Prince N. Agbedanu

Release of Small RNA-containing Exosome-like Vesicles from the Human Filarial Parasite Brugia malayi.

Lymphatic filariasis (LF) is a socio-economically devastating mosquito-borne Neglected Tropical Disease caused by parasitic filarial nematodes. The interaction between the parasite and host, both mosquito and human, during infection, development and persistence is dynamic and delicately balanced. Manipulation of this interface to the detriment of the parasite is a promising potential avenue to develop disease therapies but is prevented by our very limited understanding of the host-parasite relationship. Exosomes are bioactive small vesicles (30–120 nm) secreted by a wide range of cell types and involved in a wide range of physiological processes. Here, we report the identification and partial characterization of exosome-like vesicles (ELVs) released from the infective L3 stage of the human filarial parasite Brugia malayi. Exosome-like vesicles were isolated from parasites in culture media and electron microscopy and nanoparticle tracking analysis were used to confirm that vesicles produced by juvenile B. malayi are exosome-like based on size and morphology. We show that loss of parasite viability correlates with a time-dependent decay in vesicle size specificity and rate of release. The protein cargo of these vesicles is shown to include common exosomal protein markers and putative effector proteins. These Brugia-derived vesicles contain small RNA species that include microRNAs with host homology, suggesting a potential role in host manipulation. Confocal microscopy shows J774A.1, a murine macrophage cell line, internalize purified ELVs, and we demonstrate that these ELVs effectively stimulate a classically activated macrophage phenotype in J774A.1. To our knowledge, this is the first report of exosome-like vesicle release by a human parasitic nematode and our data suggest a novel mechanism by which human parasitic nematodes may actively direct the host responses to infection. Further interrogation of the makeup and function of these bioactive vesicles could seed new therapeutic strategies and unearth stage-specific diagnostic biomarkers.

‘Death and Axes’: Unexpected Ca2+ Entry Phenologs Predict New Anti-schistosomal Agents

Schistosomiasis is a parasitic flatworm disease that infects 200 million people worldwide. The drug praziquantel (PZQ) is the mainstay therapy but the target of this drug remains ambiguous. While PZQ paralyses and kills parasitic schistosomes, in free-living planarians PZQ caused an unusual axis duplication during regeneration to yield two-headed animals. Here, we show that PZQ activation of a neuronal Ca2+ channel modulates opposing dopaminergic and serotonergic pathways to regulate ‘head’ structure formation. Surprisingly, compounds with efficacy for either bioaminergic network in planarians also displayed antischistosomal activity, and reciprocally, agents first identified as antischistocidal compounds caused bipolar regeneration in the planarian bioassay. These divergent outcomes (death versus axis duplication) result from the same Ca2+ entry mechanism, and comprise unexpected Ca2+ phenologs with meaningful predictive value. Surprisingly, basic research into axis patterning mechanisms provides an unexpected route for discovering novel antischistosomal agents.

Novel RNAi-Mediated Approach to G Protein-Coupled Receptor Deorphanization: Proof of Principle and Characterization of a Planarian 5-HT Receptor

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) represent the largest known superfamily of membrane proteins extending throughout the Metazoa. There exists ample motivation to elucidate the functional properties of GPCRs given their role in signal transduction and their prominence as drug targets. In many target organisms, these efforts are hampered by the unreliable nature of heterologous receptor expression platforms. We validate and describe an alternative loss-of-function approach for ascertaining the ligand and G protein coupling properties of GPCRs in their native cell membrane environment. Our efforts are focused on the phylum Platyhelminthes, given the heavy health burden exacted by pathogenic flatworms, as well as the role of free-living flatworms as model organisms for the study of developmental biology. RNA interference (RNAi) was used in conjunction with a biochemical endpoint assay to monitor cAMP modulation in response to the translational suppression of individual receptors. As proof of principle, this approach was used to confirm the neuropeptide GYIRFamide as the cognate ligand for the planarian neuropeptide receptor GtNPR-1, while revealing its endogenous coupling to Gαi/o. The method was then extended to deorphanize a novel Gαs-coupled planarian serotonin receptor, DtSER-1. A bioinformatics protocol guided the selection of receptor candidates mediating 5-HT-evoked responses. These results provide functional data on a neurotransmitter central to flatworm biology, while establishing the great potential of an RNAi-based deorphanization protocol. Future work can help optimize and adapt this protocol for higher-throughput platforms as well as other phyla.

Functional analysis of Girardia tigrina transcriptome seeds pipeline for anthelmintic target discovery.

BackgroundNeglected diseases caused by helminth infections impose a massive hindrance to progress in the developing world. While basic research on parasitic flatworms (platyhelminths) continues to expand, researchers have yet to broadly adopt a free-living model to complement the study of these important parasites.MethodsWe report the high-coverage sequencing (RNA-Seq) and assembly of the transcriptome of the planarian Girardia tigrina across a set of dynamic conditions. The assembly was annotated and extensive orthology analysis was used to seed a pipeline for the rational prioritization and validation of putative anthelmintic targets. A small number of targets conserved between parasitic and free-living flatworms were comparatively interrogated.Results240 million paired-end reads were assembled de novo to produce a strictly filtered predicted proteome consisting of over 22,000 proteins. Gene Ontology annotations were extended to 16,467 proteins. 2,693 sequences were identified in orthology groups spanning flukes, tapeworms and planaria, with 441 highlighted as belonging to druggable protein families. Chemical inhibitors were used on three targets in pharmacological screens using both planaria and schistosomula, revealing distinct motility phenotypes that were shown to correlate with planarian RNAi phenotypes.ConclusionsThis work provides the first comprehensive and annotated sequence resource for the model planarian G. tigrina, alongside a prioritized list of candidate drug targets conserved among parasitic and free-living flatworms. As proof of principle, we show that a simple RNAi and pharmacology pipeline in the more convenient planarian model system can inform parasite biology and serve as an efficient screening tool for the identification of lucrative anthelmintic targets.

Evidence for a Bacterial Lipopolysaccharide-Recognizing G-Protein-Coupled Receptor in the Bacterial Engulfment by Entamoeba histolytica

ABSTRACT Entamoeba histolytica is the causative agent of amoebic dysentery, a worldwide protozoal disease that results in approximately 100,000 deaths annually. The virulence of E. histolytica may be due to interactions with the host bacterial flora, whereby trophozoites engulf colonic bacteria as a nutrient source. The engulfment process depends on trophozoite recognition of bacterial epitopes that activate phagocytosis pathways. E. histolytica GPCR-1 (EhGPCR-1) was previously recognized as a putative G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) used by Entamoeba histolytica during phagocytosis. In the present study, we attempted to characterize EhGPCR-1 by using heterologous GPCR expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We discovered that bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is an activator of EhGPCR-1 and that LPS stimulates EhGPCR-1 in a concentration-dependent manner. Additionally, we demonstrated that Entamoeba histolytica prefers to engulf bacteria with intact LPS and that this engulfment process is sensitive to suramin, which prevents the interactions of GPCRs and G-proteins. Thus, EhGPCR-1 is an LPS-recognizing GPCR that is a potential drug target for treatment of amoebiasis, especially considering the well-established drug targeting to GPCRs.

Doxycycline as an inhibitor of p-glycoprotein in the alpaca for the purpose of maintaining avermectins in the CNS during treatment for parelaphostrongylosis.

Meningeal worms (Parelaphostrongylus tenuis) are a common malady of alpacas, often refractory to conventional treatments. Ivermectin is a very effective anthelmintic used against a variety of parasites but this drug is not consistently effective against alpaca meningeal worms once the parasite has gained access to the CNS, even if used in a protracted treatment protocol. Ivermectin is not effective against clinical cases of P. tenuis, raising the possibility that the drug is not sustained at therapeutic concentrations in the central nervous system (CNS). A specific protein (designated as p-glycoprotein (PGP)) effluxes ivermectin from the brain at the blood-brain barrier, thus hampering the maintenance of therapeutic concentrations of the drug in the CNS. Minocycline is a synthetic tetracycline antibiotic with an excellent safety profile in all animals tested to date. Minocycline has three unique characteristics that could be useful for treating meningeal worms in conjunction with ivermectin. First, minocycline is an inhibitor of PGP at the blood-brain barrier and this inhibition could maintain effective concentrations of ivermectin in the brain and meninges. Second, minocycline protects neurons in vivo through a number of different mechanisms and this neuroprotection could alleviate the potential untoward neurologic effects of meningeal worms. Third, minocycline is a highly lipid-soluble drug, thus facilitating efficient brain penetration. We thus hypothesized that minocycline will maintain ivermectin, or a related avermectin approved in ruminants (abamectin, doramectin, or eprinomectin), in the alpaca CNS. To test this hypothesis, we cloned the gene encoding the alpaca PGP, expressed the alpaca PGP in a heterologous expression system involving MDCK cells, and measured the ability of minocycline to inhibit the efflux of avermectins from the MDCK cells; doxycycline was used as a putative negative control (based on studies in other species). Our in vitro studies surprisingly revealed that doxycycline was effective at inhibiting the efflux of ivermectin and doramectin (minocycline had no effect). These two avermectins, in combination with doxycycline, should be considered when treating meningeal worms in alpacas.