Chronic Toxoplasma gondii infection enhances ß-amyloid phagocytosis and clearance by recruited monocytes.

INTRODUCTION: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is associated with the accumulation of ß-amyloid (Aß) as senile plaques in the brain, thus leading to neurodegeneration and cognitive impairment. Plaque formation depends not merely on the amount of generated Aß peptides, but more importantly on their effective removal. Chronic infections with neurotropic pathogens, most prominently the parasite Toxoplasma (T.) gondii, are frequent in the elderly, and it has been suggested that the resulting neuroinflammation may influence the course of AD. In the present study, we investigated how chronic T. gondii infection and resulting neuroinflammation affect plaque deposition and removal in a mouse model of AD. RESULTS: Chronic infection with T. gondii was associated with reduced Aß and plaque load in 5xFAD mice. Upon infection, myeloid-derived CCR2(hi) Ly6C(hi) monocytes, CCR2(+) Ly6C(int), and CCR2(+) Ly6C(low) mononuclear cells were recruited to the brain of mice. Compared to microglia, these recruited mononuclear cells showed highly increased phagocytic capacity of Aß ex vivo. The F4/80(+) Ly6C(low) macrophages expressed high levels of Triggering Receptor Expressed on Myeloid cells 2 (TREM2), CD36, and Scavenger Receptor A1 (SCARA1), indicating phagocytic activity. Importantly, selective ablation of CCR2(+) Ly6C(hi) monocytes resulted in an increased amount of Aß in infected mice. Elevated insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE), matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9), as well as immunoproteasome subunits ß1i/LMP2, ß2i/MECL-1, and ß5i/LMP7 mRNA levels in the infected brains indicated increased proteolytic Aß degradation. Particularly, LMP7 was highly expressed by the recruited mononuclear cells in the brain, suggesting a novel mechanism of Aß clearance. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that chronic Toxoplasma infection ameliorates ß-amyloidosis in a murine model of AD by activation of the immune system, specifically by recruitment of Ly6C(hi) monocytes and by enhancement of phagocytosis and degradation of soluble Aß. Our findings provide evidence for a modulatory role of inflammation-induced Aß phagocytosis and degradation by newly recruited peripheral immune cells in the pathophysiology of AD.

Functional analysis of rhomboid proteases during Toxoplasma invasion.

Host cell invasion by Toxoplasma gondii and other apicomplexan parasites requires transmembrane adhesins that mediate binding to receptors on the substrate and host cell to facilitate motility and invasion. Rhomboid proteases (ROMs) are thought to cleave adhesins within their transmembrane segments, thus allowing the parasite to disengage from receptors and completely enter the host cell. To examine the specific roles of individual ROMs during invasion, we generated single, double, and triple knockouts for the three ROMs expressed in T. gondii tachyzoites. Analysis of these mutants demonstrated that ROM4 is the primary protease involved in adhesin processing and host cell invasion, whereas ROM1 or ROM5 plays negligible roles in these processes. Deletion of ROM4 blocked the shedding of adhesins such as MIC2 (microneme protein 2), causing them to accumulate on the surface of extracellular parasites. Increased surface adhesins led to nonproductive attachment, altered gliding motility, impaired moving junction formation, and reduced invasion efficiency. Despite the importance of ROM4 for efficient invasion, mutants lacking all three ROMs were viable and MIC2 was still efficiently removed from the surface of invaded mutant parasites, implying the existence of ROM-independent mechanisms for adhesin removal during invasion. Collectively, these results suggest that although ROM processing of adhesins is not absolutely essential, it is important for efficient host cell invasion by T. gondii. Importance: Apicomplexan parasites such as Toxoplasma gondii express surface proteins that bind host cell receptors to aid invasion. Many of these adhesins are subject to cleavage by rhomboid proteases (ROMs) within their transmembrane segments during invasion. Previous studies have demonstrated the importance of adhesin cleavage for parasite invasion and proposed that the ROMs responsible for processing would be essential for parasite survival. In T. gondii, ROM5 was thought to be the critical ROM for adhesin shedding due to its robust protease activity in vitro and posterior localization on the parasite surface. Here, we knocked out all three ROMs in T. gondii tachyzoites and found that ROM4, but not ROM5, was key for adhesin cleavage. However, none of the ROMs individually or in combination was essential for cell entry, further emphasizing that essential pathways such as invasion typically rely on redundant pathways to ensure survival.

Malaria drug resistance is associated with defective DNA mismatch repair.

Malarial parasites exhibit striking genetic plasticity, a hallmark of which is an ever-increasing rate of resistance to new drugs, especially in Southeast Asia where multi-drug resistance (MDR) threatens the last line of antimalarial drugs, the artesunate compounds. Previous studies quantified the accelerated resistance to multiple drugs (ARMD) phenomenon, but the underpinning mechanism(s) remains unknown. We utilize a forward genetic assay to investigate a new hypothesis that defective DNA mismatch repair (MMR) contributes to the development of MDR by Plasmodium falciparum parasites. We report that two ARMD parasites, W2 and Dd2, have defective MMR, as do the chloroquine-resistant parasites T9-94, 7C12, and 7G8. By contrast, the chloroquine-sensitive parasites HB3, D6 and 3D7 were MMR proficient. Interestingly, W2 was unable to repair substrates with a strand break located 3' to the mismatch, which is attributable to a large observed decrease in PfMutLα content. These data imply that antimalarial drug resistance can result from defective MMR.

Rhomboid 4 (ROM4) affects the processing of surface adhesins and facilitates host cell invasion by Toxoplasma gondii.

Host cell attachment by Toxoplasma gondii is dependent on polarized secretion of apical adhesins released from the micronemes. Subsequent translocation of these adhesive complexes by an actin-myosin motor powers motility and host cell invasion. Invasion and motility are also accompanied by shedding of surface adhesins by intramembrane proteolysis. Several previous studies have implicated rhomboid proteases in this step; however, their precise roles in vivo have not been elucidated. Using a conditional knockout strategy, we demonstrate that TgROM4 participates in processing of surface adhesins including MIC2, AMA1, and MIC3. Suppression of TgROM4 led to decreased release of the adhesin MIC2 into the supernatant and concomitantly increased the surface expression of this and a subset of other adhesins. Suppression of TgROM4 resulted in disruption of normal gliding, with the majority of parasites twirling on their posterior ends. Parasites lacking TgROM4 bound better to host cells, but lost the ability to apically orient and consequently most failed to generate a moving junction; hence, invasion was severely impaired. Our findings indicate that TgROM4 is involved in shedding of micronemal proteins from the cell surface. Down regulation of TgROM4 disrupts the normal apical-posterior gradient of adhesins that is important for efficient cell motility and invasion of host cells by T. gondii.

Actin-like protein 1 (ALP1) is a component of dynamic, high molecular weight complexes in Toxoplasma gondii.

Apicomplexan parasites, such as Toxoplasma gondii, rely on actin-based motility for cell invasion, yet conventional actin does not appear to be required for cell division in these parasites. Apicomplexans also contain a variety of actin-related proteins (Arps); however, most of these not directly orthologous to Arps in well-studied systems. We recently identified an apicomplexan-specific member of this family called Actin-Like Protein 1, (ALP1), which plays a role in the assembly of vesicular components recruited to the inner membrane complex (IMC) of daughter cells during cell division. In addition to its enrichment at daughter cell membranes, ALP1 is localized throughout the cytoplasm both diffusely distributed and concentrated in clusters that are detected by fluorescence microscopy, suggesting it forms complexes. Using quantitative optical imaging methods, including fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) and fluorescence loss in photobleaching (FLIP), we demonstrated that ALP1 is a component of a large complex, and that it readily exchanges between diffusible and complex-bound forms. Sedimentation and density gradient analyses revealed that ALP1 is found in a freely soluble state as well as high molecular weight complexes. During cell division, ALP1 was dynamically associated with the IMC, suggesting it rapidly cycles between freely diffusible and complex forms during daughter cell assembly.

Expression and biochemical characterization of Plasmodium falciparum DNA ligase I.

We report that Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) encodes a 912 amino acid ATP-dependent DNA ligase. Protein sequence analysis of Pf DNA ligase I indicates a strong sequence similarity, particularly in the C-terminal region, to DNA ligase I homologues. The activity of recombinant Pf DNA ligase I (PfLigI) was investigated using protein expressed in HEK293 cells. The PfLigI gene product is approximately 94kDa and catalyzes phosphodiester bond formation on a singly nicked DNA substrate. The enzyme is most active at alkaline pH (8.5) and with Mg(2+) or Mn(2+) and ATP as cofactors. Kinetic studies of PfLigI revealed that the enzyme has similar substrate affinity (K(m) 2.6nM) as compared to human DNA ligase I and k(cat) (2.3x10(-3)s(-1)) and k(cat)/K(m) (8.8x10(5)M(-1)s(-1)) which are similar to other ATP-dependent DNA ligases. PfLigI was able to join RNA-DNA substrates only when the RNA sequence was upstream of the nick, confirming that it is DNA ligase I and has no associated DNA ligase III like activity.