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The tightly controlled induction of Plasmodium falciparum gametocytes in large-scale culture is a fundamental requirement for malaria drug discovery applications including, but not limited to, high-throughput screening. This protocol uses magnetic separation for isolation of hemozoin-containing parasites in order to (i) increase parasitemia, (ii) decrease hematocrit and (iii) introduce higher levels of young red blood cells in a culture simultaneously within 2-4 h. These parameters, along with red blood cell lysis products that are generated through schizont rupture, are highly relevant for enabling optimum induction of gametocytogenesis in vitro. No other previously published protocols have applied this particular approach for parasite isolation and maximization of fresh red blood cells before inducing gametocytogenesis, which is essential for obtaining highly synchronous gametocyte classical stages on a large scale. In summary, 500-1,000 million stage IV gametocytes can be obtained within 16 d from an initial 10 ml of asexual blood-stage culture.

This study explores the general utility of a new class of biosensor that allows one to selectively visualize molecules of a chosen membrane protein that are at the cell surface. These biosensors make use of recently described bipartite fluoromodules comprised of a fluorogen-activating protein (FAP) and a small molecule (fluorogen) whose fluorescence increases dramatically when noncovalently bound by the FAP (SzentGyorgyi et al., Nat Biotechnol 2008;26:235-240 CELLS that express single-pass recombinant membrane proteins, each presenting a FAP on the exterior face of the plasma membrane and a standard fluorescent protein (EGFP or mRFP) on the interior face, were generated and examined by fluorescence microscopy. In each case, fluorescent signal was observed exclusively at the cell surface when the FAP domain was imaged using membrane-impermeant fluorogen but was observed in additional intracellular locations when the fluorescent protein domain was imaged. Cells that expressed external N-terminal FAP-fusions to three wellstudied human membrane proteins-the b2 adrenergic receptor (b 2 AR), the insulinregulated glucose transporter (GLUT4), and the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR)-were also generated and examined; these too showed fluorescent signal exclusively at the cell surface after exposure to membrane-impermeant fluorogen. Further, when endocytosis of tagged b 2 AR was stimulated by agonist treatment in the presence of fluorogen, fluorescent signal was seen to transit from the surface to the cell interior. FAP tagging thus provides a means for selectively visualizing plasma membrane proteins and for monitoring the trafficking of these proteins to and from the cell surface.Plasma membrane proteins play roles in thousands of cellular processes and are the targets of more than half of all therapeutic drugs. Many of these proteins exhibit regulated translocation between the cell surface and the cell interior. For example, most G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) and receptor tyrosine kinases are internalized by endocytosis after exposure to agonists (1,2), and numerous ion and metabolite transporters traffic to the membrane in response to particular physiological stimuli (3).Many methods are available to selectively label particular plasma membrane proteins in living cells with fluorescent molecules so as to study membrane protein trafficking. These include immunofluorescence with specific antibodies or antibodies to epitope tags, labeling of tetracysteine (TC) tagged fusion proteins with FlAsH or ReAsH reagents, covalent attachment of fluorophores using SNAP-tag or Halo Tag

Thirteen new metabolites, including the polyoxygenated cyclohexene derivatives cleistodiendiol (1), cleistodienol B (3), cleistenechlorohydrins A (4) and B (5), cleistenediols A-F (6-11), cleistenonal (12), and the butenolide cleistanolate (13), 2,5-dihydroxybenzyl benzoate (cleistophenolide, 14), and eight known compounds (2, 15-21) were isolated from a MeOH extract of the leaves of Cleistochlamys kirkii. The purified metabolites were identified by NMR spectroscopic and mass spectrometric analyses, whereas the absolute configurations of compounds 1, 17, and 19 were established by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The configuration of the exocyclic double bond of compound 2 was revised based on comparison of its NMR spectroscopic features and optical rotation to those of 1, for which the configuration was determined by X-ray diffraction. Observation of the co-occurrence of cyclohexenoids and heptenolides in C. kirkii is of biogenetic and chemotaxonomic significance. Some of the isolated compounds showed activity against Plasmodium falciparum (3D7, Dd2), with IC values of 0.2-40 μM, and against HEK293 mammalian cells (IC 2.7-3.6 μM). While the crude extract was inactive at 100 μg/mL against the MDA-MB-231 triple-negative breast cancer cell line, some of its isolated constituents demonstrated cytotoxic activity with IC values ranging from 0.03-8.2 μM. Compound 1 showed the most potent antiplasmodial (IC 0.2 μM) and cytotoxic (IC 0.03 μM, MDA-MB-231 cell line) activities. None of the compounds investigated exhibited translational inhibitory activity in vitro at 20 μM.

Numerous human diseases arise because of defects in protein folding, leading to their degradation in the endoplasmic reticulum. Among them is cystic fibrosis (CF), caused by mutations in the gene encoding the CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR ), an epithelial anion channel. The most common mutation, F508del, disrupts CFTR folding, which blocks its trafficking to the plasma membrane. We developed a fluorescence detection platform using fluorogen-activating proteins (FAPs) to directly detect FAP-CFTR trafficking to the cell surface using a cell-impermeant probe. By using this approach, we determined the efficacy of new corrector compounds, both alone and in combination, to rescue F508del-CFTR to the plasma membrane. Combinations of correctors produced additive or synergistic effects, improving the density of mutant CFTR at the cell surface up to ninefold over a single-compound treatment. The results correlated closely with assays of stimulated anion transport performed in polarized human bronchial epithelia that endogenously express F508del-CFTR. These findings indicate that the FAP-tagged constructs faithfully report mutant CFTR correction activity and that this approach should be useful as a screening assay in diseases that impair protein trafficking to the cell surface.

For an increasing number of antimalarial agents identified in high-throughput phenotypic screens, there is evidence that they target PfATP4, a putative Na efflux transporter on the plasma membrane of the human malaria parasite For several such "PfATP4-associated" compounds, it has been noted that their addition to parasitized erythrocytes results in cell swelling. Here we show that six structurally diverse PfATP4-associated compounds, including the clinical candidate KAE609 (cipargamin), induce swelling of both isolated blood-stage parasites and intact parasitized erythrocytes. The swelling of isolated parasites is dependent on the presence of Na in the external environment and may be attributed to the osmotic consequences of Na uptake. The swelling of the parasitized erythrocyte results in an increase in its osmotic fragility. Countering cell swelling by increasing the osmolarity of the extracellular medium reduces the antiplasmodial efficacy of PfATP4-associated compounds, consistent with cell swelling playing a role in the antimalarial activity of this class of compounds.

SummaryEfficient trafficking of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) to and from the cell surface is essential for maintaining channel density at the plasma membrane (PM) and ensuring proper physiological activity. The most common mutation, F508del, exhibits reduced surface expression and impaired function despite treatment with currently available pharmacological small molecules, called correctors. To gain more detailed insight into whether CFTR enters compartments that allow corrector stabilization in the cell periphery, we investigated the peripheral trafficking itineraries and kinetics of wild type (WT) and F508del in living cells using high-speed fluorescence microscopy together with fluorogen activating protein detection. We directly visualized internalization and accumulation of CFTR WT from the PM to a perinuclear compartment that colocalized with the endosomal recycling compartment (ERC) markers Rab11 and EHD1, reaching steady-state distribution by 25 minutes. Stimulation by protein kinase A (PKA) depleted this intracellular pool and redistributed CFTR channels to the cell surface, elicited by reduced endocytosis and active translocation to the PM. Corrector or temperature rescue of F508del also resulted in targeting to the ERC and exhibited subsequent PKA-stimulated trafficking to the PM. Corrector treatment (24 hours) led to persistent residence of F508del in the ERC, while thermally destabilized F508del was targeted to lysosomal compartments by 3 hours. Acute addition of individual correctors, C4 or C18, acted on peripheral trafficking steps to partially block lysosomal targeting of thermally destabilized F508del. Taken together, corrector treatment redirects F508del trafficking from a degradative pathway to a regulated recycling route, and proteins that mediate this process become potential targets for improving the efficacy of current and future correctors.

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