Article
Immunology
Jonathan W. K. Liew, Fatma D. Mohd Bukhari, Nantha Kumar Jeyaprakasam, Wei Kit Phang, Indra Vythilingam, Yee Ling Lau
Summary: By using nested PCR on concentrated high-volume blood samples, researchers in Malaysia were able to detect 2 natural, asymptomatic Plasmodium inui monoinfections in humans, as well as a P. inui-positive Anopheles cracens mosquito. To identify simian malaria parasite transmission in humans, investigators should utilize ultrasensitive detection methods.
EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Danielle Stanisic, Mei-Fong Ho, Reshma Nevagi, Emily Cooper, Maddison Walton, Md Tanjir Islam, Waleed M. Hussein, Mariusz Skwarczynski, Istvan Toth, Michael F. Good
Summary: Malaria vaccine research has shifted towards whole-parasite vaccines, which present a broad repertoire of antigens to the immune system to limit antigenic polymorphism. This study developed an enhanced liposomal vaccine that induced protective immune responses in mice and strong cellular immune responses, making significant progress towards evaluating the vaccine in clinical trials.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Xiaomin Shang, Shijun Shen, Jianxia Tang, Xiaoqin He, Yuemeng Zhao, Changhong Wang, Xiaohui He, Gangqiang Guo, Meng Liu, Liping Wang, Qianshu Zhu, Guang Yang, Cizhong Jiang, Meihua Zhang, Xinyu Yu, Jiping Han, Richard Culleton, Lubin Jiang, Jun Cao, Liang Gu, Qingfeng Zhang
Summary: The process of gametocytogenesis in malaria parasites is complex and largely unknown. However, a new study has identified a key transcription factor, PfAP2-G5, which is essential for this process. PfAP2-G5 suppresses the transcriptional activity of the pfap2-g gene, preventing sexual commitment and influencing gametocyte maturation.
NUCLEIC ACIDS RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Alice Kamau, Robert S. Paton, Samuel Akech, Arthur Mpimbaza, Cynthia Khazenzi, Morris Ogero, Eda Mumo, Victor A. Alegana, Ambrose Agweyu, Neema Mturi, Shebe Mohammed, Godfrey Bigogo, Allan Audi, James Kapisi, Asadu Sserwanga, Jane F. Namuganga, Simon Kariuki, Nancy A. Otieno, Bryan O. Nyawanda, Ally Olotu, Nahya Salim, Thabit Athuman, Salim Abdulla, Amina F. Mohamed, George Mtove, Hugh Reyburn, Sunetra Gupta, Jose Lourenco, Philip Bejon, Robert W. Snow
Summary: This study explores the relationship between age patterns of malaria hospitalization and malaria transmission intensity. The results indicate that the majority of malaria admissions occur in children under 5 years old, and in areas with higher transmission intensity, the average age of malaria hospitalization is younger. In moderate and high transmission settings, chemoprevention and vaccines can target a significant proportion of the children in the target age range.
Article
Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
Kyungdon Joo, Pyojin Kim, Martial Hebert, In So Kweon, Hyoun Jin Kim
Summary: This paper proposes a linear RGB-D simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) formulation that utilizes planar features of structured environments. By understanding and exploiting structural regularities, the camera rotation can be decoupled, making SLAM problems linear. The approach employs a linear Kalman filter to estimate camera translation and planar landmarks. A tracking-by-detection scheme using Atlanta representation is introduced for understanding different types of scenes.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON PATTERN ANALYSIS AND MACHINE INTELLIGENCE
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Damilola R. Oresegun, Cyrus Daneshvar, Janet Cox-Singh
Summary: Malaria is a significant health issue in African nations, and the pathophysiology of severe disease remains poorly understood. Utilizing Plasmodium knowlesi as a model system can provide valuable insights into severe malaria. The use of the MinION platform for generating long-read third-generation Plasmodium genome sequence data offers accessible and real-time information on clinically relevant parasite diversity.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Immunology
Aroosa Younis Nadeem, Adeeb Shehzad, Salman Ul Islam, Ebtesam A. Al-Suhaimi, Young Sup Lee
Summary: Malaria, caused by Plasmodium falciparum parasite, is a major health threat worldwide, with recent advancements in diagnostic tools and prevention strategies. The RTS, S vaccine has shown promising results in clinical trials, providing protection against severe malaria. The vaccine can be effectively delivered through routine immunization programs, but its economic cost needs to be considered.
Article
Immunology
Julia C. Cutts, Katherine O'Flaherty, Sophie G. Zaloumis, Elizabeth A. Ashley, Jo Anne Chan, Marie A. Onyamboko, Caterina Fanello, Arjen M. Dondorp, Nicholas P. Day, Aung Pyae Phyo, Mehul Dhorda, Mallika Imwong, Rick M. Fairhurst, Pharath Lim, Chanaki Amaratunga, Sasithon Pukrittayakamee, Tran Tinh Hien, Ye Htut, Mayfong Mayxay, M. Abdul Faiz, Eizo Takashima, Takafumi Tsuboi, James G. Beeson, Francois Nosten, Julie A. Simpson, Nicholas J. White, Freya J. Fowkes
Summary: The substantially shorter parasite clearance time observed in African patients compared to Asian patients after artemisinin treatment cannot be explained by differences in P. falciparum antibody responses.
JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Alan Fecchio, Henrique Batalha-Filho, Janice H. Dispoto, Jeffrey A. Bell, Jason D. Weckstein
Summary: Amazonia serves as the main source of diversity for haemosporidian parasites in South America, but our understanding of their biogeographical processes and contributions from different areas of endemism is incomplete. This study investigates the spatiotemporal evolution of Plasmodium and Parahaemoproteus parasites and finds that dispersal is the main driver of Plasmodium diversification, while duplication is more frequent in Parahaemoproteus. The results show that the Inambari area is the primary source of Plasmodium diversity on Marajó Island, but the island receives more Parahaemoproteus lineages from Cerrado habitats than any Amazonian area. The unique dispersal patterns and host-shifting ability of each parasite genus may have facilitated their diversification across Amazonia, with deep evolutionary history potentially constraining their colonization of Marajó Island.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Zitong Jerry Wang, Matt Thomson
Summary: The ability of cells to sense and respond to extracellular ligands in natural environments can be optimized by adapting to the spatial structure of the environment. Receptor localization in cells maximizes information acquisition, and dynamic redistribution of signaling receptors enhances cell navigation efficiency.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
S. Olaniyi, M. Mukamuri, K. O. Okosun, O. A. Adepoju
Summary: This paper presents and analyzes a time-dependent social hierarchy-structured deterministic model to study the effects of social class disparity on the transmission dynamics of malaria disease. It also suggests various interventions to prevent and control the spread of malaria in a population with a social hierarchy.
RESULTS IN PHYSICS
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Stephen W. Scally, Tony Triglia, Cindy Evelyn, Benjamin A. Seager, Michal Pasternak, Pailene S. Lim, Julie Healer, Niall D. Geoghegan, Amy Adair, Wai-Hong Tham, Laura F. Dagley, Kelly L. Rogers, Alan F. Cowman
Summary: This study identified the importance of the PCRCR complex, consisting of PfPTRAMP and PfCSS, in the invasion of erythrocytes by Plasmodium falciparum. The PCRCR complex plays a role in anchoring the contact between merozoite and erythrocyte membranes, facilitated by strong parasite deformations. In addition, the study identified inhibitory epitopes, which can guide the development of a malaria vaccine targeting the blood stage.
NATURE MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Mathematics
Edmondo Trentin
Summary: The paper introduces a machine capable of learning and decision-making in evolving structured environments, utilizing a probabilistic graphical model and a probabilistic variant of the recursive neural network.
Article
Microbiology
Clare K. Cimperman, Mirna Pena, Sohret M. Gokcek, Brandon P. Theall, Meha V. Patel, Anisha Sharma, ChenFeng Qi, Daniel Sturdevant, Louis H. Miller, Patrick L. Collins, Susan K. Pierce, Munir Akkaya
Summary: Hundreds of thousands of lives are lost each year due to brain damage caused by malaria. The majority of these deaths occur in sub-Saharan African children. Host genetic background plays a crucial role in determining the course and outcome of the disease.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Xiaoyan Yin, Ying Li, Wilhelmina Bagchus, Oezkan Yalkinoglu, Deon Bezuidenhout, Aliona Tappert, James McCarthy, Louise Marquart, Claude Oeuvray
Summary: Three statistical approaches were used to estimate the clearance rate of the investigational anti-malarial drug M5717, and it was found to exhibit a biphasic linear pattern. The segmented mixed model with random changepoints showed computational efficiency, precise estimates of the changepoint, and robustness to outliers and individual differences.
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Elias B. Farr, Julia M. Sattler, Friedrich Frischknecht
Summary: SPOT is a web tool for comparative analysis and ranking of gene expression profiles, allowing users to export the best results as Excel files. The tool has been tested on data from malaria parasites and SARS-CoV-2 infected cell lines.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Cecilia P. Sanchez, Pintu Patra, Shih-Ying Scott Chang, Christos Karathanasis, Lukas Hanebutte, Nicole Kilian, Marek Cyrklaff, Mike Heilemann, Ulrich S. Schwarz, Mikhail Kudryashev, Michael Lanzer
Summary: KAHRP plays a key role in Plasmodium falciparum malaria by forming membrane protrusions in infected erythrocytes, anchoring parasite-encoded adhesins to the membrane skeleton. Through super-resolution microscopy, it was found that KAHRP initially associates with various skeletal components before eventually colocalizing with remnant actin junctions under the spiral scaffold forming knobs. Additionally, a dynamic model of KAHRP organization and its function in attaching other factors to the spiral scaffold was proposed based on the findings.
MOLECULAR MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biophysics
Steven Huth, Johannes W. Blumberg, Dimitri Probst, Jan Lammerding, Ulrich S. Schwarz, Christine Selhuber-Unkel
Summary: Researchers have developed a novel approach to quantify intracellular force transmission by combining microneedle shearing and traction force microscopy. The experiment shows that cells dynamically redistribute forces under external shearing and experience changes in force loading during sequential rupture of their adhesion sites. This strategy offers new perspectives for future studies of force transmission and mechanotransduction in cells.
EUROPEAN BIOPHYSICS JOURNAL WITH BIOPHYSICS LETTERS
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jessica Kimmel, Jessica Kehrer, Friedrich Frischknecht, Tobias Spielmann
Summary: In the past 10 years, proximity-dependent biotinylation (PDB) techniques have been widely used, particularly for detecting protein interactions under physiological conditions and studying cellular structures with unclear protein composition. New PDB methods offer improved temporal and spatial resolution, with broad application potential for research on apicomplexan parasites.
MOLECULAR MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Johannes W. Blumberg, Ulrich S. Schwarz
Summary: The text discusses a systematic comparison between two fundamentally different approaches to 2.5D traction force microscopy (TFM). The direct method involves calculating strain and stress tensors directly from displacement data, while the inverse method minimizes the difference between estimated and measured displacements. Experimental results show that the direct method approaches the performance of 2.5D FTTC for larger noise and does not necessarily require a divergence correction. Additionally, increasing resolution benefits the direct method more than the inverse method.
Article
Physics, Multidisciplinary
Pintu Patra, Konrad Beyer, Astha Jaiswal, Anna Battista, Karl Rohr, Friedrich Frischknecht, Ulrich S. Schwarz
Summary: The collective motion of malaria parasites, specifically the Plasmodium sporozoites, is analyzed. It is found that the mechanical flexibility of the sporozoites is favorable for transmission, as it allows for sorting of the parasites based on their curvatures and speeds. Additionally, the vortices formed by the sporozoites exhibit oscillatory breathing due to the storage of motility force in their elastic energy.
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Julia Jaeger, Pintu Patra, Cecilia P. Sanchez, Michael Lanzer, Ulrich S. Schwarz
Summary: Malaria is a deadly infectious disease caused by a parasite that multiplies within red blood cells. Researchers have developed a computational model to predict the changes in mechanical properties and protein distribution in infected red blood cells. Their simulations show that specific proteins can relocate on the red blood cell surface due to changes in binding affinities, in agreement with experimental observations. This model can provide further insights into the mechanism of malaria parasite attack on red blood cell cytoskeleton.
PLOS COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Severina Klaus, Patrick Binder, Juyeop Kim, Marta Machado, Charlotta Funaya, Violetta Schaaf, Darius Klaschka, Aiste Kudulyte, Marek Cyrklaff, Vibor Laketa, Thomas Hoefer, Julien Guizetti, Nils B. Becker, Friedrich Frischknecht, Ulrich S. Schwarz, Markus Ganter
Summary: This study shows that individual nuclei replicate their DNA at different times, despite sharing a common cytoplasm. Mathematical modeling suggests the existence of a limiting factor that slows down nuclear multiplication. Experimental data supports the prediction that temporally overlapping DNA replication events are slower than partially or non-overlapping events. These findings suggest the presence of evolutionary pressure that selects for asynchronous DNA replication to balance resources and rapid pathogen proliferation.
Article
Physics, Multidisciplinary
Rick Bebon, Ulrich S. Schwarz
Summary: The article explores the computation of complex energy landscapes in biological systems, particularly their effects on first-passage times (FPTs). The authors propose a method to identify the most relevant features of energy landscapes by coarse-graining the Fokker-Planck equation to a master equation and decomposing its FPTs iteratively. They apply this method to the electrostatic interaction between two nonmuscle myosin II (NM2) rods and identify the most relevant energy barriers for their self-assembly into NM2 minifilaments and how they change under force.
NEW JOURNAL OF PHYSICS
(2022)
Article
Biophysics
T. Andersen, D. Woerthmueller, D. Probst, I. Wang, P. Moreau, V. Fitzpatrick, T. Boudou, U. S. Schwarz, M. Balland
Summary: Adherent cells generate mechanical force and sense the physical properties of their environment using actomyosin contractility, which has important implications for cell migration, division, differentiation, and fate. The organization of the actomyosin system within cells is highly variable and controlled by small GTPases from the Rho family. Activation of Rho regulators leads to cell-scale force generation, and the dynamics of this response are influenced by cell size and the architecture of the actin cytoskeleton, which are in turn regulated by the extracellular environment.
BIOPHYSICAL JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Markus Mund, Aline Tschanz, Yu-Le Wu, Felix Frey, Johanna L. Mehl, Marko Kaksonen, Ori Avinoam, Ulrich S. Schwarz, Jonas Ries
Summary: The study reveals the three-dimensional shapes of clathrin coats during endocytosis and introduces a novel Cooperative Curvature Model that accurately describes the changes in shapes and dynamics. The findings provide insights into the mechanism of clathrin coat remodeling during endocytosis and offer a potential general model for clathrin coat remodeling on the plasma membrane.
JOURNAL OF CELL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biophysics
Gonen Golani, Ulrich S. Schwarz
Summary: The fusion of lipid membranes involves significant energy barriers related to stalk and fusion pore formation. By using continuum elastic theory, the relationship between membrane shape and energy barriers was determined. The stalk formation energy decreases with curvature, while the fusion pore formation energy barrier shows a more complicated behavior. These findings can be utilized to prevent viral infections and inhibit polymorphic virus infection.
BIOPHYSICAL JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Santiago Gomez Melo, Dennis Woerthmueller, Pierre Gonczy, Niccolo Banterle, Ulrich S. Schwarz
Summary: SAS-6 self-assembles into rings on a surface, ensuring the nine-fold symmetry of centriole organelle. Simulation and experimental comparison show that weak interaction energies and small angular range are necessary for the selection of nine-fold symmetry.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Petr Shendrik, Gonen Golani, Raviv Dharan, Ulrich S. Schwarz, Raya Sorkin
Summary: Fusion of biological membranes plays a fundamental role in various physiological events. The energy barriers of fusion stages are tightly dependent on the mechanical and physical properties of the system, including membrane tension. This study reveals that membrane tension inhibits lipid mixing and increases the energy barrier of hemifusion stalk formation, leading to a delay in lipid mixing time.
Article
Physics, Multidisciplinary
Oliver M. Drozdowski, Falko Ziebert, Ulrich S. Schwarz
Summary: Cell crawling on flat substrates is driven by the interplay between actin polymerization at the front and myosin contractility at the back. Optogenetics provides a way to experimentally control contraction and cell migration. Theoretical analysis using a one-dimensional active gel model predicts the possibility of switching between sessile and motile states through optogenetic activation or inhibition of contractility.
COMMUNICATIONS PHYSICS
(2023)
