Plasmodium falciparum PfEMP1 modulates monocyte/macrophage transcription factor activation and cytokine and chemokine responses

Sampaio, Natália Guimarães, Eriksson, Emily Marie, and Schofield, Louis (2018) Plasmodium falciparum PfEMP1 modulates monocyte/macrophage transcription factor activation and cytokine and chemokine responses. Infection and Immunity, 86 (1). e00447-17.

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Abstract

Immunity to Plasmodium falciparum malaria is slow to develop, and it is often asserted that malaria suppresses host immunity, although this is poorly understood and the molecular basis for such activity remains unknown. P. falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1) is a virulence factor that plays a key role in parasite-host interactions. We investigated the immunosuppressive effect of PfEMP1 on monocytes/macrophages, which are central to the antiparasitic innate response. RAW macrophages and human primary monocytes were stimulated with wild-type 3D7 or CS2 parasites or transgenic PfEMP1-null parasites. To study the immunomodulatory effect of PfEMP1, transcription factor activation and cytokine and chemokine responses were measured. The level of activation of NF-κB was significantly lower in macrophages stimulated with parasites that express PfEMP1 at the red blood cell surface membrane than in macrophages stimulated with PfEMP1-null parasites. Modulation of additional transcription factors, including CREB, also occurred, resulting in reduced immune gene expression and decreased tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) release. Similarly, human monocytes released less IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10, monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1), macrophage inflammatory protein 1α (MIP-1α), MIP-1β, and TNF specifically in response to VAR2CSA PfEMP1-containing parasites than in response to PfEMP1-null parasites, suggesting that this immune regulation by PfEMP1 is important in naturally occurring infections. These results indicate that PfEMP1 is an immunomodulatory molecule that affects the activation of a range of transcription factors, dampening cytokine and chemokine responses. Therefore, these findings describe a potential molecular basis for immune suppression by P. falciparum.

Item ID: 51961
Item Type: Article (Research - C1)
ISSN: 1098-5522
Keywords: NF-kappa B, PfEMP1, Plasmodium falciparum, cytokines, immunosuppression, innate immunity, macrophages, malaria, monocytes, transcription factors
Copyright Information: © 2017 Sampaio et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.
Date Deposited: 10 Jan 2018 07:54
FoR Codes: 32 BIOMEDICAL AND CLINICAL SCIENCES > 3207 Medical microbiology > 320704 Medical parasitology @ 50%
32 BIOMEDICAL AND CLINICAL SCIENCES > 3204 Immunology > 320407 Innate immunity @ 50%
SEO Codes: 92 HEALTH > 9201 Clinical Health (Organs, Diseases and Abnormal Conditions) > 920108 Immune System and Allergy @ 50%
92 HEALTH > 9201 Clinical Health (Organs, Diseases and Abnormal Conditions) > 920109 Infectious Diseases @ 50%
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