DC8 and DC13 var genes associated with severe malaria bind avidly to diverse endothelial cells.

During blood stage infection, Plasmodium falciparum infected erythrocytes (IE) bind to host blood vessels. This virulence determinant enables parasites to evade spleen-dependent killing mechanisms, but paradoxically in some cases may reduce parasite fitness by killing the host. Adhesion of infected erythrocytes is mediated by P. falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1), a family of polymorphic adhesion proteins encoded by var genes. Whereas cerebral binding and severe malaria are associated with parasites expressing DC8 and DC13 var genes, relatively little is known about the non-brain endothelial selection on severe malaria adhesive types. In this study, we selected P. falciparum-IEs on diverse endothelial cell types and demonstrate that DC8 and DC13 var genes were consistently among the major var transcripts selected on non-brain endothelial cells (lung, heart, bone marrow). To investigate the molecular basis for this avid endothelial binding activity, recombinant proteins were expressed from the predominant upregulated DC8 transcript, IT4var19. In-depth binding comparisons revealed that multiple extracellular domains from this protein bound brain and non-brain endothelial cells, and individual domains largely did not discriminate between different endothelial cell types. Additionally, we found that recombinant DC8 and DC13 CIDR1 domains exhibited a widespread endothelial binding activity and could compete for DC8-IE binding to brain endothelial cells, suggesting they may bind the same host receptor. Our findings provide new insights into the interaction of severe malaria adhesive types and host blood vessels and support the hypothesis that parasites causing severe malaria express PfEMP1 variants with a superior ability to adhere to diverse endothelial cell types, and may therefore endow these parasites with a growth and transmission advantage.

Glycan masking of Plasmodium vivax Duffy Binding Protein for probing protein binding function and vaccine development.

Glycan masking is an emerging vaccine design strategy to focus antibody responses to specific epitopes, but it has mostly been evaluated on the already heavily glycosylated HIV gp120 envelope glycoprotein. Here this approach was used to investigate the binding interaction of Plasmodium vivax Duffy Binding Protein (PvDBP) and the Duffy Antigen Receptor for Chemokines (DARC) and to evaluate if glycan-masked PvDBPII immunogens would focus the antibody response on key interaction surfaces. Four variants of PVDBPII were generated and probed for function and immunogenicity. Whereas two PvDBPII glycosylation variants with increased glycan surface coverage distant from predicted interaction sites had equivalent binding activity to wild-type protein, one of them elicited slightly better DARC-binding-inhibitory activity than wild-type immunogen. Conversely, the addition of an N-glycosylation site adjacent to a predicted PvDBP interaction site both abolished its interaction with DARC and resulted in weaker inhibitory antibody responses. PvDBP is composed of three subdomains and is thought to function as a dimer; a meta-analysis of published PvDBP mutants and the new DBPII glycosylation variants indicates that critical DARC binding residues are concentrated at the dimer interface and along a relatively flat surface spanning portions of two subdomains. Our findings suggest that DARC-binding-inhibitory antibody epitope(s) lie close to the predicted DARC interaction site, and that addition of N-glycan sites distant from this site may augment inhibitory antibodies. Thus, glycan resurfacing is an attractive and feasible tool to investigate protein structure-function, and glycan-masked PvDBPII immunogens might contribute to P. vivax vaccine development.

Spatial and temporal mapping of the PfEMP1 export pathway in Plasmodium falciparum.

The human malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, modifies the red blood cells (RBCs) that it infects by exporting proteins to the host cell. One key virulence protein, P. falciparum Erythrocyte Membrane Protein-1 (PfEMP1), is trafficked to the surface of the infected RBC, where it mediates adhesion to the vascular endothelium. We have investigated the organization and development of the exomembrane system that is used for PfEMP1 trafficking. Maurer's cleft cisternae are formed early after invasion and proteins are delivered to these (initially mobile) structures in a temporally staggered and spatially segregated manner. Membrane-Associated Histidine-Rich Protein-2 (MAHRP2)-containing tether-like structures are generated as early as 4 h post invasion and become attached to Maurer's clefts. The tether/Maurer's cleft complex docks onto the RBC membrane at ~20 h post invasion via a process that is not affected by cytochalasin D treatment. We have examined the trafficking of a GFP chimera of PfEMP1 expressed in transfected parasites. PfEMP1B-GFP accumulates near the parasite surface, within membranous structures exhibiting a defined ultrastructure, before being transferred to pre-formed mobile Maurer's clefts. Endogenous PfEMP1 and PfEMP1B-GFP are associated with Electron-Dense Vesicles that may be responsible for trafficking PfEMP1 from the Maurer's clefts to the RBC membrane.

Branch point identification and sequence requirements for intron splicing in Plasmodium falciparum.

Splicing of mRNA is an ancient and evolutionarily conserved process in eukaryotic organisms, but intron-exon structures vary. Plasmodium falciparum has an extreme AT nucleotide bias (>80%), providing a unique opportunity to investigate how evolutionary forces have acted on intron structures. In this study, we developed an in vivo luciferase reporter splicing assay and employed it in combination with lariat isolation and sequencing to characterize 5' and 3' splicing requirements and experimentally determine the intron branch point in P. falciparum. This analysis indicates that P. falciparum mRNAs have canonical 5' and 3' splice sites. However, the 5' consensus motif is weakly conserved and tolerates nucleotide substitution, including the fifth nucleotide in the intron, which is more typically a G nucleotide in most eukaryotes. In comparison, the 3' splice site has a strong eukaryotic consensus sequence and adjacent polypyrimidine tract. In four different P. falciparum pre-mRNAs, multiple branch points per intron were detected, with some at U instead of the typical A residue. A weak branch point consensus was detected among 18 identified branch points. This analysis indicates that P. falciparum retains many consensus eukaryotic splice site features, despite having an extreme codon bias, and possesses flexibility in branch point nucleophilic attack.

Investigating the host binding signature on the Plasmodium falciparum PfEMP1 protein family.

The Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1) family plays a central role in antigenic variation and cytoadhesion of P. falciparum infected erythrocytes. PfEMP1 proteins/var genes are classified into three main subfamilies (UpsA, UpsB, and UpsC) that are hypothesized to have different roles in binding and disease. To investigate whether these subfamilies have diverged in binding specificity and test if binding could be predicted by adhesion domain classification, we generated a panel of 19 parasite lines that primarily expressed a single dominant var transcript and assayed binding against 12 known host receptors. By limited dilution cloning, only UpsB and UpsC var genes were isolated, indicating that UpsA var gene expression is rare under in vitro culture conditions. Consequently, three UpsA variants were obtained by rosette purification and selection with specific monoclonal antibodies to create a more representative panel. Binding assays showed that CD36 was the most common adhesion partner of the parasite panel, followed by ICAM-1 and TSP-1, and that CD36 and ICAM-1 binding variants were highly predicted by adhesion domain sequence classification. Binding to other host receptors, including CSA, VCAM-1, HABP1, CD31/PECAM, E-selectin, Endoglin, CHO receptor "X", and Fractalkine, was rare or absent. Our findings identify a category of larger PfEMP1 proteins that are under dual selection for ICAM-1 and CD36 binding. They also support that the UpsA group, in contrast to UpsB and UpsC var genes, has diverged from binding to the major microvasculature receptor CD36 and likely uses other mechanisms to sequester in the microvasculature. These results demonstrate that CD36 and ICAM-1 have left strong signatures of selection on the PfEMP1 family that can be detected by adhesion domain sequence classification and have implications for how this family of proteins is specializing to exploit hosts with varying levels of anti-malaria immunity.

Identification of a role for the PfEMP1 semi-conserved head structure in protein trafficking to the surface of Plasmodium falciparum infected red blood cells.

Transport of Plasmodium falciparum Erythrocyte Membrane Protein 1 (PfEMP1) variants to the red blood cell (RBC) surface enables malarial parasite evasion of host immunity by modifying the antigenic and adhesive properties of infected RBCs. In this study, we applied the Bxb1 integrase system to integrate transgenes encoding truncated PfEMP1-GFP fusions into cytoadherent A4 parasites and characterize their surface transport requirements. Our studies revealed that the semi-conserved head structure of PfEMP1 proteins, in combination with the predicted transmembrane region and cytoplasmic tail, encodes sufficient information for RBC surface display. In contrast, miniPfEMP1 proteins with truncated head structures were exported to the RBC cytoplasm but were not detected at the RBC surface by flow cytometry or immuno-electron microscopy. We demonstrated the absence of a mechanistic barrier to having native and miniPfEMP1 proteins displayed simultaneously at the RBC surface. However, surface-exposed miniPfEMP1 proteins did not convey cytoadherence properties to their host cells, implicating potential steric considerations in host-receptor interactions or the need for multiple domains to mediate cell binding. This study establishes a new system to investigate PfEMP1 transport and demonstrates that the PfEMP1 semi-conserved head structure is under selection for protein transport, in addition to its known roles in adhesion.

Essential roles for the Tec family kinases Tec and Btk in M-CSF receptor signaling pathways that regulate macrophage survival.

Tec family kinases have important roles in lymphocytes; however, little is known about their function in monocytes/macrophages. In this study we report that Tec family kinases are essential for M-CSF (M-CSF)-induced signaling pathways that regulate macrophage survival. Compared with wild-type bone marrow-derived macrophage (BMM) cultures, Tec(-/-)Btk(-/-) BMM cultures displayed increased cell death that correlated with a severe drop in macrophage numbers. In addition, macrophages deficient in either Tec or Btk showed expression and activation of caspase-11. Elucidation of M-CSF receptor (M-CSFR) signaling pathways revealed that the total tyrosine phosphorylation pattern upon M-CSF stimulation was altered in Tec(-/-)Btk(-/-) macrophages despite normal expression and phosphorylation of the M-CSFR. Further, Tec and Btk are required for proper expression of the GM-CSF receptor alpha (GM-CSFRalpha) chain in macrophages but not dendritic cells, implicating Tec family kinases in the lineage-specific regulation of GM-CSFRalpha expression. Taken together, our study shows that Tec and Btk regulate M-CSFR signaling-induced macrophage survival and provides a novel link between Tec family kinases and the regulation of caspase-11 and GM-CSFRalpha expression.

Selective interactions between vertebrate polycomb homologs and the SUV39H1 histone lysine methyltransferase suggest that histone H3-K9 methylation contributes to chromosomal targeting of Polycomb group proteins.

Polycomb group (PcG) proteins form multimeric chromatin-associated protein complexes that are involved in heritable repression of gene activity. Two distinct human PcG complexes have been characterized. The EED/EZH2 PcG complex utilizes histone deacetylation to repress gene activity. The HPC/HPH PcG complex contains the HPH, RING1, BMI1, and HPC proteins. Here we show that vertebrate Polycomb homologs HPC2 and XPc2, but not M33/MPc1, interact with the histone lysine methyltransferase (HMTase) SUV39H1 both in vitro and in vivo. We further find that overexpression of SUV39H1 induces selective nuclear relocalization of HPC/HPH PcG proteins but not of the EED/EZH2 PcG proteins. This SUV39H1-dependent relocalization concentrates the HPC/HPH PcG proteins to the large pericentromeric heterochromatin domains (1q12) on human chromosome 1. Within these PcG domains we observe increased H3-K9 methylation. Finally, we show that H3-K9 HMTase activity is associated with endogenous HPC2. Our findings suggest a role for the SUV39H1 HMTase and histone H3-K9 methylation in the targeting of human HPC/HPH PcG proteins to modified chromatin structures.