Epithelial and cellular innate immune responses of anopheline malaria vectors to plasmodium parasites [Elektronische Ressource] / presented by Sofia B. Pinto

Sbpinto

Sujets

• Biologie

Informations

• Publié par: ruprecht-karls-universitat_heidelberg
• Publié le: 01 janvier 2007
• Nombre de lectures: 23
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 4 Mo

Extrait

Epithelial and Cellular Innate Immune
Responses of Anopheline Malaria Vectors to
Plasmodium Parasites







Sofia B. Pinto


2007




Dissertation


submitted to the
Combined Faculties of the Natural Sciences and the Mathematics
of the Ruperto-Carola University of Heidelberg, DE




for the degree of

Doctor of Natural Sciences





presented by

Sofia B. Pinto
BSc Hons

born in Oeiras, Portugal



Oral examination





Epithelial and Cellular Innate Immune
Responses of Anopheline Malaria Vectors to
Plasmodium Parasites











Gutachter (Erst): Dr A. Ephrussi (EMBL)
Gutachter (Zweit):Prof M. Lanzer (Uni. Heidelberg)
Mitglieder (Erst): Prof L. Krauth-Siegel (Uni. Heidelberg)
Mitglieder (Zweit): Dr L. Steinmetz (EMBL)
(Referees)





Wissenschaftlicher Anleiter: Prof FC Kafatos


Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg &
European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)



2007
Thesis Abstract

Anopheles gambiae is the most prominent vector of human malaria in Africa. The
causative agents of this disastrous disease are unicellular eukaryotic parasites of
the genus Plasmodium which are transmitted to humans by infected female
mosquitoes when they take a blood meal. During its development in the
mosquito, Plasmodium undergoes massive losses suggesting that mosquitoes
are able to mount an immune response that limits parasite infection. However,
the molecular mechanisms underlying parasite invasion, immune evasion, its
recognition and killing via the vector are not well understood.
We have functionally analysed the orthologous SRPN6 genes from
Anopheles stephensi and Anopheles gambiae and showed that they are
specifically expressed in midgut cells invaded by Plasmodium ookinetes.
Phenotypic analysis via RNAi knock down indicates that AsSRPN6 is involved in
the parasite killing process, whereas AgSRPN6 acts on parasite clearance, by
promoting parasite lysis. Furthermore, SRPN6 is also a parasite induced salivary
gland epithelial marker located at the basal side of epithelial cells in proximity to
invading sporozoites. Knockdown of SRPN6 had no effect on oocyst rupture but
significantly increased the number of sporozoites present in salivary glands.
Midgut invasion is vital for the parasite life cycle progression. We show
that Δpplp5 ookinetes cannot invade midgut epithelial cells and are retained
attached to the midgut, possibly, due to the fact that, these mutant parasites can
not form pores in the plasma membrane.
Haemocytes secrete immune factors such as opsonins, proteases and
their negative regulators as well as antimicrobial peptides, all crucial for immune
responses. We report the first genome wide molecular characterisation of
Anopheles gambiae circulating haemocytes, presenting a list of 1587 genes we
strongly suggest are expressed by these cells.


Zusammenfassung

Anopheles gambiae ist der wichtigste Überträger menschlicher Malaria in Afrika. Die
Erreger dieser Krankheit sind einzellige eukaryotische Parasiten des Genus
Plasmodium. Parasiten werden auf den Menschen übertragen, wenn infizierte weibliche
Mücken eine Blutmahlzeit nehmen. Plasmodium Parasiten durchlaufen mehrere
Lebensstadien in der Mücke, die erhebliche Verluste erleiden. Diese Verluste
verdeutlichen, dass die Anopheles Mücken durchaus im Stande sind, Immunreaktionen
gegen den Parasiten zu bilden, die deren Infektivität beschränkt. Die molekularen
Mechanismen, die dieser Immunantwort sowie die der Parasiteninvasion und
Immunevasion unterliegen, sind jedoch weitgehend ungeklärt.
Diese Dissertation beschreibt die funktionelle Analyse der orthologen serpin
(SRPN)-6 Gene von An. gambiae und einer nahe verwandten Species, An. stephensi.
SRPN6 wird spezifisch in denjenigen epithelialen Zellen des Mitteldarms exprimiert, die
vom Plasmodium Ookineten-Stadium invadiert werden. Phänotypische Analyse von
funktionellen Knockdowns, erzielt mittels RNA-Interferenz, zeigt, dass AsSRPN6 an der
Abtötung von Plasmodium Parasiten im Mitteldarm der Mücke maßgeblich beteiligt ist.
AgSRPN6 hingegen, beeinflusst die spätere Lyse abgetöteter Parasiten. AgSRPN6 wirkt
zusätzlich als Marker für die Parasiteninvasion des Speicheldrüsen-Epitheliums, und ist
in diesen Zellen basal nahe der Sporozoiten lokalisiert. Der Knockdown von SRPN6 in
der späten Phase der Parasitenentwicklung in der Mücke (13-21 Tage nach Infektion)
hatte keinen Einfluss auf das Freisetzen von Sporozoiten aus den Oozysten im
Mitteldarm, erhöhte jedoch signifikant die Anzahl dieser Parasiten in the Speicheldrüsen.
Die Invasion des Mitteldarm-Epitheliums ist essentiell für die Entwicklung des
Parasiten. Ookineten, denen das Gen pplp5 fehlt, können den Mitteldarms von
Anopheles Mücken nicht infizieren. Die Ursache ist möglicherweise, dass diese
Parasiten nicht fähig sind Poren in die Membranen der epithelialen Zellen zu bilden.
Haemozyten sekretieren wichtige Immunefaktoren, wie zum Beispiel Opsonine,
Proteasen und deren Inhibitoren, sowie antimikrobielle Peptide. Das letzte Kapitel dieser
Dissertation beschreibt die erste vollständige genomische molekulare Charakterisierung
der zirkulierenden Haemozyten von An. gambiae. Die Transkripte von 1587 Genen
wurden in diesen Zellen detektiert. Das Kapitel beschreibt weiterhin, in welchem Maß die
Transkriptome von Haemozyten verschiedener Diptera konserviert sind.
Acknowledgements:

Firstly, I would like to thanks Professor Fotis C Kafatos for giving me the opportunity to pursue my
PhD in his lab, under his guidance and support. In parallel, many thanks to Dr Kristin Michel for
giving away her attention and time to this PhD project which, in Fotis behalf, she closely
supervised.

I am deeply grateful to Dr Anne Ephrussi, Prof. Michael Lanzer and Dr Lars Steinmetz for
accepting to take part in both my thesis advisory and defense committees. Your kind words of
support during these 3.5 years have been unsurpassed!
I am also grateful to Prof Louise Krauth-Siegel for the prompt acceptance to take part in the
thesis defense committee.

Part of the work presented here would not have been possible without my collaborators:
Dr A Eappen and Dr MJ Lorena, from Johns Hopkins University whose collaborative work
made chapter 2 a very interesting story!

Ms A Ecker and Prof RE Sinden, thank you for the warm welcome in London, enjoyable
discussions and fruitfull work.

Dr AC Koutsos and Mr RM Waterhouse, the “in lab” collaboration… without your precious
help I would still be looking at biotin signals and gene id numbers in a computer.

A thank you! is left here, unpersonalised, to the huge list of technical staff at both EMBL and
Imperial College London, whose backstage work indirectly contributed to this thesis.

A special thanks goes to the Advanced Light Microscopy Facility (ALMF) and the GeneCore
facility at the EMBL, and the Facility for Imaging by Light Microscopy (FILM) at Imperial College
London for their support in the generation of most of the work presented here.

To all past and present members and visitors of the Kafatos Laboratory in these 3.5 years, plus
members of the Christophides, Bilker and Sinden Labs at Imperial College London, thank you for
making the lab a brighter place!

A few personalised thanks:
To Claudia Blass, thank you so much for keeping the lab at 100%! Only when we lose you we
give you your deserved value. To Dr Rui Wang thank you for being the mummy of the lab, caring
discretly for all of us. To Dr Stephanie Blandin, just to let you know that without knowing you have
helped a lot, thank you so much for all the listening! You’re a grand scientist and I wish you all the
best! To Dolores Doherty, thank you for performing with a smile and enormous competence, the
most important job in the lab… I have understood the hard way the concept of no mosquitoes no
experiments! thanks for being a good friend as well! Last but not least, to Dr ACK whose name is
already spread throughout the thesis, we have survived it, tasouli!!!! I’ll keep it simple so thank
you for everything!

To all my friends and family, you know who you are!….. thank you!

Ao meu pai e ao meu irmao, embora longe eu sei que estao sempre comigo…. Muito obrigada!















To my beloved mother…



















… a quem eu devo tudo o que sou!























“There is no