A High Force of Plasmodium vivax Blood-Stage Infection Drives the Rapid Acquisition of Immunity in Papua New Guinean Children

Background

When both parasite species are co-endemic, Plasmodium vivax incidence peaks in younger children compared to P. falciparum. To identify differences in the number of blood stage infections of these species and its potential link to acquisition of immunity, we have estimated the molecular force of blood-stage infection of P. vivax (_molFOB, i.e. the number of genetically distinct blood-stage infections over time), and compared it to previously reported values for P. falciparum.

Methods

P. vivax _molFOB was estimated by high resolution genotyping parasites in samples collected over 16 months in a cohort of 264 Papua New Guinean children living in an area highly endemic for P. falciparum and P. vivax. In this cohort, P. vivax episodes decreased three-fold over the age range of 1–4.5 years.

Results

On average, children acquired 14.0 new P. vivax blood-stage clones/child/year-at-risk. While the incidence of clinical P. vivax illness was strongly associated with _molFOB (incidence rate ratio (IRR) = 1.99, 95% confidence interval (CI95) [1.80, 2.19]), _molFOB did not change with age. The incidence of P. vivax showed a faster decrease with age in children with high (IRR = 0.49, CI95 [0.38, 0.64] p<0.001) compared to those with low exposure (IRR = 0.63, CI95[0.43, 0.93] p = 0.02).

Conclusion

P. vivax _molFOB is considerably higher than P. falciparum _molFOB (5.5 clones/child/year-at-risk). The high number of P. vivax clones that infect children in early childhood contribute to the rapid acquisition of immunity against clinical P. vivax malaria.     

Catalytic and Functional Roles of Conserved Amino Acids in the SET Domain of the S. cerevisiae Lysine Methyltransferase Set1

In S. cerevisiae, the lysine methyltransferase Set1 is a member of the multiprotein complex COMPASS. Set1 catalyzes mono-, di- and trimethylation of the fourth residue, lysine 4, of histone H3 using methyl groups from S-adenosylmethionine, and requires a subset of COMPASS proteins for this activity. The methylation activity of COMPASS regulates gene expression and chromosome segregation in vivo. To improve understanding of the catalytic mechanism of Set1, single amino acid substitutions were made within the SET domain. These Set1 mutants were evaluated in vivo by determining the levels of K4-methylated H3, assaying the strength of gene silencing at the rDNA and using a genetic assessment of kinetochore function as a proxy for defects in Dam1 methylation. The findings indicate that no single conserved active site base is required for H3K4 methylation by Set1. Instead, our data suggest that a number of aromatic residues in the SET domain contribute to the formation of an active site that facilitates substrate binding and dictates product specificity. Further, the results suggest that the attributes of Set1 required for trimethylation of histone H3 are those required for Pol II gene silencing at the rDNA and kinetochore function.     

PTM MarkerFinder,a software tool to detect and validate spectra from peptides carrying post‐translational modifications

Mass spectrometry (MS) analysis of peptides carrying post‐translational modifications is challenging due to the instability of some modifications during MS analysis. However, glycopeptides as well as acetylated, methylated and other modified peptides release specific fragment ions during CID (collision‐induced dissociation) and HCD (higher energy collisional dissociation) fragmentation. These fragment ions can be used to validate the presence of the PTM on the peptide. Here, we present PTM MarkerFinder, a software tool that takes advantage of such marker ions. PTM MarkerFinder screens the MS/MS spectra in the output of a database search (i.e., Mascot) for marker ions specific for selected PTMs. Moreover, it reports and annotates the HCD and the corresponding electron transfer dissociation (ETD) spectrum (when present), and summarizes information on the type, number, and ratios of marker ions found in the data set. In the present work, a sample containing enriched N‐acetylhexosamine (HexNAc) glycopeptides from yeast has been analyzed by liquid chromatography‐mass spectrometry on an LTQ Orbitrap Velos using both HCD and ETD fragmentation techniques. The identification result (Mascot .dat file) was submitted as input to PTM MarkerFinder and screened for HexNAc oxonium ions. The software output has been used for high‐throughput validation of the identification results.     

Generative FDG-PET and MRI Model of Aging and Disease Progression in Alzheimer's Disease

The failure of current strategies to provide an explanation for controversial findings on the pattern of pathophysiological changes in Alzheimer''s Disease (AD) motivates the necessity to develop new integrative approaches based on multi-modal neuroimaging data that captures various aspects of disease pathology. Previous studies using [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) and structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) report controversial results about time-line, spatial extent and magnitude of glucose hypometabolism and atrophy in AD that depend on clinical and demographic characteristics of the studied populations. Here, we provide and validate at a group level a generative anatomical model of glucose hypo-metabolism and atrophy progression in AD based on FDG-PET and sMRI data of 80 patients and 79 healthy controls to describe expected age and symptom severity related changes in AD relative to a baseline provided by healthy aging. We demonstrate a high level of anatomical accuracy for both modalities yielding strongly age- and symptom-severity- dependant glucose hypometabolism in temporal, parietal and precuneal regions and a more extensive network of atrophy in hippocampal, temporal, parietal, occipital and posterior caudate regions. The model suggests greater and more consistent changes in FDG-PET compared to sMRI at earlier and the inversion of this pattern at more advanced AD stages. Our model describes, integrates and predicts characteristic patterns of AD related pathology, uncontaminated by normal age effects, derived from multi-modal data. It further provides an integrative explanation for findings suggesting a dissociation between early- and late-onset AD. The generative model offers a basis for further development of individualized biomarkers allowing accurate early diagnosis and treatment evaluation.     

Up-Regulation of Hepatoma-Derived Growth Factor Facilities Tumor Progression in Malignant Melanoma

Cutaneous malignant melanoma is the fastest increasing malignancy in humans. Hepatoma-derived growth factor (HDGF) is a novel growth factor identified from human hepatoma cell line. HDGF overexpression is correlated with poor prognosis in various types of cancer including melanoma. However, the underlying mechanism of HDGF overexpression in developing melanoma remains unclear. In this study, human melanoma cell lines (A375, A2058, MEL-RM and MM200) showed higher levels of HDGF gene expression, whereas human epidermal melanocytes (HEMn) expressed less. Exogenous application of HDGF stimulated colony formation and invasion of human melanoma cells. Moreover, HDGF overexpression stimulated the degree of invasion and colony formation of B16–F10 melanoma cells whereas HDGF knockdown exerted opposite effects in vitro. To evaluate the effects of HDGF on tumour growth and metastasis in vivo, syngeneic mouse melanoma and metastatic melanoma models were performed by manipulating the gene expression of HDGF in melanoma cells. It was found that mice injected with HDGF-overexpressing melanoma cells had greater tumour growth and higher metastatic capability. In contrast, mice implanted with HDGF-depleted melanoma cells exhibited reduced tumor burden and lung metastasis. Histological analysis of excised tumors revealed higher degree of cell proliferation and neovascularization in HDGF-overexpressing melanoma. The present study provides evidence that HDGF promotes tumor progression of melanoma and targeting HDGF may constitute a novel strategy for the treatment of melanoma.     

A Large Plasmodium vivax Reservoir and Little Population Structure in the South Pacific

Introduction

The importance of Plasmodium vivax in malaria elimination is increasingly being recognized, yet little is known about its population size and population genetic structure in the South Pacific, an area that is the focus of intensified malaria control.

Methods

We have genotyped 13 microsatellite markers in 295 P. vivax isolates from four geographically distinct sites in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and one site from Solomon Islands, representing different transmission intensities.

Results

Diversity was very high with expected heterozygosity values ranging from 0.62 to 0.98 for the different markers. Effective population size was high (12′872 to 19′533 per site). In PNG population structuring was limited with moderate levels of genetic differentiation. F _ST values (adjusted for high diversity of markers) were 0.14–0.15. Slightly higher levels were observed between PNG populations and Solomon Islands (F _ST = 0.16).

Conclusions

Low levels of population structure despite geographical barriers to transmission are in sharp contrast to results from regions of low P. vivax endemicity. Prior to intensification of malaria control programs in the study area, parasite diversity and effective population size remained high.     

Phylogeographic Pattern and Extensive Mitochondrial DNA Divergence Disclose a Species Complex within the Chagas Disease Vector Triatoma dimidiata

Background

Triatoma dimidiata is among the main vectors of Chagas disease in Latin America. However, and despite important advances, there is no consensus about the taxonomic status of phenotypically divergent T. dimidiata populations, which in most recent papers are regarded as subspecies.

Methodology and Findings

A total of 126 cyt b sequences (621 bp long) were produced for specimens from across the species range. Forty-seven selected specimens representing the main cyt b clades observed (after a preliminary phylogenetic analysis) were also sequenced for an ND4 fragment (554 bp long) and concatenated with their respective cyt b sequences to produce a combined data set totalling 1175 bp/individual. Bayesian and Maximum-Likelihood phylogenetic analyses of both data sets (cyt b, and cyt b+ND4) disclosed four strongly divergent (all pairwise Kimura 2-parameter distances >0.08), monophyletic groups: Group I occurs from Southern Mexico through Central America into Colombia, with Ecuadorian specimens resembling Nicaraguan material; Group II includes samples from Western-Southwestern Mexico; Group III comprises specimens from the Yucatán peninsula; and Group IV consists of sylvatic samples from Belize. The closely-related, yet formally recognized species T. hegneri from the island of Cozumel falls within the divergence range of the T. dimidiata populations studied.

Conclusions

We propose that Groups I–IV, as well as T. hegneri, should be regarded as separate species. In the Petén of Guatemala, representatives of Groups I, II, and III occur in sympatry; the absence of haplotypes with intermediate genetic distances, as shown by multimodal mismatch distribution plots, clearly indicates that reproductive barriers actively promote within-group cohesion. Some sylvatic specimens from Belize belong to a different species – likely the basal lineage of the T. dimidiata complex, originated ∼8.25 Mya. The evidence presented here strongly supports the proposition that T. dimidiata is a complex of five cryptic species (Groups I–IV plus T. hegneri) that play different roles as vectors of Chagas disease in the region.     

Comparative genetic analysis of grayling (Thymallus spp. Salmonidae) across the paleohydrologically dynamic river drainages of the Altai-Sayan mountain region

Hydrobiologia - A high number of grayling (Thymallus) species have been described from the Altai-Sayan mountain region, for which little to no genetic information is available. We investigated...