Article
Microbiology
Sachie Kanatani, Rubayet Elahi, Sukanat Kanchanabhogin, Natasha Vartak, Abhai K. Tripathi, Sean T. Prigge, Photini Sinnis
Summary: As the malaria parasite becomes resistant to existing drugs, the development of novel drug candidates is crucial. In this study, a moderate-throughput motility assay was established to screen drug-like compounds for their inhibitory effects on the motility of Plasmodium falciparum sporozoites. Five compounds showed significant inhibitory effects and four of them also exhibited inhibitory activity against transmission to mosquitoes. These findings suggest the potential of these compounds as new antimalarial drugs with multistage activity.
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENTS AND CHEMOTHERAPY
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Catherine A. Moreau, Katharina A. Quadt, Henni Piirainen, Hirdesh Kumar, Saligram P. Bhargav, Leanne Strauss, Niraj H. Tolia, Rebecca C. Wade, Joachim P. Spatz, Inari Kursula, Friedrich Frischknecht
Summary: Research has shown that the generation of force during Plasmodium sporozoite migration inversely correlates with increased retrograde flow, indicating that slowing down flow to generate force is a key principle governing the parasite's gliding motility.
JOURNAL OF CELL SCIENCE
(2021)
Review
Immunology
Sylvie Briquet, Carine Marinach, Olivier Silvie, Catherine Vaquero
Summary: Plasmodium sporozoites transmitted by anopheline mosquitoes infect the liver and transform into replicative forms, releasing merozoites that cause malaria. Some species can form dormant hypnozoites in the liver, causing relapses. Gene expression during transmission from mosquito to mammalian host is tightly regulated, with transcriptome and proteome reprogramming involved in the transition. Regulatory mechanisms control gene expression in sporozoites with alternating waves of transcription activity and translational repression.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Abiodun Obembe, Adedayo Olatunbosun Oduola, Tolulope Amos Oyeniyi, Abiodun Kanmi Olakiigbe, Samson Taiwo Awolola
Summary: In a cattle rearing community in Kwara State, Nigeria, genetic identities, human blood feeding, and sporozoite infection rates of endophilic Anopheles mosquitoes were investigated. The study found that An. arabiensis and An. gambiae were the predominant species indoors, and could potentially be targeted for control measures using insecticide-treated bed nets. Further research on outdoor mosquito surveillance and bovine blood meal identification is needed for effective vector control.
JOURNAL OF INFECTION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Camelia Herman, Colleen M. Leonard, Perpetua Uhomoibhi, Mark Maire, Delynn Moss, Uwem Inyang, Ado Abubakar, Abiodun Ogunniyi, Nwando Mba, Stacie M. Greby, McPaul I. Okoye, Nnaemeka C. Iriemenam, Ibrahim Maikore, Laura Steinhardt, Eric Rogier
Summary: In a nationwide HIV survey conducted in Nigeria in 2018, blood samples were collected from children aged 0-14 years and analyzed for the presence of Plasmodium antigens, DNA, and antibodies. The study found that children in Nigeria have widespread exposure to Pm, but lower rates of exposure to Po and Pv.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Tosin Opadokun, Jeffrey Agyapong, Petra Rohrbach
Summary: This study preliminarily characterized the EVs released from RBCs infected with different stages of malaria parasites and found that they exhibit distinct protein expression profiles.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ryan W. J. Steel, Vladimir Vigdorovich, Nicholas Dambrauskas, Brandon K. Wilder, Silvia A. Arredondo, Debashree Goswami, Sudhir Kumar, Sara Carbonetti, Kristian E. Swearingen, Thao Nguyen, Will Betz, Nelly Camargo, Bridget S. Fisher, Jo Soden, Helen Thomas, Jim Freeth, Robert L. Moritz, D. Noah Sather, Stefan H. Kappe
Summary: Following inoculation by an infected mosquito, the malaria parasite travels to the liver through the bloodstream. The protein TRAP plays a crucial role in sporozoite motility and infection, and interacts with the human platelet-derived growth factor receptor beta. This interaction is conserved in human-infective Plasmodium vivax, suggesting a role in sporozoite recognition of blood vessels.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Christine S. Hopp, Sachie Kanatani, Nathan K. Archer, Robert J. Miller, Haiyun Liu, Kevin K. Chiou, Lloyd S. Miller, Photini Sinnis
Summary: This study provides the first characterization of P. falciparum sporozoites in vivo and compares their motility in mouse skin and human skin xenografts with two rodent malaria species. The findings suggest that the skin is not a species-specific barrier for Plasmodium, and antibodies targeting sporozoites significantly impact their motility in mouse skin. The research showcases a potential in vivo platform that could aid in preclinical screening of next-generation vaccines for human malaria parasites.
EMBO MOLECULAR MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Jin Li, Christopher Cullis
Summary: The chloroplast genomes of 84 marama samples from southern Africa were compared, revealing that certain regions of the marama plastome were more diverse. 15 haplotypes were identified, divided into two groups with differences at specific loci and an inversion. Furthermore, it was found that most individuals had both types of chloroplast genomes, albeit at a low frequency. The inheritance and coexistence of these complex chloroplast genomes raised questions for further research.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Xiaoyu Yang, Bo Song, Jie Cui, Lina Wang, Shuoshuo Wang, Linlin Luo, Lei Gao, Beixin Mo, Yu Yu, Lin Liu
Summary: This study reveals that translational reprogramming plays an important role in rice's response to salt stress, with the salt-tolerant cultivar SR86 adopting a more flexible translational adaptive strategy compared to the salt-sensitive cultivar NB. The differences in translational dynamics under salt stress between NB and SR86 may be due to their varying levels of ribosome stalling.
Article
Microbiology
Sara E. Pal, Renata Toth, Joshua D. Nosanchuk, Csaba Vagvolgyi, Tibor Nemeth, Attila Gacser
Summary: This study aimed to identify and explore virulence factors in Candida parapsilosis by generating and characterizing an overexpression mutant collection. Through comparisons with previous deletion mutant library characterizations, the study identified several new factors contributing to virulence and biofilm formation in C. parapsilosis. This work represents the first attempt to systematically assess gene function in C. parapsilosis using an overexpression strategy, demonstrating its effectiveness in such investigations.
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Shaopu Wang, Shuqin Zeng, Muireann Egan, Paul Cherry, Conall Strain, Emilene Morais, Patrick Boyaval, C. Anthony Ryan, Eugene M. Dempsey, R. Paul Ross, Catherine Stanton
Summary: The study analyzed 376 mother-infant dyads and found that maternal gut microbiota has higher diversity at species and strain levels, with many shared species showing more metabolic functions in mother-sourced species. Predictive models showed moderate performance accuracy for shared species and strains occurrences in infants.
Article
Biology
Ke-Hsuan Wei, I-Ting Lin, Kaushik Chowdhury, Khai Lone Lim, Kuan-Ting Liu, Tai-Ming Ko, Yao-Ming Chang, Kai-Chien Yang, Shih-Lei (Ben) Lai
Summary: Zebrafish have a robust ability to regenerate their hearts, and the immune system plays a key role in this process. By comparing non-regenerative and regenerative hearts, researchers have identified diverse functions and interactions between macrophages and neutrophils, and identified unique resident macrophages that are necessary for zebrafish heart regeneration.
Article
Plant Sciences
Julien Roziere, Cecile Guichard, Veronique Brunaud, Marie-Laure Martin, Sylvie Coursol
Summary: This study explores preferentially located motifs (PLMs) in the cis-regulatory regions of Arabidopsis thaliana and Zea mays genes using a genome-wide de novo approach. The study identifies three groups of PLMs, with a focus on conserved PLMs in both species, particularly in the 3'-gene-proximal region. Comparison with transcription factor and microRNA binding sites reveals that a significant portion of the identified PLMs are unassigned and show functional predictions that differ from known binding sites.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Oncology
Xiaoqing Yu, Ling Cen, Y. Ann Chen, Joseph Markowitz, Timothy Shaw, Kenneth Y. Tsai, Jose R. Conejo-Garcia, Xuefeng Wang
Summary: DNA methylation signatures can be used as reliable biomarkers to predict patient prognosis and immune status in tumors. This study introduces the concept of tumor-based expression quantitative trait methylation (eQTM) for the identification of predictive biomarkers. eQTM CpGs and genes represent new and efficient candidate targets for prognosis and immune status monitoring.
Article
Cell Biology
Francois Korbmacher, Benjamin Drepper, Theo Sanderson, Peer Martin, Thomas Stach, Alexander G. Maier, Kai Matuschewski, Joachim M. Matz
Summary: This study investigates the expression, subcellular localization, and function of folate transporter 2 (FT2) in the murine malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei. Disruption of FT2 results in abnormal parasite development in the insect vector and complete blockage of sporozoite transmission. The findings highlight the critical role of FT2 in parasite maturation in the arthropod vector.
CELLULAR MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Editorial Material
Parasitology
Imran Ejotre, DeeAnn M. Reeder, Kai Matuschewski, Juliane Schaer
TRENDS IN PARASITOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Katja Mueller, Matthew P. Gibbins, Mark Roberts, Arturo Reyes-Sandoval, Adrian V. S. Hill, Simon J. Draper, Kai Matuschewski, Olivier Silvie, Julius Clemence R. Hafalla
Summary: Antigens from different origins, either from sporozoites or exo-erythrocytic forms, exhibit significant differences in immunogenicity. However, both types of antigens can be effectively targeted and recognized by vaccine-induced effector CD8(+) T cells, leading to high levels of protection. This finding has important implications for antigen prioritization in next-generation pre-erythrocytic malaria vaccines.
EMBO MOLECULAR MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Merryn Fraser, Weidong Jing, Stefan Broer, Florian Kurth, Leif-Erik Sander, Kai Matuschewski, Alexander G. Maier
Summary: The study reveals that infection by the malaria parasite disrupts the symmetry of red blood cell membranes, leading to the exposure of phosphatidylserine and increased phagocytosis. Infected cells need to expend energy to resist phagocyte recognition, and the exposure of phosphatidylserine contributes to the recognition of Plasmodium falciparum-infected cells by the immune system.
Article
Immunology
Bettina Budeus, Artur Kibler, Martina Brauser, Ekaterina Homp, Kevin Bronischewski, J. Alexander Ross, Andre Gorgens, Marc A. Weniger, Josefine Dunst, Taras Kreslavsky, Symone Vitoriano da Conceicao Castro, Florian Murke, Christopher C. Oakes, Peter Rusch, Dimitrios Andrikos, Peter Kern, Angela Koeninger, Monika Lindemann, Patricia Johansson, Wiebke Hansen, Anna-Carin Lundell, Anna Rudin, Jan Duerig, Bernd Giebel, Daniel Hoffmann, Ralf Kueppers, Marc Seifert
Summary: Umbilical cord blood B cells exhibit a mature phenotype similar to adult B cells, with diverse yet conserved Ig repertoire and accelerated responsiveness. This suggests that UCB B cells are not immature but differ in their response dynamics compared to adult B cells.
JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yuko Sato, Koji Atarashi, Damian R. Plichta, Yasumichi Arai, Satoshi Sasajima, Sean M. Kearney, Wataru Suda, Kozue Takeshita, Takahiro Sasaki, Shoki Okamoto, Ashwin N. Skelly, Yuki Okamura, Hera Vlamakis, Youxian Li, Takeshi Tanoue, Hajime Takei, Hiroshi Nittono, Seiko Narushima, Junichiro Irie, Hiroshi Itoh, Kyoji Moriya, Yuki Sugiura, Makoto Suematsu, Nobuko Moritoki, Shinsuke Shibata, Dan R. Littman, Michael A. Fischbach, Yoshifumi Uwamino, Takashi Inoue, Akira Honda, Masahira Hattori, Tsuyoshi Murai, Ramnik J. Xavier, Nobuyoshi Hirose, Kenya Honda
Summary: Centenarians have a unique gut microbiome enriched in microorganisms capable of producing specific bile acids, including a previously undescribed isoform. The specific bile acid isoalloLCA exhibits potent antimicrobial effects against Gram-positive multidrug-resistant pathogens, suggesting a potential role in reducing infection risk.
Article
Immunology
Matthew P. Gibbins, Katja Mueller, Kai Matuschewski, Olivier Silvie, Julius Clemence R. Hafalla
Summary: The contribution of antigens expressed during liver stage development to immunity is unclear, and prioritizing antigens for vaccine development based solely on immunogenicity may be limited.
PARASITE IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Maximilian Kordes, Louise Ormond, Sebastian Rausch, Kai Matuschewski, Julius Clemence R. Hafalla
Summary: Recognition of pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) through Toll-like receptors (TLRs) plays a crucial role in first-line pathogen defense. TLRs are likely triggered by parasite-derived components during in vivo Plasmodium infection. Research on the potential effects of enhanced TLR-signalling on Plasmodium infection discovered that stimulation with a TLR9 agonist can induce killing of pre-erythrocytic stages in the liver.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Rene Rauschmeier, Annika Reinhardt, Charlotte Gustafsson, Vassilis Glaros, Artem V. Artemov, Josefine Dunst, Reshma Taneja, Igor Adameyko, Robert Mansson, Meinrad Busslinger, Taras Kreslavsky
Summary: The transcription factor Bhlhe40 plays a crucial negative regulatory role in the germinal center reaction by affecting both B cells and T follicular helper cells intrinsically, leading to a dysregulated germinal center response and potential lymphomagenesis in its absence.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE
(2021)
Editorial Material
Parasitology
Kai Matuschewski, Alexander G. Maier
Summary: The molecular arms race in Africa between humans and Plasmodium falciparum led to the selection of sickle-cell disease, which protects heterozygous carriers against severe malaria. However, parasites can counter-adapt and overcome disease resistance by identifying parasite genome signatures, known as P. falciparum sickle associated (Pfsa) variants.
TRENDS IN PARASITOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Quirin Hammer, Josefine Dunst, Wanda Christ, Francesca Picarazzi, Mareike Wendorff, Pouria Momayyezi, Oisin Huhn, Herman K. Netskar, Kimia T. Maleki, Marina Garcia, Takuya Sekine, Ebba Sohlberg, Valerio Azzimato, Myriam Aouadi, Frauke Degenhardt, Andre Franke, Francesco Spallotta, Mattia Mori, Jakob Michaelsson, Niklas K. Bjorkstrom, Timo Rueckert, Chiara Romagnani, Amir Horowitz, Jonas Klingstrom, Hans-Gustaf Ljunggren, Karl-Johan Malmberg
Summary: A viral peptide encoded by the Non-structural protein 13 of SARS-CoV-2 prevents the binding of HLA-E to the inhibitory receptor NKG2A, leading to the activation of NK cells and their ability to limit viral replication. This finding provides insights into the immune response of NK cells against SARS-CoV-2 and its mechanisms.
Article
Biology
Anne Gunther, Matthias Hose, Hanna Abberger, Fabian Schumacher, Ylva Veith, Burkhard Kleuser, Kai Matuschewski, Karl Sebastian Lang, Erich Gulbins, Jan Buer, Astrid M. Westendorf, Wiebke Hansen
Summary: This study demonstrates the involvement of acid ceramidase and ceramide in controlling P. yoelii infection, with a mechanism involving regulation of red blood cell development.
Editorial Material
Parasitology
Franziska Hildebrandt, Johan Ankarklev, Kai Matuschewski
Summary: The researchers conducted a high-resolution transcriptomic analysis of Plasmodium berghei liver-stage maturation and identified molecular signatures of heterogeneity during the pre-erythrocytic development of malarial parasites.
TRENDS IN PARASITOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Kunjan Harit, Rituparna Bhattacharjee, Kai Matuschewski, Jennifer Becker, Ulrich Kalinke, Dirk Schlueter, Gopala Nishanth
Summary: This study reveals that the deubiquitinating enzyme OTUD7b prevents TNF-induced apoptosis of dendritic cells (DCs) during infection, resulting in efficient immune response. OTUD7b stabilizes the E3 ligase TNF-receptor-associated factor 2 (TRAF2) by counteracting its K48-ubiquitination, facilitating the activation of NF-κB and MAP kinases, IL-12 production, and expression of anti-apoptotic cFLIP and Bcl-xL. Mice with DC-specific OTUD7b-deficiency showed DC apoptosis and failure to induce CD8(+) T cell-mediated brain pathology in a murine malaria infection model. These findings highlight the importance of OTUD7b as a central molecular switch for DC survival and provide insights for manipulating DC responses.
CELL DEATH & DISEASE
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Imran Ejotre, DeeAnn M. Reeder, Kai Matuschewski, Robert Kityo, Juliane Schaer
Summary: This study examines the existing knowledge and perception of bats among different tribes in Northern Uganda. It finds that negative perceptions, limited knowledge, and media influence contribute to actions against bats. Habitat loss and changing landscapes have also negatively impacted human-bat relations. Additionally, the study highlights the effectiveness of sensitization campaigns in protecting bats in the short term.