Li Fengwu, Templeton Thomas J, Popov Vsevolod, Comer Jason E, Tsuboi Takafumi, Torii Motomi, Vinetz Joseph M
Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-0640, USA.
J Biol Chem. 2004 Jun 18;279(25):26635-44. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M401385200. Epub 2004 Apr 6.
The mosquito midgut ookinete stage of the malaria parasite, Plasmodium, possesses microneme secretory organelles that mediate locomotion and midgut wall egress to establish sporogonic stages and subsequent transmission. The purpose of this study was 2-fold: 1) to determine whether there exists a single micronemal population with respect to soluble and membrane-associated secreted proteins; and 2) to evaluate the ookinete micronemal proteins chitinase (PgCHT1), circumsporozoite and TRAP-related protein (CTRP), and von Willebrand factor A domain-related protein (WARP) as immunological targets eliciting sera-blocking malaria parasite infectivity to mosquitoes. Indirect immunofluorescence localization studies in Plasmodium gallinaceum using specific antisera showed that all three proteins are distributed intracellularly with a similar granular cytoplasmic appearance and with focal concentration of PgCHT1 and PgCTRP, but not PgWARP, at the ookinete apical end. Immunogold double-labeling electron microscopy, using antisera against the membrane-associated protein CTRP and the soluble WARP, showed that these two proteins co-localized to the same micronemal population. Within the microneme CTRP was associated peripherally at the microneme membrane, whereas PgCHT1 and WARP were diffuse within the micronemal lumen. Sera produced against Plasmodium falciparum WARP significantly reduced the infectivity of P. gallinaceum to Aedes aegypti and P. falciparum to Anopheles mosquitoes. Antisera against PgCTRP and PgCHT1 also significantly reduced the infectivity of P. gallinaceum for A. aegypti. These results support the concept that ookinete micronemal proteins may constitute a general class of malaria transmission-blocking vaccine candidates.
疟原虫在蚊子中肠的动合子阶段,疟原虫属的疟原虫拥有微线体分泌细胞器,这些细胞器介导运动和中肠壁穿出,以建立孢子生殖阶段及随后的传播。本研究的目的有两个:1)确定关于可溶性和膜相关分泌蛋白是否存在单一的微线体群体;2)评估动合子微线体蛋白几丁质酶(PgCHT1)、环子孢子蛋白和TRAP相关蛋白(CTRP)以及血管性血友病因子A结构域相关蛋白(WARP)作为引发血清阻断疟原虫对蚊子感染性的免疫靶点。使用特异性抗血清对鸡疟原虫进行的间接免疫荧光定位研究表明,所有这三种蛋白都在细胞内分布,具有相似的颗粒状胞质外观,并且PgCHT1和PgCTRP在动合子顶端有局灶性聚集,而PgWARP没有。使用针对膜相关蛋白CTRP和可溶性蛋白WARP的抗血清进行的免疫金双标记电子显微镜研究表明,这两种蛋白共定位于同一微线体群体。在微线体内,CTRP与微线体膜周边相关,而PgCHT1和WARP在微线体腔内呈弥散分布。针对恶性疟原虫WARP产生的血清显著降低了鸡疟原虫对埃及伊蚊以及恶性疟原虫对按蚊的感染性。针对PgCTRP和PgCHT1的抗血清也显著降低了鸡疟原虫对埃及伊蚊的感染性。这些结果支持了动合子微线体蛋白可能构成一类通用的疟疾传播阻断疫苗候选物的概念。