Expression of the Plasmodium falciparum Clonally Variant clag3 Genes in Human Infections.
J Infect Dis
; 215(6): 938-945, 2017 03 15.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-28419281
ABSTRACT
Background:
Many genes of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum show clonally variant expression regulated at the epigenetic level. These genes participate in fundamental host-parasite interactions and contribute to adaptive processes. However, little is known about their expression patterns during human infections. A peculiar case of clonally variant genes are the 2 nearly identical clag3 genes, clag3.1 and clag3.2, which mediate nutrient uptake and are linked to resistance to some toxic compounds.Methods:
We developed a procedure to characterize the expression of clag3 genes in naturally infected patients and in experimentally infected human volunteers.Results:
We provide the first description of clag3 expression during human infections, which revealed mutually exclusive expression and identified the gene predominantly expressed. Adaptation to culture conditions or selection with a toxic compound resulted in isolate-dependent changes in clag3 expression. We also found that clag3 expression patterns were reset during transmission stages.Conclusions:
Different environment conditions select for parasites with different clag3 expression patterns, implying functional differences between the proteins encoded. The epigenetic memory is likely erased before parasites start infection of a new human host. Altogether, our findings support the idea that clonally variant genes facilitate the adaptation of parasite populations to changing conditions through bet-hedging strategies.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Tipo de estudo:
Etiology_studies
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Incidence_studies
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Observational_studies
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Prognostic_studies
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Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Adult
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Child
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Humans
País/Região como assunto:
Africa
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2017
Tipo de documento:
Article