Project description:Unlike in Asia and Latin America, Plasmodium vivax infections were rare in Sub-Saharan Africa due to the absence of the Duffy blood group antigen (Duffy Antigen), the only known erythrocyte receptor for the P. vivax merozoite invasion ligand, Duffy Binding Protein 1 (DBP1). However, P. vivax infections have been documented in Duffy-negative individuals throughout Africa, suggesting that P. vivax may use ligands other than DBP1 to invade Duffy-negative erythrocytes through other receptors. To identify potential P. vivax ligands, we compared parasite gene expression in Saimiri and Aotus monkey erythrocytes infected with P. vivax Salvador I (Sal I). DBP1 binds Aotus but does not bind to Saimiri erythrocytes, and thus P. vivax Sal I must invade Saimiri erythrocytes independently of DBP1. Comparing RNA sequencing (RNAseq) data for late stage infections in Saimiri and Aotus erythrocytes when invasion ligands are expressed, we identified genes that belong to tryptophan-rich antigen and MSP3 families that were more abundantly expressed in Saimiri infections as compared to Aotus infections. These genes may encode potential ligands responsible for P. vivax infections of Duffy-negative Africans.
Project description:Transcription profile of the Plasmodium vivax intraerythrocytic cycle Total RNA in Plasmodium vivax strain at every 6 hour of intraerythrocytic cycle using RNA-seq
Project description:Cattle trypanosomosis caused by Trypanosoma vivax is a widely distributed disease in Africa and Latin America. It causes significant losses in the livestock industry and is characterized by fever, parasitemia, anemia, lethargy, and weight loss. In this study we evaluated the virulence (capacity to multiply inside the host) and pathogenicity (ability to produce disease and/or mortality) patterns of two T. vivax strains (TvMT1 and TvLIEM176) in experimentally-infected sheep and determined the proteins differentially expressed in the proteomes of these two strains. There was a marked difference in the virulence and pathogenicity between both T. vivax strains: TvLIEM176 showed high virulence and moderate pathogenicity, whereas TvMT1 showed low virulence and high pathogenicity. In the proteomic analysis, we identified a total of 29 proteins associated with the different biological behaviour, of which 14 exhibited significant differences in their expression level between the two strains. The proteins evidenced in this study are considered potential virulence and pathogenicity biomarkers in T. vivax infections, and deserve further investigations to precise their functional role in the host-parasite interactions.
Project description:Established that 11 human anti-Plasmodium vivax Duffy Binding protein II monoclonal antibodies are not cross reactive with other plasmodium antigens as represented by PfPv500.1 array.
Project description:The purpose of this research is to identify and evaluate the global gene expression of the rodent malaria parasites Plasmodium yoelii, Plasmodium berghei and Plasmodium chabaudi blood-stage parasites and specifically compare the blood stage gene expression profiles of samples derived from previous studies on Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium knowlesi
Project description:Human studies of Plasmodium vivax in the bone marrow are scarce. Here, we present a detailed characterization of bone marrow aspirates taken from a P. vivax patient with high parasitaemia on admission and 42 days after treatment. Analysis of miRNAs related to erythropoiesis revealed a distinct series of differentially expressed miRNAs during infection compared to at convalescence. These results suggest that parasites in the bone marrow affect erythropoiesis.
