Project description:Further understanding of the molecular mediators of alternative RBC invasion phenotypes in endemic malaria parasites will support malaria blood stage vaccine or drug development. This study investigated the prevalence of SA-dependent and SA-independent RBC invasion pathways in endemic P. falciparum parasites from Cameroon and compared the schizont stage transcriptomes in these two groups with the goal of uncovering the wider repertoire of transcriptional variation associated with the use of alternative RBC invasion pathway phenotypes. Two-colour flow cytometry-based invasion-inhibition assay against RBCs treated with neuraminidase, trypsin and chymotrypsin and deep RNA sequencing of schizont stages harvested in the first ex-vivo replication cycle in culture were employed in this investigation. RBC invasion phenotypes were determined for 63 isolates from asymptomatic children with uncomplicated malaria. Approximately 80% of the isolates invaded neuraminidase-treated but not chymotrypsin-treated RBCs, representing sialic acid (SA)-independent pathways of RBC invasion. The schizont transcriptome profiles of 16 isolates with invasion phenotypes revealed a total of 5136 gene transcripts, with 85% of isolates predicted at schizont stages. Two distinct transcriptome profile clusters belonging to SA-dependent and SA-independent parasites were obtained by data reduction with principal component analysis. Differential analysis of gene expression between the two clusters implicated in addition to the well characterized adhesins, the up-regulation of genes encoding proteins mediating merozoite organelle discharges and several conserved, virulent, merozoite associated and exported proteins. The latter majority of which have been shown to have structural and physiological relevance to RBC surface remodelling and immune evasion in malaria and thus, have potential as anti-invasion targets.
Project description:To help malaria parasites survive unpredictable host immune responses, it is known that genes for surface proteins express stochastically in Plasmodium falciparum. Here, we demonstrate that gene expression for intracellular metabolic functions may be preordained and insensitive to specific metabolic perturbations. In a tightly-controlled, large microarray study involving over 100 hybridizations to isogenic drug-sensitive and drug-resistant parasites, the lethal antifolate WR99210 failed to over-produce RNA for the biochemically and genetically proven target dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase (DHFR-TS). Beyond the target, this transcriptional obstinacy carried over to the rest of the parasite genome, including genes for target pathways of folate and pyrimidine metabolism. Even 12 hours after commitment to death, the transcriptome remained faithful to evolutionarily entrained paths. A system-wide transcriptional disregard for metabolic perturbations in malaria parasites may contribute to selective vulnerabilities of the parasite to lethal antimetabolites. While large protective metabolic responses were not detected, DNA microarrays helped capture small, but reproducible drug-dependent perturbations within hours of drug exposure. In addition, in Plasmodium cells that had adapted to long-term drug exposure, DNA microarrays revealed new, large genome-wide transcriptional adjustments in the hard-wired transcriptional program itself. Keywords: Plasmodium falciparum treated with pyrimethamine
Project description:To help malaria parasites survive unpredictable host immune responses, it is known that genes for surface proteins express stochastically in Plasmodium falciparum. Here, we demonstrate that gene expression for intracellular metabolic functions may be preordained and insensitive to specific metabolic perturbations. In a tightly-controlled, large microarray study involving over 100 hybridizations to isogenic drug-sensitive and drug-resistant parasites, the lethal antifolate WR99210 failed to over-produce RNA for the biochemically and genetically proven target dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase (DHFR-TS). Beyond the target, this transcriptional obstinacy carried over to the rest of the parasite genome, including genes for target pathways of folate and pyrimidine metabolism. Even 12 hours after commitment to death, the transcriptome remained faithful to evolutionarily entrained paths. A system-wide transcriptional disregard for metabolic perturbations in malaria parasites may contribute to selective vulnerabilities of the parasite to lethal antimetabolites. While large protective metabolic responses were not detected, DNA microarrays helped capture small, but reproducible drug-dependent perturbations within hours of drug exposure. In addition, in Plasmodium cells that had adapted to long-term drug exposure, DNA microarrays revealed new, large genome-wide transcriptional adjustments in the hard-wired transcriptional program itself. Keywords: Plasmodium falciparum treated with pyrimethamine
Project description:To help malaria parasites survive unpredictable host immune responses, it is known that genes for surface proteins express stochastically in Plasmodium falciparum. Here, we demonstrate that gene expression for intracellular metabolic functions may be preordained and insensitive to specific metabolic perturbations. In a tightly-controlled, large microarray study involving over 100 hybridizations to isogenic drug-sensitive and drug-resistant parasites, the lethal antifolate WR99210 failed to over-produce RNA for the biochemically and genetically proven target dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase (DHFR-TS). Beyond the target, this transcriptional obstinacy carried over to the rest of the parasite genome, including genes for target pathways of folate and pyrimidine metabolism. Even 12 hours after commitment to death, the transcriptome remained faithful to evolutionarily entrained paths. A system-wide transcriptional disregard for metabolic perturbations in malaria parasites may contribute to selective vulnerabilities of the parasite to lethal antimetabolites. While large protective metabolic responses were not detected, DNA microarrays helped capture small, but reproducible drug-dependent perturbations within hours of drug exposure. In addition, in Plasmodium cells that had adapted to long-term drug exposure, DNA microarrays revealed new, large genome-wide transcriptional adjustments in the hard-wired transcriptional program itself. Keywords: Plasmodium falciparum treated with WR99210
Project description:To help malaria parasites survive unpredictable host immune responses, it is known that genes for surface proteins express stochastically in Plasmodium falciparum. Here, we demonstrate that gene expression for intracellular metabolic functions may be preordained and insensitive to specific metabolic perturbations. In a tightly-controlled, large microarray study involving over 100 hybridizations to isogenic drug-sensitive and drug-resistant parasites, the lethal antifolate WR99210 failed to over-produce RNA for the biochemically and genetically proven target dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase (DHFR-TS). Beyond the target, this transcriptional obstinacy carried over to the rest of the parasite genome, including genes for target pathways of folate and pyrimidine metabolism. Even 12 hours after commitment to death, the transcriptome remained faithful to evolutionarily entrained paths. A system-wide transcriptional disregard for metabolic perturbations in malaria parasites may contribute to selective vulnerabilities of the parasite to lethal antimetabolites. While large protective metabolic responses were not detected, DNA microarrays helped capture small, but reproducible drug-dependent perturbations within hours of drug exposure. In addition, in Plasmodium cells that had adapted to long-term drug exposure, DNA microarrays revealed new, large genome-wide transcriptional adjustments in the hard-wired transcriptional program itself. Keywords: Plasmodium falciparum treated with pyrimethamine RNA from pyrimethamine-treated parasite vs RNA from untreated control, Pyr-sensitive TM4/8.2 strain, pyrimethamine concentration at IC50 and treated for 0 h and 24 h, microarray data were obtained from at least four hybridizations using RNA from at lease two independent parasite cultures
Project description:To help malaria parasites survive unpredictable host immune responses, it is known that genes for surface proteins express stochastically in Plasmodium falciparum. Here, we demonstrate that gene expression for intracellular metabolic functions may be preordained and insensitive to specific metabolic perturbations. In a tightly-controlled, large microarray study involving over 100 hybridizations to isogenic drug-sensitive and drug-resistant parasites, the lethal antifolate WR99210 failed to over-produce RNA for the biochemically and genetically proven target dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase (DHFR-TS). Beyond the target, this transcriptional obstinacy carried over to the rest of the parasite genome, including genes for target pathways of folate and pyrimidine metabolism. Even 12 hours after commitment to death, the transcriptome remained faithful to evolutionarily entrained paths. A system-wide transcriptional disregard for metabolic perturbations in malaria parasites may contribute to selective vulnerabilities of the parasite to lethal antimetabolites. While large protective metabolic responses were not detected, DNA microarrays helped capture small, but reproducible drug-dependent perturbations within hours of drug exposure. In addition, in Plasmodium cells that had adapted to long-term drug exposure, DNA microarrays revealed new, large genome-wide transcriptional adjustments in the hard-wired transcriptional program itself. Keywords: Plasmodium falciparum treated with pyrimethamine RNA from pyrimethamine-treated parasite vs RNA from untreated control, Pyr-sensitive TM4/8.2 parasite strain, pyrimethamine concentration at IC50 and treated for 2 h, 4 h, and 8 h, microarray data were obtained from at least four hybridizations using RNA from at least two independent parasite cultures
Project description:To help malaria parasites survive unpredictable host immune responses, it is known that genes for surface proteins express stochastically in Plasmodium falciparum. Here, we demonstrate that gene expression for intracellular metabolic functions may be preordained and insensitive to specific metabolic perturbations. In a tightly-controlled, large microarray study involving over 100 hybridizations to isogenic drug-sensitive and drug-resistant parasites, the lethal antifolate WR99210 failed to over-produce RNA for the biochemically and genetically proven target dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase (DHFR-TS). Beyond the target, this transcriptional obstinacy carried over to the rest of the parasite genome, including genes for target pathways of folate and pyrimidine metabolism. Even 12 hours after commitment to death, the transcriptome remained faithful to evolutionarily entrained paths. A system-wide transcriptional disregard for metabolic perturbations in malaria parasites may contribute to selective vulnerabilities of the parasite to lethal antimetabolites. While large protective metabolic responses were not detected, DNA microarrays helped capture small, but reproducible drug-dependent perturbations within hours of drug exposure. In addition, in Plasmodium cells that had adapted to long-term drug exposure, DNA microarrays revealed new, large genome-wide transcriptional adjustments in the hard-wired transcriptional program itself. Keywords: Plasmodium falciparum treated with WR99210 RNA from P. falciparum Dd2 and B1G9 (WR99210 resistant cell-line) trophozoites that had been treated with 10 nM WR99210 for varying durations (3, 6, 9, 15, 18, 21 and 24h) was hybridized against a common pool of trophozoite RNA from a cognate clone, a culture containing 0.1% (v/v) DMSO lacking drug was used as untreated control, microarray data were obtained from at least four hybridizations using RNA from two independent parasite cultures