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Leishmania chagasi T-cell antigens identified through a double library screen.

ABSTRACT: Control of human visceral leishmaniasis in regions where it is endemic is hampered in part by limited accessibility to medical care and emerging drug resistance. There is no available protective vaccine. Leishmania spp. protozoa express multiple antigens recognized by the vertebrate immune system. Since there is not one immunodominant epitope recognized by most hosts, strategies must be developed to optimize selection of antigens for prevention and immunodiagnosis. For this reason, we generated a cDNA library from the intracellular amastigote form of Leishmania chagasi, the cause of South American visceral leishmaniasis. We employed a two-step expression screen of the library to systematically identify T-cell antigens and T-dependent B-cell antigens. The first step was aimed at identifying the largest possible number of clones producing an epitope-containing polypeptide by screening with a pool of sera from Brazilians with documented visceral leishmaniasis. After removal of clones encoding heat shock proteins, positive clones underwent a second-step screen for their ability to cause proliferation and gamma interferon responses in T cells from immune mice. Six unique clones were selected from the second screen for further analysis. The corresponding antigens were derived from glutamine synthetase, a transitional endoplasmic reticulum ATPase, elongation factor 1gamma, kinesin K39, repetitive protein A2, and a hypothetical conserved protein. Humans naturally infected with L. chagasi mounted both cellular and antibody responses to these proteins. Preparations containing multiple antigens may be optimal for immunodiagnosis and protective vaccines.

SUBMITTER: Martins DR

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1698060 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Leishmania chagasi T-cell antigens identified through a double library screen.

Martins Daniella R A DR Jeronimo Selma M B SM Donelson John E JE Wilson Mary E ME

Infection and immunity 20060925 12

Control of human visceral leishmaniasis in regions where it is endemic is hampered in part by limited accessibility to medical care and emerging drug resistance. There is no available protective vaccine. Leishmania spp. protozoa express multiple antigens recognized by the vertebrate immune system. Since there is not one immunodominant epitope recognized by most hosts, strategies must be developed to optimize selection of antigens for prevention and immunodiagnosis. For this reason, we generated ...[more]

PMID: 17000724

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Better understanding of the signaling pathways that regulate human bone marrow stromal stem cell (hBMSC) differentiation into bone-forming osteoblasts is crucial for their clinical use in regenerative medicine. Chemical biology approaches using small molecules targeting specific signaling pathways are increasingly employed to manipulate stem cell differentiation fate. METHODS:We employed alkaline phosphatase activity and staining assays to assess osteoblast differentiation and Alizarin R staining to assess mineralized matrix formation of cultured hBMSCs. Changes in gene expression were assessed using an Agilent microarray platform, and data normalization and bioinformatics were performed using GeneSpring software. For in vivo ectopic bone formation experiments, hMSCs were mixed with hydroxyapatite-tricalcium phosphate granules and implanted subcutaneously into the dorsal surface of 8-week-old female nude mice. Hematoxylin and eosin staining and Sirius Red staining were used to detect bone formation in vivo. RESULTS:We identified several compounds which inhibited osteoblastic differentiation of hMSCs. In particular, we identified ruxolitinib (INCB018424) (3 ?M), an inhibitor of JAK-STAT signaling that inhibited osteoblastic differentiation and matrix mineralization of hMSCs in vitro and reduced ectopic bone formation in vivo. Global gene expression profiling of ruxolitinib-treated cells identified 847 upregulated and 822 downregulated mRNA transcripts, compared to vehicle-treated control cells. Bioinformatic analysis revealed differential regulation of multiple genetic pathways, including TGF? and insulin signaling, endochondral ossification, and focal adhesion. CONCLUSIONS:We identified ruxolitinib as an important regulator of osteoblast differentiation of hMSCs. It is plausible that inhibition of osteoblast differentiation by ruxolitinib may represent a novel therapeutic strategy for the treatment of pathological conditions caused by accelerated osteoblast differentiation and mineralization.

Project description:Chemotherapy against visceral leishmaniasis is associated with high toxicity and drug resistance. Leishmania parasites are purine auxotrophs that obtain their purines from exogenous sources. Nucleoside hydrolases release purines from nucleosides and are drug targets for anti-leishmanial drugs, absent in mammal cells. We investigated the substrate specificity of the Leishmania (L.) donovani recombinant nucleoside hydrolase NH36 and the inhibitory effect of the immucillins IA (ImmA), DIA (DADMe-ImmA), DIH (DADMe-ImmH), SMIH (SerMe-ImmH), IH (ImmH), DIG (DADMe-ImmG), SMIG (SerMe-ImmG) and SMIA (SerME-ImmA) on its enzymatic activity. The inhibitory effects of immucillins on the in vitro multiplication of L. (L.) infantum chagasi and L. (L.) amazonensis promastigotes were determined using 0.05-500 μM and, when needed, 0.01-50 nM of each drug. The inhibition on multiplication of L. (L.) infantum chagasi intracellular amastigotes in vitro was assayed using 0.5, 1, 5 and 10 μM of IA, IH and SMIH. The NH36 shows specificity for inosine, guanosine, adenosine, uridine and cytidine with preference for adenosine and inosine. IA, IH, DIH, DIG, SMIH and SMIG immucillins inhibited L. (L.) infantum chagasi and L. (L.) amazonensis promastigote growth in vitro at nanomolar to micromolar concentrations. Promastigote replication was also inhibited in a chemically defined medium without a nucleoside source. Addition of adenosine decreases the immucillin toxicity. IA and IH inhibited the NH36 enzymatic activity (Ki = 0.080 μM for IA and 0.019 μM for IH). IA, IH and SMIH at 10 μM concentration, reduced the in vitro amastigote replication inside mice macrophages by 95% with no apparent effect on macrophage viability. Transmission electron microscopy revealed global alterations and swelling of L. (L.) infantum chagasi promastigotes after treatment with IA and IH while SMIH treatment determined intense cytoplasm vacuolization, enlarged vesicles and altered kinetoplasts. Our results suggest that IA, IH and SMIH may provide new chemotherapy agents for leishmaniasis.

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Leishmania chagasi T-cell antigens identified through a double library screen.

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Leishmania chagasi T-cell antigens identified through a double library screen.

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