Article
Biology
Stella Reichling, Peter F. Doubleday, Tomas Germade, Ariane Bergmann, Robbie Loewith, Uwe Sauer, Duncan Holbrook-Smith
Summary: Although the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae's genetic code has been sequenced for 25 years, the understanding of gene functions within it is still incomplete. High-throughput metabolomics provides a cost-effective and robust approach to uncovering gene function. The study used mass spectrometry to dynamically profile the metabolome of TOR and receptor genes mutants under rapamycin treatment, generating a dataset of over 7000 metabolomics measurements. The results demonstrate the efficacy of this approach in identifying novel potential TOR signaling-related genes and highlight the utility of dynamic perturbations for functional metabolomics.
Review
Immunology
Kun Yin, Chao Xu, Guihua Zhao, Huanhuan Xie
Summary: Toxoplasma gondii has a complex life cycle and can infect a wide range of warm-blooded animals globally. Infection by this parasite has been linked to various psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia and suicide. The mechanism behind the parasite's manipulation effects has not been fully elucidated. Recent research suggests that neuroendocrine programs and neurotransmitter imbalance may play a key role in this process. Additionally, studying the expression patterns of host genes, long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), and mRNAs provides new insights into understanding the neurotransmitter dysfunction induced by parasite manipulation.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Xiaojie Bi, Wei Liu, Xuan Ding, Shuang Liang, Yufen Zheng, Xiaoli Zhu, Sheng Quan, Xiao Yi, Nan Xiang, Juping Du, Haiyan Lyu, Die Yu, Chao Zhang, Luang Xu, Weigang Ge, Xinke Zhan, Jiale He, Zi Xiong, Shun Zhang, Yanchang Li, Ping Xu, Guangjun Zhu, Donglian Wang, Hongguo Zhu, Shiyong Chen, Jun Li, Haihong Zhao, Yi Zhu, Huafen Liu, Jiaqin Xu, Bo Shen, Tiannan Guo
Summary: This study analyzes the urinary and serum proteome and metabolome of COVID-19 patients and healthy controls. It finds that urinary proteins can effectively classify COVID-19 severity and identifies correlations between urinary proteins and active SARS-CoV-2 replication, as well as blood lymphocyte counts in severe cases. The study suggests that COVID-19 triggers innate immune activation and inflammation that lead to renal injuries. The modulation of the urinary proteome provides unique insights into the pathogenesis of COVID-19.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Joachim Kloehn, Matteo Lunghi, Emmanuel Varesio, David Dubois, Dominique Soldati-Favre
Summary: Apicomplexan parasites rely on essential metabolites from the host and a study successfully identified a transporter substrate using untargeted metabolomics.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Juliane Hartke, Alejandro Ceron-Noriega, Marah Stoldt, Tom Sistermans, Marion Kever, Jenny Fuchs, Falk Butter, Susanne Foitzik
Summary: Parasites with complex life cycles often manipulate the phenotype of their intermediate hosts to increase transmission to their definitive hosts. Infection with Anomotaenia brevis, a cestode that uses Temnothorax nylanderi ants as intermediate hosts, leads to extended host lifespan and changes in behavior, morphology, and coloration. The parasite releases proteins into its host that may explain these changes, with two antioxidants being the most abundant among them.
Article
Ecology
Camilla Hakonsrud Jensen, Jacqueline Weidner, Jarl Giske, Christian Jorgensen, Sigrunn Eliassen, Adele Mennerat
Summary: Using a dynamic optimization model, this study investigates the effects of a parasite on the hormonal regulation, energy allocation, and foraging behavior of a growing host. The results show that the infected host has higher levels of certain hormones, leading to increased activity, foraging, and growth. These changes are adaptive host compensatory responses, not parasite manipulation.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Geetha Kannan, Pariyamon Thaprawat, Tracey L. Schultz, Vern B. Carruthers
Summary: This study demonstrates that Toxoplasma gondii bradyzoites can ingest host-derived cytosolic proteins across the cyst wall, providing insight into how the parasite obtains resources within infected cells. Disruption of a parasite protease enhances accumulation of host-derived protein within the chronic-stage parasites, suggesting a potential role in supporting the parasite's persistence.
Article
Microbiology
Junnan Xu, Ning Zhao, Xuemei Meng, Jun Li, Tong Zhang, Ruoyun Xu, Xinyuan Wei, Mingtao Fan
Summary: Under acidic stress, the growth of A. acidoterrestris was inhibited and its metabolic profiles were altered. A. acidoterrestris maintains intracellular pH homeostasis by enhancing amino acid decarboxylation, urea hydrolysis, and energy supply, while two-component systems, ABC transporters, and unsaturated fatty acid synthesis also play crucial roles in resisting acid stress.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Lu Yu, Yuchen Yang, Dianguang Xiong, Chengming Tian
Summary: This study analyzed the hierarchical regulatory network of CcPmk1 in Cytospora chrysosperma, identifying pathogenicity-related downstream targets of CcPmk1 and revealing that CcPmk1 controls fungal virulence by modulating a few downstream master regulators.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2022)
Article
Parasitology
Chloe Suzanne Berger, Jerome Laroche, Halim Maaroufi, Helene Martin, Kyung-Mee Moon, Christian R. Landry, Leonard J. Foster, Nadia Aubin-Horth
Summary: The study used proteomics to characterize the secretome of Schistocephalus solidus, a manipulative cestode in its obligatory intermediate fish host. The results showed the presence of molecules with putative host manipulation functions, many of which are species-specific.
PARASITES & VECTORS
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
David M. Rand, Joaquin C. B. Nunez, Shawn Williams, Stephen Rong, John T. Burley, Kimberly B. Neil, Adam N. Spierer, Wilson McKerrow, David S. Johnson, Yevgeniy Raynes, Thomas J. Fayton, Nicholas Skvir, David A. Ferranti, Maya Greenhill Zeff, Amanda Lyons, Naima Okami, David M. Morgan, Kealohanuiopuna Kinney, Bianca R. P. Brown, Anne E. Giblin, Zoe G. Cardon
Summary: Manipulation of host phenotypes by parasites is a strategy for enhancing parasite transmission, and this study found that trematode infection alters the gene expression of its amphipod host, leading to changes in coloration, behavior and immune responses. The study provides new genomic tools and transcriptomic analyses to understand how parasites manipulate host phenotypes.
Article
Immunology
Hui Sun, Jin Li, Longjiang Wang, Kun Yin, Chao Xu, Gongzhen Liu, Ting Xiao, Bingcheng Huang, Qingkuan Wei, Maoqing Gong, Jianping Cao
Summary: The study used tandem mass tag analysis to investigate global proteomic changes in host cells and T. gondii during intracellular infection. It revealed that T. gondii invasion relies on the secretion of numerous secretory proteins, while in infected host cells, many known secretory proteins were significantly downregulated.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Bingjian Ren, Manuela Schmid, Mattea Scheiner, Hans-Joachim Mollenkopf, Richard Lucius, Emanuel Heitlinger, Nishith Gupta
Summary: Successful asexual reproduction of intracellular pathogens relies on their ability to exploit host resources and evade antimicrobial defenses. In this study, two common apicomplexan parasites, Toxoplasma gondii and Eimeria falciformis, were used to investigate their interactions with mammalian cells, revealing distinct responses from individual host cells to different pathogens. The master transcription factor cFos was found to play a crucial role in the infection process, affecting the growth of both parasites in host cells. Overall, a network centered around cFos was identified, along with underlying signal cascades and a variety of nucleotide- and ion-binding proteins, which work together to help the mammalian cell adapt and facilitate parasite development.
COMPUTATIONAL AND STRUCTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL
(2021)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Emelia Osman, Anis Safirah Mohammad Zahariluddin, Shalisah Sharip, Zulkarnain Md Idris, Jen Kit Tan
Summary: This study found that both Toxoplasma infection and schizophrenia lead to alterations in purine catabolism. Further research is needed to investigate the specific roles of these metabolites in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia associated with Toxoplasma infection.
Article
Cell Biology
Julia D. Romano, Joshua Mayoral, Rebekah B. Guevara, Yolanda Rivera-Cuevas, Vern B. Carruthers, Louis M. Weiss, Isabelle Coppens
Summary: Intracellular pathogens, such as Toxoplasma gondii, manipulate host cells to exploit cellular resources. The parasite sequesters host nutrient-filled organelles into its parasitophorous vacuole (PV) through deep invaginations of the PV membrane (PVM). The parasite utilizes the host ESCRT-III and Vps4A to create PVM buds and vesicles.
JOURNAL OF CELL SCIENCE
(2023)
