Plasmodium falciparum proteome changes in response to doxycycline treatment

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The emergence of <it>Plasmodium falciparum </it>resistance to most anti-malarial compounds has highlighted the urgency to develop new drugs and to clarify the mechanisms of anti-malarial drugs currently used. Among them, doxycycline is used alone for malaria chemoprophylaxis or in combination with quinine or artemisinin derivatives for malaria treatment. The molecular mechanisms of doxycycline action in <it>P. falciparum </it>have not yet been clearly defined, particularly at the protein level.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A proteomic approach was used to analyse protein expression changes in the schizont stage of the malarial parasite <it>P. falciparum </it>following doxycycline treatment. A comparison of protein expression between treated and untreated protein samples was performed using two complementary proteomic approaches: two-dimensional fluorescence difference gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE) and isobaric tagging reagents for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>After doxycycline treatment, 32 and 40 <it>P. falciparum </it>proteins were found to have significantly deregulated expression levels by 2D-DIGE and iTRAQ methods, respectively. Although some of these proteins have been already described as being deregulated by other drug treatments, numerous changes in protein levels seem to be specific to doxycycline treatment, which could perturb apicoplast metabolism. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed to confirm this hypothesis.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In this study, a specific response to doxycycline treatment was distinguished and seems to involve mitochondrion and apicoplast organelles. These data provide a starting point for the elucidation of drug targets and the discovery of mechanisms of resistance to anti-malarial compounds.</p

Early treatment failure during treatment of Plasmodium falciparum malaria with atovaquone-proguanil in the Republic of Ivory Coast

The increased spread of drug-resistant malaria highlights the need for alternative drugs for treatment and chemoprophylaxis. The combination of atovaquone‐proguanil (Malarone®) has shown high efficacy against Plasmodium falciparum with only mild side-effects. Treatment failures have been attributed to suboptimal dosages or to parasite resistance resulting from a point mutation in the cytochrome b gene. In this paper, a case of early treatment failure was reported in a patient treated with atovaquone-proguanil; this failure was not associated with a mutation in the parasite cytochrome b gene, with impaired drug bioavailability, or with re-infection

Absence of association between Plasmodium falciparum small sub-unit ribosomal RNA gene mutations and in vitro decreased susceptibility to doxycycline

BACKGROUND: Doxycycline is an antibiotic used in combination with quinine or artesunate for malaria treatment or alone for malaria chemoprophylaxis. Recently, one prophylactic failure has been reported, and several studies have highlighted in vitro doxycycline decreased susceptibility in Plasmodium falciparum isolates from different areas. The genetic markers that contribute to detecting and monitoring the susceptibility of P. falciparum to doxycycline, the pfmdt and pftetQ genes, have recently been identified. However, these markers are not sufficient to explain in vitro decreased susceptibility of P. falciparum to doxycycline. In this paper, the association between polymorphism of the small sub-unit ribosomal RNA apicoplastic gene pfssrRNA (PFC10_API0057) and in vitro susceptibilities of P. falciparum isolates to doxycycline were investigated. METHODS: Doxycycline IC50 determinations using the hypoxanthine uptake inhibition assay were performed on 178 African and Thai P. falciparum isolates. The polymorphism of pfssrRNA was investigated in these samples by standard PCR followed by sequencing. RESULTS: No point mutations were found in pfssrRNA in the Thai or African isolates, regardless of the determined IC50 values. CONCLUSIONS: The pfssrRNA gene is not associated with in vitro decreased susceptibility of P. falciparum to doxycycline. Identifying new in vitro molecular markers associated with reduced susceptibility is needed, to survey the emergence of doxycycline resistance

Vivax malaria in Mauritania includes infection of a Duffy-negative individual

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Duffy blood group polymorphisms are important in areas where <it>Plasmodium vivax </it>is present because this surface antigen is thought to act as a key receptor for this parasite. In the present study, Duffy blood group genotyping was performed in febrile uninfected and <it>P. vivax</it>-infected patients living in the city of Nouakchott, Mauritania.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p><it>Plasmodium vivax </it>was identified by real-time PCR. The Duffy blood group genotypes were determined by standard PCR followed by sequencing of the promoter region and exon 2 of the Duffy gene in 277 febrile individuals. Fisher's exact test was performed in order to assess the significance of variables.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In the Moorish population, a high frequency of the <it>FYB^ES/FYB^ES</it>genotype was observed in uninfected individuals (27.8%), whereas no <it>P. vivax</it>-infected patient had this genotype. This was followed by a high level of <it>FYA/FYB</it>, <it>FYB/FYB</it>, <it>FYB/FYB^ES</it>and <it>FYA/FYB^ES</it>genotype frequencies, both in the <it>P. vivax</it>-infected and uninfected patients. In other ethnic groups (Poular, Soninke, Wolof), only the <it>FYB^ES/FYB^ES</it>genotype was found in uninfected patients, whereas the <it>FYA/FYB^ES</it>genotype was observed in two <it>P. vivax</it>-infected patients. In addition, one patient belonging to the Wolof ethnic group presented the <it>FYB^ES/FYB^ES</it>genotype and was infected by <it>P. vivax</it>.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study presents the Duffy blood group polymorphisms in Nouakchott City and demonstrates that in Mauritania, <it>P. vivax </it>is able to infect Duffy-negative patients. Further studies are necessary to identify the process that enables this Duffy-independent <it>P. vivax </it>invasion of human red blood cells.</p

CAMP-dependent protein kinase and plasmodium falciparum life cycle

L'aggravation actuelle du risque lié au paludisme résulte du développement du phénomène de résistance de souches de Plasmodium falciparum aux molécules antipaludiques. Une telle situation et l’absence de vaccin efficace nécessitent le développement de nouvelles stratégies antiparasitaires. Jusqu’à présent, les mécanismes moléculaires qui contrôlent le cycle parasitaire sont méconnus. Chez la plupart des eucaryotes, les protéine kinases sont impliquées dans des fonctions cellulaires essentielleset constituent une cible privilégiée pour la conception de nouveaux médicaments. Dans cecadre, nous nous sommes intéressés à la voie de transduction de l’AMP cyclique et en particulier à la sous-unité catalytique de la protéine kinase AMPc dépendante (PfPKAc)dont le rôle essentiel reste mal défini chez P. falciparum. Deux approches complémentaires ont été choisies pour étudier cette kinase :1) au niveau biochimique par le clonage, l’expression, la purification et la caractérisation enzymatique de la PfPKAc. L’objectif était d’obtenir une enzyme active in vitro de façon à pourvoir mesurer les constantes enzymatiques de la PfPKAc et conduire les premiers essais d’inhibitions.2) au niveau cellulaire en analysant les conséquences de l’inhibition par des ARN interférents spécifiques des transcrits de la PfPKAc. Le développement parasitaire mais également le transcriptome global ont été étudiés de manière à préciser les voies métaboliques liées à cette kinase plasmodiale.L’ensemble de ces études précise la compréhension de la voie de transduction de l’AMP cyclique et de la PfPKA qui pourrait conduire au développement de nouvelles voies thérapeutiques.Nowadays, the increase of risks associated with malaria results from the development of resistance of Plasmodium falciparum strains to antimalarial drugs. This situation and the lack of an effective vaccine require the development of new antimalarial strategies. Untilnow, molecular mechanisms controlling the life cycle of malaria parasites, are still poorly understood. In most eukaryotes, protein kinases are implicated in essential cellular functions and represent attractive targets for the development of new drugs. In this context, we focused on the signaling pathway implicating cAMP and particularly the catalytic subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PfPKAc), whose function is still unclear in P. falciparum. Two complementary strategies were chosen to study this kinase:1) at the biochemical level by the cloning, expression, purification and enzymatic characterization of the PfPKAc. The objective was to obtain an in vitro active PfPKAc to evaluate the kinetic constants of PfPKAc and to conduct the first inhibition studies.2) at the cellular level by studying the consequences of PfPKAc transcripts inhibition byspecific interfering RNAs. The parasite growth but also the overall transcriptome werestudied to specify the metabolic pathways associated with this plasmodial protein kinase.All of these studies improve the understanding of cAMP transduction pathway and PfPKA,which could allow the development of new therapeutic approaches

Real-time detection of Covid-19 positive persons using sniffer dog

International audienc

Culture of SARS-CoV-2 in a panel of laboratory cell lines, permissivity, and differences in growth profile

International audienc

Confirmatory Virucidal Activity of Ionised Active Water S-100® on the SARS-CoV-2 Virus

International audienceIonised active water S-100® has been proposed as an original solution for use in dermocosmetics and for the treatment of wounds such as burns and atopic dermatitis. Among the mechanisms of action that are not completely understood, an antimicrobial activity would appear to be important. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, we assessed the inactivating efficacy of this solution on SARS-CoV-2 based on the recommendations of the NF-EN-14476+A2 standard. The tests carried out demonstrated that ionised active water S-100® 40% has a virucidal activity on SARS-CoV-2 which is at least 3.1 log after a contact time of 30 seconds and 3.5 log after two minutes at 20°C under clean conditions. Assays were also performed at 4°C and 37°C, and the results obtained are identical to those obtained at 20°C. This demonstration of the virucidal effect of ionised water against SARS-CoV-2 paves the way for the development of usage as an alternative disinfectant in SARS-CoV-2 control