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Herbicide paraquat induces sex-specific variation of neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration in Drosophila melanogaster

2014-12-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Herbicide paraquat induces sex-specific variation of neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration in Drosophila melanogaster Authors: Dalui, Shauryabrota; Bhattacharyya, Arindam Abstract: There are several reports on herbicide paraquat (PQ)-induced Parkinsonian-like pathology in different animal models, including Drosophila melanogaster. Also, the role of some inflammatory factors, such as nitric oxide is reported in PQ-induced neuroinflammation of Drosophila. Although invertebrate model is valuable to study the conserved inflammatory pathway at the time of neurodegeneration, but neuroinflammation during PQ-mediated neurodegeneration has not been studied explicitly in Drosophila. In this study, the inflammatory response was examined in Drosophila model during PQ-induced neurodegeneration. We found that after exposure to PQ, survivability and locomotion ability were affected in both sexes of Drosophila. Behavioural symptoms indicated similar physiological features of Parkinson’s disease (PD) in different animal models, as well as in humans. Our study revealed alteration in proinflamatory factor, TNF-α and Eiger (the Drosophila homologue in TNF superfamily) was changed in PQ-treated Drosophila both at protein and mRNA level during neurodegeneration. To ensure the occurrence of neurodegeneration, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) positive neuronal cell loss was considered as a hallmark of PD in the fly brain. Thus, our result revealed the conserved inflammatory events in terms of expression of TNF-α and Eiger present during a sublethal dose of PQ-administered neurodegeneration in male and female Drosophila with significant variation in proinflamatory factor level among both the sexes. Page(s): 567-573

Lys-413 of S-phase mRNA cycling sequence binding protein from Leishmania donovani (LdCSBP) is modified through monoubiquitination that is responsible for inhibition of its riboendonuclease activity

2014-12-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Lys-413 of S-phase mRNA cycling sequence binding protein from Leishmania donovani (LdCSBP) is modified through monoubiquitination that is responsible for inhibition of its riboendonuclease activity Authors: Guha, Kasturi; Das, Sneha; Saha, Partha Abstract: In addition to well-known process of proteasome-mediated degradation of polyubiquitinated proteins, monoubiquitination of proteins is also an important post-translational modification that regulates various non-degradative cellular processes like protein trafficking, cellular signalling, DNA replication and DNA repair. We have previously characterized a multi-domain cycling sequence binding protein LdCSBP from Leishmania donovani, which binds specifically to a conserved CAUAGAAG octamer containing RNAs via its uniquely arranged CCCH type Zn-fingers and degrades them using its Smr endonuclease domain, indicative of its potential role in the turnover of the S-phase mRNAs. Remarkably, its riboendonuclease activity is inhibited due to the incorporation of a monoubiquitin residue in the ZnF domain, though the target Lys residue remains unknown. Here, we report through systematic mutation of Lys residue to Ala that Lys-413 in LdCSBP is the site of monoubiquitination. However, the amino acid motif around the target Lys in LdCSBP is not consensus with any previously known monoubiquitination site, though partial homology is observed with a subset of recently identified mammalian ubiquitination target sites. Interestingly, Lys-413 of LdCSBP is conserved in the homologous annotated proteins from the related kinetoplastida parasites, suggesting similar monoubiquitination-mediated regulation of RNA endonuclease activity in the organisms. Page(s): 559-566

Leishmania donovani secretory serine protease alters macrophage inflammatory response via COX-2 mediated PGE-2 production

2014-12-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Leishmania donovani secretory serine protease alters macrophage inflammatory response via COX-2 mediated PGE-2 production Authors: Das, Partha; De, Tripti; Chakraborti, Tapati Abstract: Leishmania parasites determine the outcome of the infection by inducing inflammatory response that suppresses macrophage’s activation. Defense against Leishmania is dependent on Th1 inflammatory response by turning off macrophages’ microbicidal property by upregulation of COX-2, as well as immunosuppressive PGE-2 production. To understand the role of L. donovani secretory serine protease (pSP) in these phenomena, pSP was inhibited by its antibody and serine protease inhibitor, aprotinin. Western blot and TAME assay demonstrated that pSP antibody and aprotinin significantly inhibited protease activity in the live Leishmania cells and reduced infection index of L. donovani-infected macrophages. Additionally, ELISA and RT-PCR analysis showed that treatment with pSP antibody or aprotinin hold back COX-2-mediated immunosuppressive PGE-2 secretion with enhancement of Th1 cytokine like IL-12 expression. This was also supported in Griess test and NBT assay, where inhibition of pSP with its inhibitors elevated ROS and NO production. Overall, our study implies the pSP is involved in down-regulation of macrophage microbicidal activity by inducing host inflammatory responses in terms of COX-2-mediated PGE-2 release with diminished reactive oxygen species generation and thus suggests its importance as a novel drug target of visceral leishmaniasis. Page(s): 542-551

TLR4-mediated activation of MyD88 signaling induces protective immune response and IL-10 down-regulation in Leishmania donovani infection

2014-12-01T00:00:00Z

Title: TLR4-mediated activation of MyD88 signaling induces protective immune response and IL-10 down-regulation in Leishmania donovani infection Authors: Paul, Joydeep; Naskar, Kshudiram; Chowdhury, Sayan; Alam, Md. Nur; Chakraborti, Tapati; De, Tripti Abstract: In visceral leishmaniasis, a fragmentary IL-12 driven type 1 immune response along with the expansion of IL-10 producing T-cells correlates with parasite burden and pathogenesis. Successful immunotherapy involves both suppression of IL-10 production and enhancement of IL-12 and nitric oxide (NO) production. As custodians of the innate immunity, the toll-like receptors (TLRs) constitute the first line of defense against invading pathogens. The TLR-signaling cascade initiated following innate recognition of microbes shapes the adaptive immune response. Whereas numerous studies have correlated parasite control to the adaptive response in Leishmania infection, growing body of evidence suggests that the activation of the innate immune response also plays a pivotal role in disease pathogenicity. In this study, using a TLR4 agonist, a Leishmania donovani (LD) derived 29 kDa β 1,4 galactose terminal glycoprotein (GP29), we demonstrated that the TLR adaptor myeloid differentiation primary response protein-88 (MyD88) was essential for optimal immunity following LD infection. Treatment of LD-infected cells with GP29 stimulated the production of IL-12 and NO while suppressing IL-10 production. Treatment of LD-infected cells with GP29 also induced the degradation of IKB and the nuclear translocation of NF-kB, as well as rapid phosphorylation of p³⁸ MAPK and p54/56 JNK. Knockdown of TLR4 or MYD88 using siRNA showed reduced inflammatory response to GP29 in LD-infected cells. Biochemical inhibition of p³⁸ MAPK, JNK or NF-kB, but not p42/44 ERK, reduced GP29-induced IL-12 and NO production in LD-infected cells. These results suggested a potential role for the TLR4-MyD88–IL-12 pathway to induce adaptive immune responses to LD infection that culminated in an effective control of intracellular parasite replication. Page(s): 531-541