Understanding and Interfering with the Moving-Junction that drives Invasion in apicomplexan parasites (MOVINGJUNCTION-TARGET)

The phylum Apicomplexa includes some of the most important pathogenic parasites of man and animals, the deadliest of which is the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, responsible for a toll of one million human deaths per year. No vaccine currently exists against P. falciparum and parasites are becoming increasingly drug-resistant. Being obligatory intracellular organisms, Apicomplexa have developed a unique invasion mechanism that is conserved across the phylum involving a tight interaction formed between the host cell and the parasite surfaces called Moving Junction (MJ). The MJ appears as a punctuate focus at the apical tip of the parasite, then rapidly resolves into a ring that moves posteriorly over the parasite in conjunction with host membrane invagination and eventual engulfment of the invading parasite. The MJ is essential for this process, as it anchors the parasite to the host surface while the parasite’s actin-myosin motor provides forward motion into the host cell. The researchers have previously shown that the MJ contains two key parasite components [1,2]: the surface protein Apical Membrane Antigen 1 (AMA1) and its receptor, the Rhoptry Neck Protein (RON) complex, the latter one being targeted to the host cell membrane during invasion. In particular, we demonstrated that the extra-cellular region of RON2, a transmembrane component of the RON complex, interacts directly with AMA1, providing a bridge between the parasite and its host cell that is crucial for successful invasion [1,3]. The researchers have shown that the other members of the RON complex (RON4/5/8) are tethered to RON2 and exposed to the cytosolic face of the host cell membrane [1], suggesting a role in anchoring the MJ to the host cell cytoskeleton. The researchers demonstrated that the AMA1-RON2 interaction is equally important for the invasive process in Toxoplasma and Plasmodium, as peptides derived from the ectodomain of RON2 are able to compete in the nanomolar range with the native RON2 for AMA1 interaction [5]. Interestingly, although the AMA1 and RON2 primary sequences differ among Apicomplexa, the AMA1-RON2 interaction is evolutionarily conserved [3]. By solving the co-structures of both Toxoplasma [4] and P. falciparum (Vuillez et al., Submitted) AMA1 complexed with a peptide derived from the ectodomain of RON2, the researchers showed that the complex has an extensive buried surface area that very likely withstands the strong mechanical forces involved in host-cell invasion and highlighted the residues that contribute to the interaction and the species specificity. Through a proprietary cross disciplinary approaches the researchers will be able to establish the core mechanisms of MJ establishment and inhibition. The expected outcome of this project will have a positive economic and social impact on the fight against malaria, and bring a general concept for medicinal chemistry to be applied to the inhibition of the invasion of other apicomplexan parasites (veterinary as Eimeria, Babesia, Theileria…) that use the same mechanism to successfully infect their host.

Project details

Drug-based Strategies
Genetics and Genomics

Dec 2012 — Dec 2015

$617,803

Canada
France