Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0024530 (malaria)
 44,886 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Splenic microarchitecture is substantially altered during acute malaria infections, which may affect the development and regulation of immune responses. Here we investigated whether engagement of host Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2), TLR4, TLR9, and the adaptor protein MyD88 is required for induction of the changes and whether antibody responses are modified when immunization takes place during the period of splenic disruption. The alterations in splenic microarchitecture were maximal shortly after the peak of parasitemia and were not dependent on engagement of TLR2, TLR4, or TLR9, and they were only minimally affected by the absence of the MyD88 adaptor molecule. Although germinal centers were formed in infected mice, they did not contain the usual light and dark zones. Immunization of mice with chicken gamma globulin 2 weeks prior to acute Plasmodium chabaudi infection did not affect the quantity or avidity of the immunoglobulin G antibody response to this antigen. However, immunization at the same time as the primary P. chabaudi infection resulted in a clear transient reduction in antibody avidity in the month following immunization. These data suggest that the alterations in splenic structure, particularly the germinal centers, may affect the quality of an antibody response during a malaria infection and could impact the development of immunity to malaria or to other infections or immunizations given during a malaria infection.
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PMID:Alterations of splenic architecture in malaria are induced independently of Toll-like receptors 2, 4, and 9 or MyD88 and may affect antibody affinity. 1855 28

Plasmodium falciparum GPI contributes to malaria pathology by inducing cytokine release. It has been shown to be recognized through TLR2 and to a lesser extent TLR4 in vitro. However, previous findings on the role of TLRs in parasite clearance or pathology in vivo are conflicting. Thus, we analyzed the impact of TLR-signalling on protection using the P. yoelii infection model. Deficiency of single TLRs as well as triple TLR2/4/9-deficiency had no impact on parasitaemia. In contrast, mice deficient for the adaptor protein MyD88 were more susceptible to P. yoelii infection in that they exhibited an increased parasitaemia in the early phase of the infection and a higher lethality. This phenotype was caused mainly by impaired IL-18 signalling since parasitaemia in IL-18-deficient mice was also increased at early time points during P. yoelii infection compared to wild-type control mice. However, no lethality was observed in IL-18-deficient mice. Since parasitaemia in IL-1R-deficient mice was also slightly increased during P. yoelii infection, impaired IL-1R signalling contributed to the increased susceptibility of MyD88-deficient mice to a lesser extent. These findings correlated with a reduced IFN-gamma production in MyD88- and IL-18-deficient mice, but not in TLR2/4/9-deficient mice. We conclude that mainly IL-18/MyD88-dependent signalling but not TLR2/4/9-signalling is important for early parasite control in our model.
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PMID:MyD88/IL-18-dependent pathways rather than TLRs control early parasitaemia in non-lethal Plasmodium yoelii infection. 1869 53

Malaria-induced sepsis is associated with an intense proinflammatory cytokinemia for which the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. It has been demonstrated that experimental infection of humans with Plasmodium falciparum primes Toll-like receptor (TLR)-mediated proinflammatory responses. Nevertheless, the relevance of this phenomenon during natural infection and, more importantly, the mechanisms by which malaria mediates TLR hyperresponsiveness are unclear. Here we show that TLR responses are boosted in febrile patients during natural infection with P. falciparum. Microarray analyses demonstrated that an extraordinary percentage of the up-regulated genes, including genes involving TLR signaling, had sites for IFN-inducible transcription factors. To further define the mechanism involved in malaria-mediated "priming," we infected mice with Plasmodium chabaudi. The human data were remarkably predictive of what we observed in the rodent malaria model. Malaria-induced priming of TLR responses correlated with increased expression of TLR mRNA in a TLR9-, MyD88-, and IFNgamma-dependent manner. Acutely infected WT mice were highly susceptible to LPS-induced lethality while TLR9(-/-), IL12(-/-) and to a greater extent, IFNgamma(-/-) mice were protected. Our data provide unprecedented evidence that TLR9 and MyD88 are essential to initiate IL12 and IFNgamma responses and favor host hyperresponsiveness to TLR agonists resulting in overproduction of proinflammatory cytokines and the sepsis-like symptoms of acute malaria.
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PMID:Malaria primes the innate immune response due to interferon-gamma induced enhancement of toll-like receptor expression and function. 1929 19

Early interactions between blood-stage Plasmodium parasites and cells of the innate immune system are very important in shaping the adaptive immune response to malaria, and a number of studies have suggested that DC are responsible for this phenomenon. Therefore, we examined the capacity of murine BM-derived DC to internalize parasites, be activated and produce cytokines upon in vitro interaction with murine erythrocytes infected with two different strains of rodent malaria parasites (Plasmodium berghei and Plasmodium chabaudi chabaudi). We show that the increased expression of MHC class II and co-stimulatory molecules and increased production of cytokines by DC following Plasmodium infection involves internalization of infected RBC. Such DC activation not only requires direct cell-to-cell contact and internalization of infected RBC by DC but also involves TLR4, TLR9, MyD88 and signaling via NF-kappaB; however, TLR involvement in survival to Plasmodium infection was found to be negligible.
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PMID:The interaction between DC and Plasmodium berghei/chabaudi-infected erythrocytes in mice involves direct cell-to-cell contact, internalization and TLR. 1958 12

The role of proinflammatory cytokine production in the pathogenesis of malaria is well established, but the identification of the parasite products that initiate inflammation is not complete. Hemozoin is a crystalline metabolite of hemoglobin digestion that is released during malaria infection. In the present study, we characterized the immunostimulatory activity of pure synthetic hemozoin (sHz) in vitro and in vivo. Stimulation of naive murine macrophages with sHz results in the MyD88-independent activation of NF-kappaB and ERK, as well as the release of the chemokine MCP-1; these responses are augmented by IFN-gamma. In macrophages prestimulated with IFN-gamma, sHz also results in a MyD88-dependent release of TNF-alpha. Endothelial cells, which encounter hemozoin after schizont rupture, respond to sHz by releasing IL-6 and the chemokines MCP-1 and IL-8. In vivo, the introduction of sHz into the peritoneal cavity produces an inflammatory response characterized by neutrophil recruitment and the production of MCP-1, KC, IL-6, IL-1alpha, and IL-1beta. MCP-1 and KC are produced independently of MyD88, TLR2/4 and TLR9, and components of the inflammasome; however, neutrophil recruitment, the localized production of IL-1beta, and the increase in circulating IL-6 require MyD88 signaling, the IL-1R pathway, and the inflammasome components ICE (IL-1beta-converting enzyme), ASC (apoptosis-associated, speck-like protein containing CARD), and NALP3. Of note, inflammasome activation by sHz is reduced by allopurinol, which is an inhibitor of uric acid synthesis. These data suggest that uric acid is released during malaria infection and may serve to augment the initial host response to hemozoin via activation of the NALP3 inflammasome.
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PMID:Pure Hemozoin is inflammatory in vivo and activates the NALP3 inflammasome via release of uric acid. 1978 73

Although whole-parasite vaccine strategies for malaria infection have regained attention, their immunological mechanisms of action remain unclear. We find that immunization of mice with a crude blood stage extract of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum elicits parasite antigen-specific immune responses via Toll-like receptor (TLR) 9 and that the malarial heme-detoxification byproduct, hemozoin (HZ), but not malarial DNA, produces a potent adjuvant effect. Malarial and synthetic (s)HZ bound TLR9 directly to induce conformational changes in the receptor. The adjuvant effect of sHZ depended on its method of synthesis and particle size. Although natural HZ acts as a TLR9 ligand, the adjuvant effects of synthetic HZ are independent of TLR9 or the NLRP3-inflammasome but are dependent on MyD88. The adjuvant function of sHZ was further validated in a canine antiallergen vaccine model. Thus, HZ can influence adaptive immune responses to malaria infection and may have therapeutic value in vaccine adjuvant development.
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PMID:Immunogenicity of whole-parasite vaccines against Plasmodium falciparum involves malarial hemozoin and host TLR9. 2011 22

There is considerable debate as to the nature of the primary parasite-derived moieties that activate innate pro-inflammatory responses during malaria infection. Microparticles (MPs), which are produced by numerous cell types following vesiculation of the cellular membrane as a consequence of cell death or immune-activation, exert strong pro-inflammatory activity in other disease states. Here we demonstrate that MPs, derived from the plasma of malaria infected mice, but not naive mice, induce potent activation of macrophages in vitro as measured by CD40 up-regulation and TNF production. In vitro, these MPs induced significantly higher levels of macrophage activation than intact infected red blood cells. Immunofluorescence staining revealed that MPs contained significant amounts of parasite material indicating that they are derived primarily from infected red blood cells rather than platelets or endothelial cells. MP driven macrophage activation was completely abolished in the absence of MyD88 and TLR-4 signalling. Similar levels of immunogenic MPs were produced in WT and in TNF(-/-), IFN-gamma(-/-), IL-12(-/-) and RAG-1(-/-) malaria-infected mice, but were not produced in mice injected with LPS, showing that inflammation is not required for the production of MPs during malaria infection. This study therefore establishes parasitized red blood cell-derived MPs as a major inducer of systemic inflammation during malaria infection, raising important questions about their role in severe disease and in the generation of adaptive immune responses.
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PMID:Parasite-derived plasma microparticles contribute significantly to malaria infection-induced inflammation through potent macrophage stimulation. 2012 48

Dendritic cells (DCs) play a crucial role in the development of protective immunity to malaria. However, it remains unclear how malaria parasites trigger immune responses in DCs. In this study, we purified merozoites, food vacuoles, and parasite membrane fragments released during the Plasmodium falciparum schizont burst to homogeneity and tested for the activation of bone marrow-derived DCs from wild-type and TLR2(-/-), TLR4(-/-), TLR9(-/-), and MyD88(-/-) C57BL/6J mice. The results demonstrate that a protein-DNA complex is the exclusive parasite component that activates DCs by a TLR9-dependent pathway to produce inflammatory cytokines. Complex formation with proteins is essential for the entry of parasite DNA into DCs for TLR9 recognition and, thus, proteins convert inactive DNA into a potent immunostimulatory molecule. Exogenous cationic polymers, polylysine and chitosan, can impart stimulatory activity to parasite DNA, indicating that complex formation involves ionic interactions. Merozoites and DNA-protein complex could also induce inflammatory cytokine responses in human blood DCs. Hemozoin is neither a TLR9 ligand for DCs nor functions as a carrier of DNA into cells. Additionally, although TLR9 is critical for DCs to induce the production of IFN-gamma by NK cells, this receptor is not required for NK cells to secret IFN-gamma, and cell-cell contact among myeloid DCs, plasmacytoid DCs, and NK cells is required for IFN-gamma production. Together, these results contribute substantially toward the understanding of malaria parasite-recognition mechanisms. More importantly, our finding that proteins and carbohydrate polymers are able to confer stimulatory activity to an otherwise inactive parasite DNA have important implications for the development of a vaccine against malaria.
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PMID:Protein-DNA complex is the exclusive malaria parasite component that activates dendritic cells and triggers innate immune responses. 2072 96

Endemic Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) is considered to preferentially develop in equatorial Africa because of chronic co-infection with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and the malaria pathogen Plasmodium falciparum. The interaction and contribution of both pathogens in the oncogenic process are poorly understood. Earlier, we showed that immune activation with a synthetic Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) ligand suppresses the initiation of EBV lytic replication in primary human B cells. In this study we investigate the mechanism involved in the suppression of EBV lytic gene expression in BL cell lines. We show that this suppression is dependent on functional TLR9 and MyD88 signaling but independent of downstream signaling elements, including phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase, mitogen-activated protein kinases and nuclear factor-kappaB. We identified TLR9 triggering resulting in histone modifications to negatively affect the activation of the promoter of EBV's master regulatory lytic gene BZLF1. Finally, we show that P. falciparum hemozoin, a natural TLR9 ligand, suppresses induction of EBV lytic gene expression in a dose-dependent manner. Thus, we provide evidence for a possible interaction between P. falciparum and EBV at the B-cell level and the mechanism involved in suppressing lytic and thereby reinforcing latent EBV that has unique oncogenic potential.
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PMID:TLR9 triggering in Burkitt's lymphoma cell lines suppresses the EBV BZLF1 transcription via histone modification. 2051 21

The innate immune system uses inflammation to respond to infection of humans by various parasitic organisms and in some individuals can produce a hyperinflammatory response to infection by the human malaria parasites Plasmodium falciparum and vivax, leading to a more severe form of the disease-cerebral malaria (CM). Toll-like receptors (TLRs) 2 and 4 and members of its signaling pathway, including myeloid differentiation primary response protein (MyD88), MyD88 adapter-like protein (MAL) and suppressor of cytokine signaling 1 (SOCS1), are involved in this inflammatory response. A number of studies have suggested a possible role for MAL in developing CM and that modulating the behavior of MAL may prevent such complications. Mutagenesis studies have suggested that MAL becomes active after phosphorylation of tyrosines and the computational studies presented here characterize the possible roles of two tyrosines-Tyr86 and Tyr106-in MAL activity. The effects of phosphorylation on the structure of MAL and on its binding with two binding partners MyD88 and SOCS1 are studied here. The results suggest that phosphorylation of Tyr86 leads to conformational changes in the BB loop of MAL, and this conformational switch forms the interface for binding with MyD88. Similarly, our results suggest that phosphorylation of Tyr106 contributes to the stability of MAL-MyD88 dimer formation, and may form a possible binding site for SOCS1. Thus, our study supports roles for tyrosines 86 and 106 in signaling pathways involving MAL, and hence as potential drug targets against hyperinflammatory response to infection by Plasmodium falciparum and vivax.
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PMID:In-silico characterization of the effects of phosphorylated tyrosines 86 and 106 on structure and binding of MAL: insight into hyperinflammatory response to infection by the human malaria parasites. 2082 78


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