Project description:Malaria is a global infectious disease that threatens the lives of millions of people. Transcriptomics, proteomics and functional genomics studies, as well as sequencing of the Plasmodium falciparum and Homo sapiens genomes, have shed new light on this host-parasite relationship. Recent advances in accurate mass measurement mass spectrometry, sophisticated data analysis software, and availability of biological pathway databases, have converged to facilitate our global, untargeted biochemical profiling study of in vitro P. falciparum-infected (IRBC) and uninfected (NRBC) erythrocytes. In order to expand the number of detectable metabolites, several key analytical steps in our workflows were optimized. Untargeted and targeted data mining resulted in detection of over one thousand features or chemical entities. Untargeted features were annotated via matching to the METLIN metabolite database. For targeted data mining, we queried the data using a compound database derived from a metabolic reconstruction of the P. falciparum genome. In total, over one hundred and fifty differential annotated metabolites were observed. To corroborate the representation of known biochemical pathways from our data, an inferential pathway analysis strategy was used to map annotated metabolites onto the BioCyc pathway collection. This hypothesis-generating approach resulted in over-representation of many metabolites onto several IRBC pathways, most prominently glycolysis. In addition, components of the "branched" TCA cycle, partial urea cycle, and nucleotide, amino acid, chorismate, sphingolipid and fatty acid metabolism were found to be altered in IRBCs. Interestingly, we detected and confirmed elevated levels for cyclic ADP ribose and phosphoribosyl AMP in IRBCs, a novel observation. These metabolites may play a role in regulating the release of intracellular Ca(2+) during P. falciparum infection. Our results support a strategy of global metabolite profiling by untargeted data acquisition. Untargeted and targeted data mining workflows, when used together to perform pathway-inferred metabolomics, have the benefit of obviating MS/MS confirmation for every detected compound.

Project description:Project Description: The Malaria Host-Pathogen Interaction Center (MaHPIC) is a transdisciplinary malaria systems biology research program initially supported by an NIH/NIAID contract (HHSN272201200031C, 2012-2017; see <a href='http://www.systemsbiology.emory.edu' target='_blank'>http://www.systemsbiology.emory.edu</a>). The MaHPIC continues with ongoing support from the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) and others. The MaHPIC generates many data types (e.g., clinical, hematological, parasitological, metabolomics, functional genomics, lipidomics, proteomics, immune response, telemetry) and mathematical models, to iteratively test and develop hypotheses related to the complex host-parasite dynamics in the course of malaria in non-human primates (NHPs), and metabolomics data via collaborations with investigators conducting clinical studies in malaria endemic countries, with the overarching goal of better understanding human disease, pathogenesis, and immunity. Curation and maintenance of all data and metadata are the responsibility of the MaHPIC. MaHPIC Experiment Description: Sixteen healthy volunteers, 7 malaria naïve and 9 semi-immune, aged 18-45 years, were enrolled in this study during October 2012 to November 2013. Malaria-naive volunteers were recruited in Cali, Colombia, a non-endemic city; those with previous malaria experience were recruited in Buenaventura, a malaria-endemic area on the Colombian Pacific Coast. The study was approved by Institutional Review Boards (IRB) of the Malaria Vaccine and Drug Development Center–MVDC (CECIV, Cali) and Centro Médico Imbanaco (Cali). All protocols and documentation were reviewed and samples shipments approved by the Emory IRB. Male and female patients were eligible for inclusion, which included two steps: 1) age between 15-60 years, hemoglobin levels > 9g/dL, presence of current Plasmodium vivax infection, absence of other Plasmodium species determined by thick blood smear and PCR, blood parasite count of 0.1% or more, absence of other acute or chronic diseases, being able to sign an informed consent form; 2) healthy 18 to 45 years old man or non-pregnant women, capacity to sign an informed consent in a free and voluntary way, acceptable understanding of the clinical trial through the approval of a questionnaire regarding the information given in the consent process, obligatory use of adequate contraceptive method from beginning of recruitment and screening time up to three months after last immunization, do not have chronic or acute diseases, accept not traveling to malaria endemic areas during the clinical trial, have telephone at home or mobile phone that permit permanent contact for follow up, being willing to participated during both steps of the clinical trial. Exclusion criteria included pregnancy, abnormal laboratory test values, hemoglobin pathology, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) deficiency, positive for blood bank infectious diseases (syphilis, HIV, Chagas disease, HTLV 1–2, and hepatitis B and hepatitis C), or have any condition that would increase the risk of an adverse outcome. Volunteers were infected with P. vivax via sporozoite challenge by exposing volunteers to bites of 2–4 mosquitoes (Anopheles albimanus) of the same infected batch. Plasma samples were collected at 4 time points: Baseline, 1 month pre-inoculation; Diagnosis; 3 weeks post-treatment; 4 months post-treatment. As soon as parasites were detected by thick blood smears, participants were treated orally with curative doses of chloroquine (1500 mg chloroquine provided in three doses: 600 mg initially then 450 mg doses at 24 and 48 hours) and primaquine (30 mg dose given once per day for 14 days). Clinical trial registration: NCT01585077. Samples were analyzed with liquid chromatography coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS), evaluated in a time course and between naïve and semi-immune volunteers. Within the MaHPIC, this project is known as ‘Experiment HuC’. Samples were obtained in collaboration with Socrates Herrera from the Malaria Vaccine and Drug Development Center, Colombia. Metabolomics results were produced by Dean Jones at Emory University. To access other publicly available results from HuC and other MaHPIC Experiments visit <a href='http://plasmodb.org/plasmo/mahpic.jsp' target='_blank'>http://plasmodb.org/plasmo/mahpic.jsp</a> . This page will be updated as datasets are released to the public. The following contributed to the creation of this dataset: The MaHPIC Consortium, Jeremy D. DeBarry, Mary R. Galinski, Luiz G. Gardinassi, Socrates Herrera, Myriam Arévalo-Herrera, Dean P. Jones, Jessica C. Kissinger, Shuzhao Li, Regina Joice Cordy, Esmeralda VS Meyer, Mustafa V. Nural, Suman B. Pakala, ViLinh Tran, Karan Uppal Linked Studies: <a href='/metabolights/search?freeTextQuery=MaHPIC' target='_blank'>Malaria Host-Pathogen Interaction Center (MaHPIC)</a>

Project description:BackgroundThe intra-erythrocytic development of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum depends on the uptake of a number of essential nutrients from the host cell and blood plasma. It is widely recognized that the parasite imports low molecular weight solutes from the plasma and the consumption of these nutrients by P. falciparum has been extensively analysed. However, although it was already shown that the parasite also imports functional proteins from the vertebrate host, the internalization route through the different infected erythrocyte membranes has not yet been elucidated. In order to further understand the uptake mechanism, the study examined the trafficking of human plasminogen from the extracellular medium into P. falciparum-infected red blood cells.MethodsPlasmodium falciparum clone 3D7 was cultured in standard HEPES-buffered RPMI 1640 medium supplemented with 0.5% AlbuMAX. Exogenous human plasminogen was added to the P. falciparum culture and the uptake of this protein by the parasites was analysed by electron microscopy and Western blotting. Immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry were performed to investigate possible protein interactions that may assist plasminogen import into infected erythrocytes. The effect of pharmacological inhibitors of different cellular physiological processes in plasminogen uptake was also tested.ResultsIt was observed that plasminogen was selectively internalized by P. falciparum-infected erythrocytes, with localization in plasma membrane erythrocyte and parasite's cytosol. The protein was not detected in parasitic food vacuole and haemoglobin-containing vesicles. Furthermore, in erythrocyte cytoplasm, plasminogen was associated with the parasite-derived membranous structures tubovesicular network (TVN) and Maurer's clefts. Several proteins were identified in immunoprecipitation assay and may be involved in the delivery of plasminogen across the P. falciparum multiple compartments.ConclusionThe findings here reported reveal new features regarding the acquisition of plasma proteins of the host by P. falciparum-infected erythrocytes, a mechanism that involves the exomembrane system, which is distinct from the haemoglobin uptake, clarifying a route that may be potentially targeted for inhibition studies.

Project description:IntroductionNucleic acid from viruses is common in peripheral blood, even in asymptomatic individuals. How physiologic changes of pregnancy impact host-virus dynamics for acute, chronic, and latent viral infections is not well described. Previously we found higher viral diversity in the vagina during pregnancy associated with preterm birth (PTB) and Black race. We hypothesized that higher diversity and viral copy numbers in the plasma would show similar trends.MethodsTo test this hypothesis, we evaluated longitudinally collected plasma samples from 23 pregnant patients (11 term and 12 preterm) using metagenomic sequencing with ViroCap enrichment to enhance virus detection. Sequence data were analyzed with the ViroMatch pipeline.ResultsWe detected nucleic acid from at least 1 virus in at least 1 sample from 87% (20/23) of the maternal subjects. The viruses represented 5 families: Herpesviridae, Poxviridae, Papillomaviridae, Anelloviridae, and Flaviviridae. We analyzed cord plasma from 18 of the babies from those patients and found nucleic acid from viruses in 33% of the samples (6/18) from 3 families: Herpesviridae, Papillomaviridae, and Anelloviridae. Some viral genomes were found in both maternal plasma and cord plasma from maternal-fetal pairs (e.g. cytomegalovirus, anellovirus). We found that Black race associated with higher viral richness (number of different viruses detected) in the maternal blood samples (P=0.003), consistent with our previous observations in vaginal samples. We did not detect associations between viral richness and PTB or the trimester of sampling. We then examined anelloviruses, a group of viruses that is ubiquitous and whose viral copy numbers fluctuate with immunological state. We tested anellovirus copy numbers in plasma from 63 pregnant patients sampled longitudinally using qPCR. Black race associated with higher anellovirus positivity (P<0.001) but not copy numbers (P=0.1). Anellovirus positivity and copy numbers were higher in the PTB group compared to the term group (P<0.01, P=0.003, respectively). Interestingly, these features did not occur at the time of delivery but appeared earlier in pregnancy, suggesting that although anelloviruses were biomarkers for PTB they were not triggering parturition.DiscussionThese results emphasize the importance of longitudinal sampling and diverse cohorts in studies of virome dynamics during pregnancy.

Project description:BackgroundRapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) are central to fulfilling the WHO's recommendation for parasitologic confirmation of all suspected cases of malaria. RDT performance may be compromised when exposed to the high temperature conditions typical of most malaria endemic regions. However, a systematic method to monitor RDT quality and performance in endemic countries is lacking at the present time. Current methods to monitor RDT performance in the field include comparing results from RDTs to diagnoses made by light microscopy and observing health workers perform tests. These methods are not substitutes for direct quality control. In this study, the suitability of dried Plasmodium falciparum-infected blood as quality control samples for malaria RDTs was evaluated.MethodsThree cultured strains of P. falciparum at 200 and 2,000 parasites/μl were tested on 10 brands of RDT. After baseline testing to determine initial reactivity, aliquots of parasite-infected blood were air dried, stored at 35°C, room temperature (~25°C) or 4°C for one, four and 12 weeks and were then tested on the 10 RDTs after rehydration. Extended stability testing of dried blood stored at 4°C was done using P. falciparum strain 3D7 at 1,000 and 2,000 parasites/μl.ResultsAll dried blood samples at 2,000 parasites/μl retained reactivity (100% sensitivity) at all three temperatures and time points for all nine RDT brands that detect histidine-rich protein-2 (HRP2). The dried blood samples with 200 parasites/μl were detected by six of the nine HRP2-based RDTs at all storage temperatures and time points. The sensitivity for two of the three remaining HRP2-based RDTs was 100% up to four weeks of storage at all temperatures but dropped to 87.5% at week 12. Of the four RDTs that detect plasmodium lactate dehydrogenase (pLDH) in a pan-specific manner, alone or in combination with HRP2, the detection of pLDH in samples with 2,000 parasites/μL was 100% for two RDTs and 80% for the other two RDTs. The mean level for detection of pLDH at 200 parasites/μl was low (29%), with a range of 0% to100%, which was partly attributable to weak initial baseline reactivity. Reactivity of dried 3D7 at 1,000 and 2,000 parasites/μl stored at 4°C was retained at 100% for up to 52 weeks for both HRP2 and pLDH.ConclusionsIn the absence of native or recombinant positive control antigens, well-standardized P. falciparum-infected dried blood samples can be used as positive control samples for monitoring RDT performance, particularly with HRP2-detecting tests.

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Metabolomics of longitudinal plasma samples from Macaca mulatta infected with Plasmodium cynomolgi B strain.

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