A developmentally regulated neuraminidase activity in Trypanosoma cruzi

The human pathogen Trypanosoma cruzi (Y strain) contains a neuraminidase activity that varies widely in the different developmental stages of the parasite. The specific neuraminidase activity of infective trypomastigotes obtained from tissue culture and from the bloodstream of infected mice is 7 to 15 times higher than that of the acellular culture forms. Amastigotes were devoid of enzyme activity. The enzyme has a pH optimum of 6.0 to 6.5. Live trypanosomes released sialic acid from human erythrocytes and plasma glycoproteins. Several sialyl compounds were hydrolyzed by the parasite, but the best substrate was the protein orosomucoid. Erythrocytes from infected mice with T. cruzi parasitemia were agglutinated by peanut lectin and the hemagglutination titer was correlated with the degree of parasitemia.     

Platelet membrane glycoprotein IIb/IIIa: member of a family of Arg-Gly-Asp--specific adhesion receptors

Adhesive interactions of the platelet surface with plasma proteins such as fibrinogen and fibronectin play an important role in thrombosis and hemostasis. The binding of both of these proteins to platelets is inhibited by synthetic peptides containing the sequence Arg-Gly-Asp, which corresponds to the cell adhesion site in fibronectin and is also present in the alpha chain of fibrinogen. An affinity matrix made of an insolubilized heptapeptide containing the Arg-Gly-Asp sequence selectively binds the platelet membrane glycoprotein IIb/IIIa from detergent extracts of platelets. When incorporated into liposome membranes, the isolated protein confers to the liposomes the ability to bind to surfaces coated with fibrinogen, fibronectin, and vitronectin but not to surfaces coated with thrombospondin or albumin. This platelet receptor is related to the previously identified fibronectin and vitronectin receptors in that it recognizes an Arg-Gly-Asp sequence but differs from the other receptors in its wider specificity toward various adhesive proteins. These results establish the existence of a family of adhesion receptors that recognize the sequence Arg-Gly-Asp.     

The genome of the African trypanosome Trypanosoma brucei

African trypanosomes cause human sleeping sickness and livestock trypanosomiasis in sub-Saharan Africa. We present the sequence and analysis of the 11 megabase-sized chromosomes of Trypanosoma brucei. The 26-megabase genome contains 9068 predicted genes, including approximately 900 pseudogenes and approximately 1700 T. brucei-specific genes. Large subtelomeric arrays contain an archive of 806 variant surface glycoprotein (VSG) genes used by the parasite to evade the mammalian immune system. Most VSG genes are pseudogenes, which may be used to generate expressed mosaic genes by ectopic recombination. Comparisons of the cytoskeleton and endocytic trafficking systems with those of humans and other eukaryotic organisms reveal major differences. A comparison of metabolic pathways encoded by the genomes of T. brucei, T. cruzi, and Leishmania major reveals the least overall metabolic capability in T. brucei and the greatest in L. major. Horizontal transfer of genes of bacterial origin has contributed to some of the metabolic differences in these parasites, and a number of novel potential drug targets have been identified.     

The Trypanosoma cruzi proteome

To complement the sequencing of the three kinetoplastid genomes reported in this issue, we have undertaken a whole-organism, proteomic analysis of the four life-cycle stages of Trypanosoma cruzi. Peptides mapping to 2784 proteins in 1168 protein groups from the annotated T. cruzi genome were identified across the four life-cycle stages. Protein products were identified from >1000 genes annotated as "hypothetical" in the sequenced genome, including members of a newly defined gene family annotated as mucin-associated surface proteins. The four parasite stages appear to use distinct energy sources, including histidine for stages present in the insect vectors and fatty acids by intracellular amastigotes.     

Mechanisms for regulating expression of membrane isoforms of Fc gamma RIII (CD16)

Granulocyte and natural killer (NK) cell Fc receptors for immunoglobulin G (CD16) differ in only a few amino acids, yet have phosphatidylinositol glycan (PIG) or polypeptide membrane anchors, respectively. Mutagenesis shows that anchoring is regulated by a serine residue near the PIG anchor attachment site in the extracellular domain. The NK cell isoform was not expressed on the surface of COS cells unless cotransfected with a subunit that was expressed in NK cells and that was identical to the gamma subunit of the high affinity IgE Fc receptor (Fc epsilon RI). However, the CD16 sequence and not expression of the gamma subunit is dominant in regulating PIG reanchoring.     

Inhibitory action of gossypol on enzymes and growth of Trypanosoma cruzi

Gossypol, a phenolic compound isolated from the cotton plant, is a powerful inhibitor of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-linked enzymes (alpha-hydroxyacid dehydrogenase and malate dehydrogenase) of Trypanosoma cruzi, the parasite that causes Chagas' disease. Parasites at the epimastigote stage that were incubated for 5 minutes with 100 micromolar gossypol were completely immobilized. Concentrations of gossypol as low as 0.01 micromolar markedly reduced the growth rate of T. cruzi in culture.     

牛的鼠隐孢子虫（Cryptosporidium muris）在小鼠体内的发育研究

应用光镜及电镜技术对牛的鼠隐孢子虫在小鼠体内的发育进行了研究。结果表明：鼠隐孢子虫的内生发育是在位于鼠胃腺上皮细胞表面、由微绒毛形成的带虫空泡中进行的。其发育过程包括裂殖生殖、配子生殖和孢子生殖3个阶段。鼠隐孢子虫所有内生发育阶段的虫体均较小隐孢子虫（C.parvum）大,其中卵囊为1.4倍,子孢子为2.5倍,第一代裂殖体为1.3倍,第二代裂殖体为1.5倍,大小配子体均是1.3倍。对虫体透射电镜观察发现,在虫体和宿主细胞的结合处,虫体前部呈结节状突起,并被宿主细胞的纤维素样增生所包裹,形成一发达的营养器。鼠隐孢子虫的这一结构在小隐孢子虫及相关种中未曾发现。     

Modeling household transmission of American trypanosomiasis

American trypanosomiasis, or Chagas disease, caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi and transmitted by blood-feeding triatomine bugs, is a chronic, frequently fatal infection that is common in Latin America. Neither adequate drugs nor a vaccine is available. A mathematical model calibrated to detailed household data from three villages in northwest Argentina shows that householders could greatly reduce the risk of human infection by excluding domestic animals, especially infected dogs, from bedrooms; removing potential refuges for bugs from walls and ceilings; and using domestically applied insecticides. Low-cost, locally practicable environmental management combined with intermittent use of insecticides can sustainably control transmission of T. cruzi to humans in rural Argentina and probably elsewhere.     

A synthetic peptide from fibronectin inhibits experimental metastasis of murine melanoma cells

Adhesive interactions between cells and the extracellular matrix occur at several stages of metastasis. Such interactions might be inhibited by synthetic peptide probes derived from the cell-binding regions of matrix molecules. Gly-Arg-Gly-Asp-Ser (GRGDS) is a pentapeptide sequence that appears to be critical for cell interaction with fibronectin. Coinjection of GRGDS with B16-F10 murine melanoma cells dramatically inhibited the formation of lung colonies in C57BL/6 mice. Two closely related control peptides, in which specific amino acids within the GRGDS sequence were transposed or substituted, displayed little or no activity. Inhibition by GRGDS was dose-dependent, noncytotoxic, and did not result from an impairment of cellular tumorigenicity. GRGDS may function by inhibiting tumor cell retention in the lung since radiolabeled B16-F10 tumor cells injected with the peptide were lost at a substantially greater rate than control cells.     

Effect of antibodies to recombinant and synthetic peptides on P. falciparum sporozoites in vitro

Antibodies were raised in mice immunized with several recombinant and synthetic peptides of the circumsporozoite protein of Plasmodium falciparum. The antibodies were evaluated for protective activity in a human hepatocyte culture system. They exerted their protective effect against the parasite at three points: sporozoite attachment to the hepatocyte surface, entry, and subsequent intracellular development. Inhibition of attachment and entry were found to be related to the antibody titer against the authentic circumsporozoite protein on the sporozoite surface, especially when peptides were administered with alum or complete Freund's adjuvant. Even when invasion was not totally inhibited, the presence of abnormal trophozoites and a frequent inhibition of schizont development in long-term cultures suggested continued activity of antibodies at the intracellular level after sporozoite penetration had been completed.     

Evidence for a malarial parasite interaction site on the major transmembrane protein of the human erythrocyte

Soluble oligosaccharides derived from the surface of human erythrocytes were tested for their ability to competitively inhibit invasion of erythrocytes by Plasmodium falciparum, a malarial parasite. Invasion was most effectively inhibited by erythroglycan, a carbohydrate component of the band 3 transmembrane protein. The lactosamine chains of erythroglycan contributed much of the inhibitory activity. This indication of a primary parasite interaction site on band 3 supports a role for this protein in mediating the radical alterations of the erythrocyte cytoskeleton that accompany invasion.     

云南切梢小蠹热激蛋白40基因的克隆与序列分析

[目的]克隆云南切梢小蠹(Tomicus yunnanensis)热激蛋白40基因,并进行序列分析,得到该基因的特征。[方法]采用RACE克隆技术,获得云南切梢小蠹热激蛋白40基因,并对该基因进行分析。[结果]试验获得的基因序列长为1 205 bp,开放阅读框1173 bp,编码氨基酸序列390个,编码蛋白质的预测分子量为43.56 ku,等电点为7.35。该基因蛋白序列具有1个Amidation位点,2个天冬酰胺N末端糖基化位点,2个CAMP和CGMP依赖性蛋白激酶磷酸化位点,3个酪蛋白激酶Ⅱ磷酸化位点,7个N末端十四烷基化位点,4个蛋白激酶C磷酸化位点,1个RGD细胞附着序列,1个DNAJ-1结构域等热激蛋白40所具有的典型特征。[结论]通过同源性比对分析发现,云南切梢小蠹热激蛋白40基因与家蚕(Bombyx mori)、赤拟谷盗(Tribolium castaneum)、美洲斑潜蝇(Liriomyza sativae)和东亚飞蝗(Locusta migratoria)的热激蛋白40基因在氨基酸水平上一致性为20%~30%,它们的相似性均不高。虽然不同昆虫Hsp40在进化过程中具有高度的保守性,编码序列变异比较低,但是结构域差异与生物体适应外界环境有一定的关系。     

Interferon-gamma: the major mediator of resistance against Toxoplasma gondii

Mice were injected with a monoclonal antibody to interferon-gamma to examine the importance of endogenous production of this lymphokine in resistance against infection with the sporozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii. Mice with intraperitoneal infections of T. gondii that received no antibody survived and developed chronic T. gondii infection, whereas the infected mice that received the monoclonal antibody died of toxoplasmosis. The activation of macrophages, which kill T. gondii in vivo, was inhibited by administration of the monoclonal antibody, but the production of antibodies to T. gondii was not suppressed. The fact that an antibody to interferon-gamma can eliminate resistance to acute Toxoplasma infection in mice suggests that this lymphokine is an important mediator of host resistance to this parasite.     

PCR技术在住肉孢子虫虫种鉴定上的应用

采用 RAPD 方法对水牛梭形住内孢子虫、待定种及黄牛枯氏住内孢子虫缓殖子基因组 DNA 进行了分析,待定种 PCR 产物的电泳带型与枯氏住肉孢子虫的差异较梭形住内孢子虫大,这与二者表型性状一致的研究结果不吻合.对3种包囊种特异性的 PCR 指纹进行了筛选,回收和纯化了3种包囊种特异性的 DNA 片段,待定种0.7kb 片段经α-~(32)PdATP 标记后用作探针,只与同源 DNA 杂交,不与其它包囊、宿主细胞和艾美耳球虫杂交,用 pGEM-T Easy Vector 对该片段克隆成功,并测出其全长序列,为进一步设计特异引物建立标准 PCR 诊断方法和用作核酸探针奠定了基础。     

Signal peptide for protein secretion directing glycophospholipid membrane anchor attachment

Decay accelerating factor (DAF) is anchored to the plasma membrane by a glycophospholipid (GPI) membrane anchor covalently attached to the COOH-terminus of the protein. A hydrophobic domain located at the COOH-terminus is required for anchor attachment; DAF molecules lacking this domain are secreted. Replacement of the COOH-terminal hydrophobic domain with a signal peptide that normally functions in membrane translocation, or with a random hydrophobic sequence, results in efficient and correct processing, producing GPI-anchored DAF on the cell surface. The structural requirements for GPI anchor attachment and for membrane translocation are therefore similar, presumably depending on overall hydrophobicity rather than specific sequences.     

Recognition of HLA-A2 by cytotoxic T lymphocytes after DNA transfer into human and murine cells

A gene coding for the major histocompatibility antigen HLA-A2 was transferred into human HLA-A2 negative M1 cells and murine L cells. Following transfection, these cells expressed molecules at the cell surface that are biochemically indistinguishable from HLA-A2 antigens on the human cell line JY from which the HLA-A2 gene was isolated. The M1A2 cells were recognized and lysed by a cytolytic T-cell clone specific for HLA-A2. The transfected L cells which express HLA-A2 in association with human beta 2-microglobulin were not lysed by this T-cell clone. The specific cytolysis of M1A2 cells could be inhibited by monoclonal antibodies to HLA-A2, and monoclonal antibodies to T3, T8, and LFA-1 on cytotoxic T lymphocytes. These results suggest that killing by allospecific T cells requires HLA-A2 antigens as well as other species-specific structures on the target cell surface.     

YIGSR, a synthetic laminin pentapeptide, inhibits experimental metastasis formation

The invasion of tumor cells through basement membranes is a critical step in the formation of metastases. The binding of the malignant cells to laminin in the basement membranes allows their attachment and activates their invasiveness. Recently a synthetic nonapeptide from the B1 chain sequence of laminin was identified as a major site for cell binding. A pentapeptide within the nonapeptide sequence was found to reduce the formation of lung colonies in mice injected with melanoma cells and also to inhibit the invasiveness of the cells in vitro.