An estimated 500 million cases of malaria occur each year. The increasing prevalence of drug resistant strains of Plasmodium in most malaria endemic areas has significantly reduced the efficacy of current antimalarial drugs for prophylaxis and treatment of this disease. Therefore, discovery of new, inexpensive, and effective drugs are urgently needed to combat this disease. Marine biodiversity is an enormous source of novel chemical entities and has been barely investigated for antimalarial drug discovery. In an effort to discover novel therapeutics for malaria, we studied the antimalarial activities of a unique marine-derived peak fraction library provided by Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (HBOI). Within this unique library, we have screened 2,830 marine natural product (MNP) peak fractions through a medium throughput screening effort utilizing the SYBR Green-I fluorescence based assay, and have identified 253 fractions that exhibit antimalarial activity. From those inhibiting fractions we have identified twenty species of marine organisms that inhibit Plasmodium falciparum growth, from which thirty-five fractions were selected for further study. Among those thirty-five, eighty-three percent were also found to inhibit the chloroquine resistant strain of P. falciparum, Dd2. The most potent inhibitors were then screened for their cytotoxic properties using the MTT cell viability assay. Among the samples that exhibited potent inhibition of P. falciparum growth were fractions derived from a sponge of the genus Spongosorites sp.. This genus of sponge has been reported to contain the nortopsentin and topsentin class of bis-indole imidazole alkaloids. Nortopsentin A inhibited the parasite growth at the trophozoite stage with an IC50 value of 1.6 µM. This is the first report of antimalarial activity for this class of compound.

Active lipid metabolism is a key process required for the intra-erythrocytic development of the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. Enzymes that hydrolyze host-derived lipids play key roles in parasite growth, virulence, differentiation, cell-signaling and hemozoin formation. Therefore, investigating enzymes involved in lipid degradation could uncover novel drug targets. We have identified in P. falciparum, a glycerophosphodiester phosphodiesterase (PfGDPD), involved in the downstream pathway of phosphatidylcholine degradation. PfGDPD hydrolyzes deacylated phospholipids, glycerophosphodiesters to glycerol-3-phosphate and choline. In this study, we have characterized PfGDPD using bioinformatics, biochemical and genetic approaches. Knockout experiments showed a requirement for PfGDPD for parasite survival. Sequence analysis revealed PfGDPD possesses the unique GDPD insertion domain sharing a cluster of conserved residues present in other GDPD homologues. We generated yellow fluorescent fusion proteins that revealed a complex distribution of PfGDPD within the parasite cytosol, parasitophorous vacuole and food vacuole. To gain insight into the role of PfGDPD, sub-cellular localization was modulated and resulted in a shift in protein distribution, which elicited no growth phenotype. Kinetic analyses suggest PfGDPD activity is Mg₂⁺ dependent and catalytically efficient at the neutral pH environment of the parasitophorous vacuole. Next, our aim was to determine the upstream pathway that provides deacylated glycerophosphodiesters as substrate for PfGDPD. We identified via bioinformatics, a P. falciparum lysophospholipase (PfLPL1) that directly generates the substrate. Knockout clones were generated and genotyped by Southern and PCR analysis. The effects of PfLPL1 knockouts on parasite fitness were studied, and the results showed that PfLPL1was not required for parasite survival and proliferation. / Ph. D.

As part of an International Cooperative Biodiversity Group (ICBG) program and a collaborative research project with the Natural Products Discovery Institute, four plant extracts were investigated for their antiproliferative and antiplasmodial activities. With the guidance of bioassay guided fractionation, two known antiproliferative terpenoids (2.1 and 2.2) were isolated from Hypoestes sp. (Acanthaceae), four known antiplasmodial liminoids (3.1-3.4) were isolated from Carapa guianensis (Meliaceae), one inactive terpenoid (4.1) was isolated from Erica maesta (Ericaceae), and four cerebrosides (4.2-4.5) were obtained from Hohenbergia antillana (Bromeliaceae). The structures of these compounds were elucidated by using 1D (1H and 13C), 2D (HMBC, HSQC, COSY, NOESY) NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. The structures of the compounds were also confirmed by comparing them with reported values from the literature. Compounds 2.1 and 2.2 showed moderate antiproliferative activity against the A2780 human ovarian cancer cell line with IC50 values of 6.9 uM and 3.4 uM, respectively. They also exhibited moderate antiplasmodial activity against chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium falciparum strain Dd2 with IC50 values of 9.9 ± 1.4 uM and 2.8 ± 0.7 uM, respectively. Compounds 3.1 to 3.4 had moderate antiplasmodial activity against Plasmodium falciparum Dd2 strain with IC50 values of 2.0 ± 0.3 uM, 2.1 ± 0.1 uM, 2.1 ± 0.2 uM and 2.8 ± 0.2 uM, respectively. Compounds 4.1 and 4.2 showed very weak antiplasmodial activity against Plasmodium falciparum Dd2 strain, with IC50 values between 5 and 10 ug/mL. / Master of Science

Malaria continues to be a global health burden that affects millions of people worldwide each year. Increasing demand for malaria control and eradication has led research to focus on sexual development of the malaria parasite. Sexual development is initiated when pre-destined intraerythrocytic ring stage parasites leave asexual reproduction and develop into gametocytes. A mosquito vector will ingest mature gametocytes during a blood meal. Sexual reproduction will occur in the midgut, leading to the production of sporozoites that will migrate to the salivary gland. The sporozoites will be injected to another human host during the next blood meal consequently, transmitting malaria. Due to decreased drug susceptibility of mature gametocytes, more investigation of the biology and metabolic requirements of malaria parasites during gametocytogenesis, as well as during the mosquito stages, are urgently needed to reveal novel targets for development of transmission-blocking agents. Furthermore, increasing drug resistance of the parasites to current antimalarials, including slowed clearance rates to artemisinin, requires the discovery of innovative drugs against asexual intraerythrocytic stages with novel mechanisms of action. Here, we have investigated the role of the apicoplast during Plasmodium falciparum gametocytogenesis. In addition, we describe drug-screening studies that have elucidated a novel mode of action of one compound from the Malaria Box, as well as identified new natural product compounds that may be serve as starting molecules for antimalarial development. / Ph. D.

Malaria is a parasitic infectious disease that results in millions of clinical cases per year and accounts for approximately 1 million deaths annually. Because the parasite has developed resistance to all current antimalarials, new therapies are urgently needed. Purine and pyrimidine biosynthesis for DNA and RNA synthesis has been recognized as a source of therapeutic targets. Targeted metabolite profiling has aided in the understanding of several biological processes in the parasite besides drug discovery. Therefore, having a robust analytical platform to quantify the purines and pyrimidines is of a great value. For this purpose an ion pair reversed phase ultra-performance liquid chromatography in tandem with mass spectrometry method was developed and validated. In addition, the apicoplast is an organelle present in the malaria parasite and other apicomplexan parasites. It was demonstrated that the apicoplast is essential for parasite's survival. The supply of isopentenyl diphosphate and dimethylallyl diphosphate for isoprenoid biosynthesis is the sole function of this organelle in the asexual intraerythrocytic stages. Isoprenoid precursors are synthesized through the methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathway in the malaria parasite while humans utilize the mevalonate pathway. Therefore, the MEP pathway is a source of drug targets for drug development. Our group has identified MMV008138 as anti-apicoplast inhibitor through phenotypic screening. Preliminary data suggest that the molecular target of MMV008138 may be within the MEP pathway. We used proteomic and metabolomic approaches to identify the molecular target of MMV008138 to aid future medicinal chemistry to improve the efficacy of this inhibitor. / Master of Science

No description available.

Malaria caused by the protozan parasite Plasmodium is one of the most serious infectious diseases in the developing world. It is estimated that malaria causes an annual mortality rate of ~627,000. New drugs are urgently required, as the incidence of resistance is spreading rapidly. Glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchored proteins decorate the merozoite surface and several of which, including merozoite surface proteins - 1 and -2 have previously been shown to be essential for erythrocyte invasion and parasite survival. Plasmodium GPI-anchors contain a glycan core consisting of four mannose residues. Therefore, the enzymes involved in the synthesis of activated mannose, guanidine diphosphomannose pyrophosphorylase (GDP-Man PP) and dolichol phosphate mannose synthase (DPMS), are thought to be crucial for GPI-anchor biosynthesis and as such potential drug targets. Double homologous recombination has been exploited to test whether PfGDP-Man PP and PfDPMS are essential during the erythrocytic portion of the parasite's life cycle. Additionally, overexpression parasite lines for both enzymes have been generated and have shown that the regulation of the two enzymes are intricately linked. Focused metabolomics by multi-reaction monitoring of the overexpression lines suggests that the fucosylation pathway may have a novel function within the parasite, possibly as a dynamic store for activated fucose/mannose. In order to determine the cellular concentration of key metabolites within the parasite, the volumes of the intra-erythrocytic stages have been determined and show that the concentration of metabolites in the ring stage parasites is substantially higher than previously thought. Furthermore, the sub-cellular localisation of GDP-Man PP and DPMS has been determined by immunofluorescence assay. The recombinant expression of DPMS in E. coli allowed its active site residues to be probed as well as establishing a platform for inhibitors to be screened against the enzyme. Finally, inhibitors of the T. brucei DPMS enzyme have been screened against the P. falciparum parasites in culture.

L'objectif général de cette thèse était d'étudier le rôle des anticorps dans la susceptibilité ou la résistance au paludisme chez de jeunes enfants béninois exposés naturellement aux infections palustres durant leurs deux premières années de vie. Deux projets complémentaires (PALNOUGENENV et TOLIMMUNPAL) ont été mises en place au Bénin et consistaient à suivre des mères et leurs enfants. Dans le cadre du projet PALNOUGENENV, l'étude incluait 600 mères à l'accouchement et a suivi leurs enfants pendant les dix-huit premiers mois de vie dans le but d’étudier les conséquences de l’infection placentaire palustre chez les mères sur la survenue des premières infections palustres chez les nouveau-nés. Suite au projet PALNOUGENENV, il semblait important de connaitre le statut palustre de la mère pendant la grossesse et pas seulement à l’accouchement. Le projet TOLIMMUNPAL a donc été mis en place et incluait 400 mères et leurs enfants. Les mères ont été inclues à la première consultation prénatale et suivies au niveau parasitologique et clinique jusqu'à l'accouchement et leurs enfants ont été suivis de la naissance jusqu'à 24 mois dans le but d'étudier des déterminants environnementaux, biologiques et génétiques impliqués dans le développement de la tolérance immunitaire associée au paludisme et ses conséquences sur la protection de la femme enceinte et du jeune enfant. Plus spécifiquement, nous avons étudié chez ces enfants les relations entre l'infection palustre et les niveaux d'anticorps spécifiquement dirigés contre les antigènes candidats vaccins les plus avancés du stade érythrocytaire d'une part et la capacité des anticorps à inhiber le développement in vitro de P. falciparum d'autre part. Nos résultats mettent en évidence une association dans la cohorte PALNOUGENENV entre les niveaux élevés des sous-classes cytophiles IgG1 dirigées contre les antigènes candidats vaccins MSP1 (p<0,001, OR=0,90) et IgG3 anti-MSP2 (p<0,001, OR=0,89) et la protection contre l'infection palustre. Dans la cohorte TOLIMMUNPAL, les hauts niveaux d'IgG2 anti-GLURP R2 (p=0.05, OR=2.10) ont plutôt été associés au risque d'infection palustre. L'analyse fonctionnelle des IgG en utilisant le test GIA a révélé que l'infection par P. falciparum au moment du prélèvement affectait la capacité des IgG à inhiber la croissance parasitaire in vitro. Les IgG purifiées à partir d'échantillons collectés chez des individus infectés par P. falciparum avaient une capacité moyenne d'inhibition de la croissance parasitaire inférieure (p=0.003, Wilcoxon matched pairs test) de 19 % à celles purifiées à partir de plasmas d'enfants non infectés. Une corrélation inverse a été observée entre l'âge et la capacité des anticorps à inhiber l'invasion des globules rouges par le parasite. Aucune association entre les niveaux d'anticorps et leur capacité à inhiber le développement du parasite in vitro n'a été mis en évidence. Dans le cadre du développement du test Antibody-Dependent Respiratory Burst (ADRB), les cellules promyélocytaires de la lignée PLB 985W ont été utilisées. Ces cellules ont la capacité de se différencier en neutrophiles sous l'action du DMSO. Nos résultats ont montré que cette lignée a une faible capacité à produire les espèces réactives d'oxygène (ROS) comparés aux neutrophiles humains et les niveaux de ROS produits par cette lignée cellulaire sont insuffisants pour être utilisés dans le test ADRB. Nos résultats confortent le rôle important des antigènes candidats vaccins MSP1 et MSP2 dans la protection contre le paludisme. Cette relation est essentiellement établie au regard des quantités d’anticorps spécifiques produits, l’étude de fonctionnalité des anticorps employant le test GIA n’ayant pas permis de mettre en évidence de relation claire à la protection. (...) / The aim of this thesis was to study the role of antibodies in susceptibility or resistance to malaria in young Beninese children naturally exposed to malaria infections during their first two years of life. Two complementary projects (PALNOUGENENV and TOLIMMUNPAL) were implemented in Benin to identify individual factors of malaria susceptibility. The PALNOUGENENV cohort included 600 mothers at delivery and their children from birth to 18 months of age in order to study the effects of placental malaria infection in mothers on first occurrence of malaria infections in newborns. In the TOLIMMUNPAL cohort 400 mothers were included at the first antenatal visit and followed until delivery while their infants were followed from birth to 24 months in order to study environmental determinants, biological and genetic involved in the development of immune tolerance associated with malaria and its impact on the protection of pregnant women and infants. Specifically, the association between malaria infection and the level of antibodies specifically directed against the most advanced vaccine candidate antigens of the erythrocyte stage on one hand and the ability of antibodies to inhibit in vitro the development of P. falciparum on the other hand were investigated. Our results show an association in the cohort PALNOUGENENV between high levels of IgG1 to MSP1 19 vaccine candidate antigens (p <0.001, OR = 0.90) and IgG3 to MSP2 3D7 (p <0.001, OR = 0.89) and protection against malaria infection. In the TOLIMMUNPAL cohort, high levels of IgG2 to GLURP R2 (p = 0.05, OR = 2.10) were instead associated with an increased risk of malaria infection. Functional analysis of IgG using the GIA test revealed that the infection with P. falciparum at the sampling time affected the ability of IgG to inhibit parasite growth in vitro. The purified IgG from individuals infected with P. falciparum when the sample was collected had an average 19% lower capacity of inhibition of parasite growth (p = 0.003, Wilcoxon matched pairs test) than those that were uninfected at the time of sampling. An inverse correlation was found between age and the ability of antibodies to inhibit in vitro invasion of red blood cells by the parasite. There was no association between antibody levels and ability to inhibit the in vitro parasite development. In the development of the Antibody-Dependent Respiratory Burst (ADRB) assay, the promyelocytic cell line PLB 985W was used. These cells have the capacity to differentiate into neutrophils after exposure to DMSO. Our results showed a low ability of this cell line to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) compared to human neutrophils and ROS levels produced by this cell line are insufficient to be used in the test ADRB. Our results confirm the important role of MSP1 19 and MSP2 3D7 vaccine candidate antigens in malaria protection. Although the levels of antibodies to MSP1 19 and MSP2 3D7 were associated with decrease risk of P. falciparum infection, the functional study of antibody using the GIA assay did not allow demonstrating the relationship to protection. Investigation on the functional role of antibodies is complex as IgG could act through multiple direct or indirect mechanisms. We will continue to investigate the functional role of antibody, particularly in plasma samples from our two birth cohorts by using the ADRB assay. Results will aid in providing new information to the existing knowledge gap and will help in malaria vaccine development.

Um importante fator de patogenicidade de P. falciparum, causador da malária, é a presença de antígenos altamente polimórficos, codificados por famílias multigênicas como var e rif. O grande polimorfismo destes genes em isolados de diferentes regiões contrasta com o fato de existirem, em diferentes isolados de campo brasileiros, alelos conservados. Respostas humorais contra estas proteínas são consideradas importantes na aquisição de proteção contra os sintomas da doença em regiões endêmicas. Portanto, medimos a resposta humoral contra antígenos recombinantes PfEMP1 e RIFIN e detectamos níveis baixos de resposta tanto em indivíduos sintomáticos quanto em indivíduos assintomáticos infectados pelo parasita. Estas respostas foram baixas quando comparadas às respostas contra MSP119 da superfície do merozoíta e parecem ser de curta duração. Com base nestes resultados, as respostas contra domínios DBLa, em situações hipoendêmicas, parecem ocorrer em função da presença do parasita circulante, e não são relacionadas à proteção contra os sintomas clínicos da doença. / An important factor in the pathogenicity of P. falciparum, the causing agent of malaria is the expression of highly polymorphic antigens encoded by the multigene families var and rif. The extreme polymorphism of these genes in strains from different geographical regions is in contrast with the observation of a number of conserved alleles found in Amazonian isolates. The humoral response against these proteins is considered an important factor in the immunity against symptomatic infection in áreas with high transmission. We measured the antibody response against recombinant PfEMP1 and RIFIN antigens and detected low responsiveness of symptomatic and asymptomatic malaria infected individuals. These responses were not only weak when compared to the anti-merozoite surface protein 1 response, but also ceased rapidly after the removal of circulating parasites. On the basis of these results, the response against DBLa seems to be dependent on the presence of parasites and not important for the observed protection against symptomatic infection in hypoendemic settings.

A malária é causada por parasitas Plasmodium falciparum, e embora vários aspectos ainda sejam desconhecidos, é sabido que a regulação do ciclo intraeritrocítico é crítica para a compreensão do ciclo celular e patogênese. A melatonina modula o ciclo de P. falciparum promovendo a sincronização, mas, o mecanismo de transdução de sinal é parcialmente caracterizado, envolvendo variações citosólicas de cálcio, AMPc e ativação da PKA. Modificações pós-traducionais participam na via de sinalização, e diversas proteínas quinase podem estar envolvidas na sinalização por melatonina. eIF2&#945; fosforilado é capaz de ativar a tradução de mRNAs em resposta a situações desfavoráveis. O genoma de P. falciparum codifica três quinases cujo substrato é eIF2&#945;: PfeIK1, PfeIK2 e PfPK4. Investigamos o papel da PfeIK1 na via de transdução de sinal de melatonina usando cepas nocaute para PfeIK1. Além disso, os efeitos de metabólitos da degradação do heme sobre a fosforilação de eIF2&#945;. Sugerimos que o mecanismo de fosforilação e defosforilação de eIF2&#945; possam ser relevantes para a resposta do parasita a hemina ou biliverdina. Nossos dados indicam a PfeIK1, juntamente com a PfK7 e PKA, como quinases-chaves no controle do desenvolvimento durante o ciclo intraeritrocítico. / Malaria is caused by Plasmodium falciparum parasites, and although some aspects are still unknown, its established that the intraerythrocytic cycle regulation is critic for understanding the cell cycle and pathogenesis of the parasite. Melatonin modulates the cycle of P. falciparum promoting synchronization; however, the signal transduction mechanism is partially characterized, and it contains cytosolic variations of calcium, AMPc and PKA activation. Post-translational modifications participate in this signal pathway, and several kinase proteins may be involved in melatonin signaling pathway. Phosphorylated eIF2&#945; is able to activate mRNAs translation in stress conditions. The genome of P. falciparum encodes three kinases whose substrate is eIF2&#945;: PfeIK1, PfeIK2 e PfPK4. We investigate the role of PfeIK1 in melatonin signaling pathway by using knockout strains for PfeIK1. Furthermore, we investigate the effects of heme degradation metabolities in eIF2&#945; phosphorylation. We suggest that the phosphorylation and dephosphorylation mechanisms of eIF2&#945; may be relevant for parasite response to heme and billiverdin. Our data indicates PfeIK1, PfK7 and PKA as key kinases for the development control during intraerythrocytic cycle.