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The Plasmodium Bottleneck: Malaria Parasite Losses In The Mosquito Vector, Ryan C. Smith, Joel Vega-Rodríguez, Marcelo Jacobs-Lorena
The Plasmodium Bottleneck: Malaria Parasite Losses In The Mosquito Vector, Ryan C. Smith, Joel Vega-Rodríguez, Marcelo Jacobs-Lorena
Ryan C. Smith
Nearly one million people are killed every year by the malaria parasite Plasmodium. Although the disease-causing forms of the parasite exist only in the human blood, mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles are the obligate vector for transmission. Here, we review the parasite life cycle in the vector and highlight the human and mosquito contributions that limit malaria parasite development in the mosquito host. We address parasite killing in its mosquito host and bottlenecks in parasite numbers that might guide intervention strategies to prevent transmission.
Immunization Against A Merozoite Sheddase Promotes Multiple Invasion Of Red Blood Cells And Attenuates Plasmodium Infection In Mice, Ryan C. Smith, Daisy D. Colón-López, Jürgen Bosch
Immunization Against A Merozoite Sheddase Promotes Multiple Invasion Of Red Blood Cells And Attenuates Plasmodium Infection In Mice, Ryan C. Smith, Daisy D. Colón-López, Jürgen Bosch
Ryan C. Smith
Subtilisin-like protease 2 (SUB2) is a conserved serine protease utilized by Plasmodium parasites as a surface sheddase required for successful merozoite invasion of host red blood cells and has been implicated in ookinete invasion of the mosquito midgut. To determine if SUB2 is a suitable vaccine target to interfere with malaria parasite development, the effects of SUB2-immunization on the Plasmodium life cycle were examined in its vertebrate and invertebrate hosts. Swiss Webster mice were immunized with SUB2 peptides conjugated to Keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) or KLH alone, and then challenged with Plasmodium berghei. To determine the effects of immunization on …
Regulation Of Anti-Plasmodium Immunity By A Litaf-Like Transcription Factor In The Malaria Vector Anopheles Gambiae, Ryan C. Smith, Abraham G. Eappen, Andrea J. Radtke, Marcelo Jacobs-Lorena
Regulation Of Anti-Plasmodium Immunity By A Litaf-Like Transcription Factor In The Malaria Vector Anopheles Gambiae, Ryan C. Smith, Abraham G. Eappen, Andrea J. Radtke, Marcelo Jacobs-Lorena
Ryan C. Smith
The mosquito is the obligate vector for malaria transmission. To complete its development within the mosquito, the malaria parasite Plasmodium must overcome the protective action of the mosquito innate immune system. Here we report on the involvement of the Anopheles gambiae orthologue of a conserved component of the vertebrate immune system, LPS-induced TNFα transcription factor (LITAF), and its role in mosquito anti-Plasmodium immunity. An. gambiae LITAF-like 3 (LL3) expression is up-regulated in response to midgut invasion by both rodent and human malaria parasites. Silencing of LL3 expression greatly increases parasite survival, indicating that LL3 is part of an anti-Plasmodium defense …