60 research outputs found
Corrigendum: Chronic Exposure to Malaria Is Associated with Inhibitory and Activation Markers on Atypical Memory B Cells and Marginal Zone-Like B Cells
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2017.00966.]
Identification of a Photosystem II Phosphatase Involved in Light Acclimation in Arabidopsis
Reversible protein phosphorylation plays a major role in the acclimation of the photosynthetic apparatus to changes in light. Two paralogous kinases phosphorylate subsets of thylakoid membrane proteins. STN7 phosphorylates LHCII, the light harvesting antenna of photosystem II (PSII), to balance the activity of the two photosystems through state transitions. STN8, which is mainly involved in phosphorylation of PSII core subunits, influences folding of the thylakoid membranes and repair of PSII after photo-damage. The rapid reversibility of these acclimatory responses requires the action of protein phosphatases. In a reverse genetic screen we have identified the chloroplast PP2C phosphatase, PBCP (PHOTOSYSTEM II CORE PHOSPHATASE), which is required for efficient de-phosphorylation of PSII proteins. Its targets, identified by immunoblotting and mass spectrometry, largely coincide with those of the kinase STN8. The recombinant phosphatase is active in vitro on a synthetic substrate or on isolated thylakoids. Thylakoid folding is affected in the absence of PBCP, while its over-expression alters the kinetics of state transitions. PBCP and STN8 form an antagonistic kinase and phosphatase pair whose substrate specificity and physiological functions are distinct from those of STN7 and the counteracting phosphatase PPH1 (TAP38), but their activities may overlap to some degree
Naturally Acquired Binding-Inhibitory Antibodies to Plasmodium vivax Duffy Binding Protein in Pregnant Women Are Associated with Higher Birth Weight in a Multicenter Study
A vaccine to eliminate malaria would need a multi-stage and
multi-species composition to achieve robust protection, but the
lack of knowledge about antigen targets and mechanisms of
protection precludes the development of fully efficacious
malaria vaccines, especially for Plasmodium vivax (Pv). Pregnant
women constitute a risk population who would greatly benefit
from a vaccine preventing the adverse events of Plasmodium
infection during gestation. We hypothesized that functional
immune responses against putative targets of naturally acquired
immunity to malaria and vaccine candidates will be associated
with protection against malaria infection and/or poor outcomes
during pregnancy. We measured (i) IgG responses to a large panel
of Pv and Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) antigens, (ii) the capacity
of anti-Pv ligand Duffy binding protein (PvDBP) antibodies to
inhibit binding to Duffy antigen, and (iii) cellular immune
responses to two Pv antigens, in a subset of 1,056 pregnant
women from Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, India, and Papua New
Guinea (PNG). There were significant intraspecies and
interspecies correlations for most antibody responses (e.g.,
PfMSP119 versus PfAMA1, Spearman's rho = 0.81). Women from PNG
and Colombia had the highest levels of IgG overall.
Submicroscopic infections seemed sufficient to boost antibody
responses in Guatemala but not antigen-specific cellular
responses in PNG. Brazil had the highest percentage of Duffy
binding inhibition (p-values versus Colombia: 0.040; Guatemala:
0.047; India: 0.003, and PNG: 0.153) despite having low
anti-PvDBP IgG levels. Almost all antibodies had a positive
association with present infection, and coinfection with the
other species increased this association. Anti-PvDBP,
anti-PfMSP1, and anti-PfAMA1 IgG levels at recruitment were
positively associated with infection at delivery (p-values:
0.010, 0.003, and 0.023, respectively), suggesting that they are
markers of malaria exposure. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells
from Pv-infected women presented fewer CD8+IFN-gamma+ T cells
and secreted more G-CSF and IL-4 independently of the stimulus
used in vitro. Functional anti-PvDBP levels at recruitment had a
positive association with birth weight (difference per doubling
antibody levels: 45 g, p-value: 0.046). Thus, naturally acquired
binding-inhibitory antibodies to PvDBP might confer protection
against poor outcomes of Pv malaria in pregnancy
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