adaptations and methods used for genetic code expansion, researchers can propose nature-inspired tactics to improve synthetic organisms.
TRENDS IN BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biology
Harvie P. Portugaliza, Shinya Miyazaki, Fiona Ja Geurten, Christopher Pell, Anna Rosanas-Urgell, Chris J. Janse, Alfred Cortes
Article
Microbiology
Anastasia K. Pickford, Lucas Michel-Todo, Florian Dupuy, Alfredo Mayor, Pedro L. Alonso, Catherine Lavazec, Alfred Cortes
Summary: Clonally variant genes (CVGs) are crucial for Plasmodium falciparum to adapt to the human host's changing blood environment, with major differences in their expression patterns compared to in vitro-cultured parasites. During the transmission stages, previous expression patterns for many CVG families are lost and new patterns are established.
Article
Microbiology
Elisabet Tinto-Font, Lucas Michel-Todo, Timothy J. Russell, Nuria Casas-Vila, David J. Conway, Zbynek Bozdech, Manuel Llinas, Alfred Cortes
Summary: PfAP2-HS is a transcription factor in Plasmodium falciparum that regulates the protective heat-shock response, allowing the parasite to survive and protect against protein damage at elevated temperatures.
NATURE MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Michael Kanaris, Jimmy Poulin, Dea Shahinas, Daniel Johnson, Valerie M. Crowley, Geoffrey Fucile, Nicholas Provart, Dinesh Christendat
Summary: The shikimate pathway is crucial for the biosynthesis of aromatic amino acids and specialized metabolites in plants. Tyrosine does not serve as an allosteric regulator for the Arabidopsis DAHPS isozymes, but high levels of Tyr can affect the shikimate pathway flux. The interaction of DAHPS2 with a 14-3-3 protein in the cytosol is enhanced with Tyr treatment, leading to retention of DAHPS2 in the cytosol and preventing its function in the chloroplast under elevated Tyr levels.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Vanessa Tran, Andrea M. Weckman, Valerie M. Crowley, Lindsay S. Cahill, Kathleen Zhong, Ana Cabrera, Robyn E. Elphinstone, Victoria Pearce, Mwayiwawo Madanitsa, Linda Kalilani-Phiri, Victor Mwapasa, Carole Khairallah, Andrea L. Conroy, Feiko O. ter Kuile, John G. Sled, Kevin C. Kain
Summary: The study suggests that malaria during pregnancy may lead to aberrant placental vasculature and adverse birth outcomes, possibly through disruptions to the Angpt-Tie2 axis.
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Marina Murillo-Recio, Ignacio Miguel Martinez de Lejarza Samper, Cristina Tuni Dominguez, Lluis Ribas de Pouplana, Adrian Gabriel Torres
Summary: tRNAstudio is a tool that simplifies the analysis of tRNA-Seq datasets, extracting information related to tRNA gene expression, modification levels, and processing steps.
Review
Parasitology
Elisabet Tinto-Font, Alfred Cortes
Summary: Recent evidence has confirmed that malaria parasites can adapt to changes in their environment through transcriptional responses, specifically in metabolic conditions and febrile temperature. The protective response of Plasmodium falciparum to thermal stress is similar to other organisms but is regulated by a unique transcription factor. Only a subset of genes that change expression during heat shock contribute to the parasite's survival.
TRENDS IN PARASITOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Immunology
Veselina Stefanova, Valerie M. Crowley, Andrea M. Weckman, Kevin C. Kain
Summary: Severe malaria is a major cause of morbidity and mortality globally, especially among children in sub-Saharan Africa. Existing diagnostic tests for malaria are not effective in accurately identifying children at risk of severe and fatal outcomes. Measuring markers of host immune and endothelial activation may be useful in predicting disease progression and risk of death. This review focuses on soluble urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) as a potential early predictor of severe and fatal malaria and discusses its utility in malaria triage and management.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Harvie P. Portugaliza, H. Magloire Natama, Pieter Guetens, Eduard Rovira-Vallbona, Athanase M. Some, Aida Millogo, D. Florence Ouedraogo, Innocent Valea, Hermann Sorgho, Halidou Tinto, Nguyen Van Hong, Antonio Sitoe, Rosauro Varo, Quique Bassat, Alfred Cortes, Anna Rosanas-Urgell
Summary: The study found that in most infections from African cohorts, increased expression of pfap2-g and other sexual ring biomarkers was observed after treatment. The estimated parasite age at the time of treatment was negatively correlated with the increase in pfap2-g transcript levels, suggesting that younger parasites are less susceptible to stimulation of sexual conversion.
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Lluis Ribas de Pouplana
JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Editorial Material
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Elisabet Tinto-Font, Alfred Cortes
Article
Environmental Sciences
Aina M. Galmes-Panades, Escarlata Angullo, Sofia Mira-Martinez, Miquel Bennasar-Veny, Rocio Zamanillo-Campos, Rocio Gomez-Juanes, Jadwiga Konieczna, Rafael Jimenez, Maria Jesus Serrano-Ripoll, Maria Antonia Fiol-deRoque, Jeronima Miralles, Aina M. Yanez, Dora Romaguera, Maria Clara Vidal-Thomas, Joan Llobera-Canaves, Mauro Garcia-Toro, Catalina Vicens, Elena Gervilla-Garcia, Jose Ivan Ona, Narges Malih, Alfonso Leiva, Oana Bulilete, Juan Jose Montano, Margalida Gili, Miquel Roca, Ignacio Ricci-Cabello
Summary: This study aims to develop and evaluate a low-intensity, multifaceted digital intervention to prevent type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The intervention includes tailored text message promotion and online education for primary healthcare professionals. The study will contribute to the understanding of T2DM prevention and provide valuable information for low-cost and easily implementable interventions.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Lucas Michel-Todo, Cristina Bancells, Nuria Casas-Vila, Nuria Rovira-Graells, Carles Hernandez-Ferrer, Juan R. Gonzalez, Alfred Cortes
Summary: The study reveals the association between the transcriptional state of malaria parasite CVGs and the distribution of heterochromatin. It demonstrates that changes in heterochromatin can explain the expression switches of CVGs. Additionally, the research finds a relationship between heterochromatin levels and the transmission of the parasite to mosquitoes. This study is of great importance for understanding the fundamental mechanisms of malaria parasite adaptation to the host environment and the regulation of parasite gene expression.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Enric Ros, Amparo Prades, Dominique Forson, Jacqueline Smyth, Xavier Verdaguer, Lluis Ribas de Pouplana, Antoni Riera
CHEMICAL COMMUNICATIONS
(2020)