Elisabeth Werkmeister

Involvement of the cytokine MIF in the snail host immune response to the parasite Schistosoma mansoni.

We have identified and characterized a Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor (MIF) family member in the Lophotrochozoan invertebrate, Biomphalaria glabrata, the snail intermediate host of the human blood fluke Schistosoma mansoni. In mammals, MIF is a widely expressed pleiotropic cytokine with potent pro-inflammatory properties that controls cell functions such as gene expression, proliferation or apoptosis. Here we show that the MIF protein from B. glabrata (BgMIF) is expressed in circulating immune defense cells (hemocytes) of the snail as well as in the B. glabrata embryonic (Bge) cell line that has hemocyte-like features. Recombinant BgMIF (rBgMIF) induced cell proliferation and inhibited NO-dependent p53-mediated apoptosis in Bge cells. Moreover, knock-down of BgMIF expression in Bge cells interfered with the in vitro encapsulation of S. mansoni sporocysts. Furthermore, the in vivo knock-down of BgMIF prevented the changes in circulating hemocyte populations that occur in response to an infection by S. mansoni miracidia and led to a significant increase in the parasite burden of the snails. These results provide the first functional evidence that a MIF ortholog is involved in an invertebrate immune response towards a parasitic infection and highlight the importance of cytokines in invertebrate-parasite interactions.

Toxoplasma Sortilin-like Receptor Regulates Protein Transport and Is Essential for Apical Secretory Organelle Biogenesis and Host Infection

Apicomplexan parasites have an assortment of unique apical secretory organelles (rhoptries and micronemes), which have crucial functions in host infection. Here, we show that a Toxoplasma gondii sortilin-like receptor (TgSORTLR) is required for the subcellular localization and formation of apical secretory organelles. TgSORTLR is a transmembrane protein that resides within Golgi-endosomal related compartments. The lumenal domain specifically interacts with rhoptry and microneme proteins, while the cytoplasmic tail of TgSORTLR recruits cytosolic sorting machinery involved in anterograde and retrograde protein transport. Ectopic expression of the N-terminal TgSORTLR lumenal domain results in dominant negative effects with the mislocalization of both endogenous TgSORTLR as well as rhoptry and microneme proteins. Conditional ablation of TgSORTLR disrupts rhoptry and microneme biogenesis, inhibits parasite motility, and blocks both invasion into and egress from host cells. Thus, the sortilin-like receptor is essential for protein trafficking and the biogenesis of key secretory organelles in Toxoplasma.

Nuclear Glycolytic Enzyme Enolase of Toxoplasma gondii Functions as a Transcriptional Regulator

Apicomplexan parasites including Toxoplasma gondii have complex life cycles within different hosts and their infectivity relies on their capacity to regulate gene expression. However, little is known about the nuclear factors that regulate gene expression in these pathogens. Here, we report that T. gondii enolase TgENO2 is targeted to the nucleus of actively replicating parasites, where it specifically binds to nuclear chromatin in vivo. Using a ChIP-Seq technique, we provide evidence for TgENO2 enrichment at the 5′ untranslated gene regions containing the putative promoters of 241 nuclear genes. Ectopic expression of HA-tagged TgENO1 or TgENO2 led to changes in transcript levels of numerous gene targets. Targeted disruption of TgENO1 gene results in a decrease in brain cyst burden of chronically infected mice and in changes in transcript levels of several nuclear genes. Complementation of this knockout mutant with ectopic TgENO1-HA fully restored normal transcript levels. Our findings reveal that enolase functions extend beyond glycolytic activity and include a direct role in coordinating gene regulation in T. gondii.

Unusual N-glycan Structures Required for Trafficking Toxoplasma gondii GAP50 to the Inner Membrane Complex Regulate Host Cell Entry Through Parasite Motility

Toxoplasma gondii motility, which is essential for host cell entry, migration through host tissues, and invasion, is a unique form of actin-dependent gliding. It is powered by a motor complex mainly composed of myosin heavy chain A, myosin light chain 1, gliding associated proteins GAP45, and GAP50, the only integral membrane anchor so far described. In the present study, we have combined glycomic and proteomic approaches to demonstrate that all three potential N-glycosylated sites of GAP50 are occupied by unusual N-glycan structures that are rarely found on mature mammalian glycoproteins. Using site-directed mutagenesis, we show that N-glycosylation is a prerequisite for GAP50 transport from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi apparatus and for its subsequent delivery into the inner complex membrane. Assembly of key partners into the gliding complex, and parasite motility are severely impaired in the unglycosylated GAP50 mutants. Furthermore, comparative affinity purification using N-glycosylated and unglycosylated GAP50 as bait identified three novel hypothetical proteins including the recently described gliding associated protein GAP40, and we demonstrate that N-glycans are required for efficient binding to gliding partners. Collectively, these results provide the first detailed analyses of T. gondii N-glycosylation functions that are vital for parasite motility and host cell entry.

Ploidy of cell-sorted trophic and cystic forms of Pneumocystis carinii.

Once regarded as an AIDS-defining illness, Pneumocystis pneumonia (PcP) is nowadays prevailing in immunocompromised HIV-negative individuals such as patients receiving immunosuppressive therapies or affected by primary immunodeficiency. Moreover, Pneumocystis clinical spectrum is broadening to non-severely-immunocompromised subjects who could be colonized by the fungus while remaining asymptomatic for PcP, thus being able to transmit the infection by airborne route to susceptible hosts. Although the taxonomical position of the Pneumocystis genus has been clarified, several aspects of its life cycle remain elusive such as its mode of proliferation within the alveolus or its ploidy level. As no long-term culture model exists to grow Pneumocystis organisms in vitro, an option was to use a model of immunosuppressed rat infected with Pneumocystis carinii and sort life cycle stage fractions using a high-through-put cytometer. Subsequently, ploidy levels of the P. carinii trophic and cystic form fractions were measured by flow cytometry. In the cystic form, eight contents of DNA were measured thus strengthening the fact that each mature cyst contains eight haploid spores. Following release, each spore evolves into a trophic form. The majority of the trophic form fraction was haploid in our study. Some less abundant trophic forms displayed two contents of DNA indicating that they could undergo (i) mating/fusion leading to a diploid status or (ii) asexual mitotic division or (iii) both. Even less abundant trophic forms with four contents of DNA were suggestive of mitotic divisions occurring following mating in diploid trophic forms. Of interest, was the presence of trophic forms with three contents of DNA, an unusual finding that could be related to asymmetrical mitotic divisions occurring in other fungal species to create genetic diversity at lower energetic expenses than mating. Overall, ploidy data of P. carinii life cycle stages shed new light on the complexity of its modes of proliferation.

Role of VAMP3 and VAMP7 in the commitment of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis to LC3-associated pathways involving single- or double-membrane vacuoles

Yersinia pseudotuberculosis can replicate inside macrophages by hijacking autophagy and blocking autophagosome acidification. In bone marrow-derived macrophages, the bacteria are mainly observed inside double-membrane vacuoles positive for LC3, a hallmark of autophagy. Here, we address the question of the membrane traffic during internalization of Yersinia investigating the role of vesicle- associated membrane proteins (VAMPs). First, we show that as in epithelial cells, Yersinia pseudotuberculosis replicates mainly in nonacidic LC3-positive vacuoles. Second, in these cells, we unexpectedly found that VAMP3 localizes preferentially to Yersinia-containing vacuoles (YCVs) with single membranes using correlative light-electron microscopy. Third, we reveal the precise kinetics of VAMP3 and VAMP7 association with YCVs positive for LC3. Fourth, we show that VAMP7 knockdown alters LC3′s association with single-and multimembrane-YCVs. Finally, in uninfected epithelial cells stimulated for autophagy, VAMP3 overexpression and knockdown led respectively to a lower and higher number of double-membrane, LC3-positive vesicles. Hence, our results highlight the role that VAMPs play in selection of the pathways leading to generation of ultrastructurally different LC3 compartments and pave the way for determining the full set of docking and fusion proteins involved in Yersinia pseudotuberculosis’ intravesicular life cycle.

Unconventional endosome-like compartment and retromer complex in Toxoplasma gondii govern parasite integrity and host infection

Membrane trafficking pathways play critical roles in Apicomplexa, a phylum of protozoan parasites that cause life-threatening diseases worldwide. Here we report the first retromer-trafficking interactome in Toxoplasma gondii. This retromer complex includes a trimer Vps35–Vps26–Vps29 core complex that serves as a hub for the endosome-like compartment and parasite-specific proteins. Conditional ablation of TgVps35 reveals that the retromer complex is crucial for the biogenesis of secretory organelles and for maintaining parasite morphology. We identify TgHP12 as a parasite-specific and retromer-associated protein with functions unrelated to secretory organelle formation. Furthermore, the major facilitator superfamily homologue named TgHP03, which is a multiple spanning and ligand transmembrane transporter, is maintained at the parasite membrane by retromer-mediated endocytic recycling. Thus, our findings highlight that both evolutionarily conserved and unconventional proteins act in concert in T. gondii by controlling retrograde transport that is essential for parasite integrity and host infection.

Developmental Expression of 4-Repeat-Tau Induces Neuronal Aneuploidy in Drosophila Tauopathy Models

Tau-mediated neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease and tauopathies is generally assumed to start in a normally developed brain. However, several lines of evidence suggest that impaired Tau isoform expression during development could affect mitosis and ploidy in post-mitotic differentiated tissue. Interestingly, the relative expression levels of Tau isoforms containing either 3 (3R-Tau) or 4 repeats (4R-Tau) play an important role both during brain development and neurodegeneration. Here, we used genetic and cellular tools to study the link between 3R and 4R-Tau isoform expression, mitotic progression in neuronal progenitors and post-mitotic neuronal survival. Our results illustrated that the severity of Tau-induced adult phenotypes depends on 4R-Tau isoform expression during development. As recently described, we observed a mitotic delay in 4R-Tau expressing cells of larval eye discs and brains. Live imaging revealed that the spindle undergoes a cycle of collapse and recovery before proceeding to anaphase. Furthermore, we found a high level of aneuploidy in post-mitotic differentiated tissue. Finally, we showed that overexpression of wild type and mutant 4R-Tau isoform in neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cell lines is sufficient to induce monopolar spindles. Taken together, our results suggested that neurodegeneration could be in part linked to neuronal aneuploidy caused by 4R-Tau expression during brain development.

Dual role of the Toxoplasma gondii clathrin adaptor AP1 in the sorting of rhoptry and microneme proteins and in parasite division

Toxoplasma gondii possesses a highly polarized secretory system, which efficiently assembles de novo micronemes and rhoptries during parasite replication. These apical secretory organelles release their contents into host cells promoting parasite invasion and survival. Using a CreLox-based inducible knock-out strategy and the ddFKBP over-expression system, we unraveled novel functions of the clathrin adaptor complex TgAP1. First, our data indicate that AP1 in T. gondii likely functions as a conserved heterotetrameric complex composed of the four subunits γ, β, μ1, σ1 and interacts with known regulators of clathrin-mediated vesicular budding such as the unique ENTH-domain containing protein, which we named Epsin-like protein (TgEpsL). Disruption of the μ1 subunit resulted in the mis-sorting of microneme proteins at the level of the Trans-Golgi-Network (TGN). Furthermore, we demonstrated that TgAP1 regulates rhoptry biogenesis by activating rhoptry protein exit from the TGN, but also participates in the post-Golgi maturation process of preROP compartments into apically anchored club-shaped mature organelles. For this latter activity, our data indicate a specific functional relationship between TgAP1 and the Rab5A-positive endosome-like compartment. In addition, we unraveled an original role for TgAP1 in the regulation of parasite division. APμ1-depleted parasites undergo normal daughter cell budding and basal complex assembly but fail to segregate at the end of cytokinesis.

ADAM30 Downregulates APP-Linked Defects Through Cathepsin D Activation in Alzheimer's Disease

Although several ADAMs (A disintegrin-like and metalloproteases) have been shown to contribute to the amyloid precursor protein (APP) metabolism, the full spectrum of metalloproteases involved in this metabolism remains to be established. Transcriptomic analyses centred on metalloprotease genes unraveled a 50% decrease in ADAM30 expression that inversely correlates with amyloid load in Alzheimers disease brains. Accordingly, in vitro down- or up-regulation of ADAM30 expression triggered an increase/decrease in Aβ peptides levels whereas expression of a biologically inactive ADAM30 (ADAM30mut) did not affect Aβ secretion. Proteomics/cell-based experiments showed that ADAM30-dependent regulation of APP metabolism required both cathepsin D (CTSD) activation and APP sorting to lysosomes. Accordingly, in Alzheimer-like transgenic mice, neuronal ADAM30 over-expression lowered Aβ42 secretion in neuron primary cultures, soluble Aβ42 and amyloid plaque load levels in the brain and concomitantly enhanced CTSD activity and finally rescued long term potentiation alterations. Our data thus indicate that lowering ADAM30 expression may favor Aβ production, thereby contributing to Alzheimers disease development.