Plasmodium vivax malaria is characterized by periodic relapses of symptomatic blood stage parasite infections likely initiated by activation of dormant liver stage parasites -hypnozoites. The lack of tractable animal models for P. vivax constitutes a severe obstacle to investigate this unique aspect of its biology and to test drug efficacy against liver stages. We show that the FRG KO huHep liver-humanized mice support P. vivax sporozoite infection, development of liver stages, and the formation of small non-replicating hypnozoites. Cellular characterization of P. vivax liver stage development in vivo demonstrates complete maturation into infectious exo-erythrocytic merozoites and continuing persistence of hypnozoites. Primaquine prophylaxis or treatment prevents and eliminates liver stage infection. Thus, the P. vivax/FRG KO huHep mouse infection model constitutes an important new tool to investigate the biology of liver stage development and dormancy and might aid in the discovery of new drugs for the prevention of relapsing malaria.

Mosquito-transmitted malaria parasites infect hepatocytes and asymptomatically replicate as liver stages. Using RNA sequencing, we show that a rodent malaria liver-stage infection stimulates a robust innate immune response including type I interferon (IFN) and IFNγ pathways. Liver-stage infection is suppressed by these infection-engendered innate responses. This suppression was abrogated in mice deficient in IFNγ, the type I IFN α/β receptor (IFNAR), and interferon regulatory factor 3. Natural killer and CD49b(+)CD3(+) natural killer T (NKT) cells increased in the liver after a primary infection, and CD1d-restricted NKT cells, which secrete IFNγ, were critical in reducing liver-stage burden of a secondary infection. Lack of IFNAR signaling abrogated the increase in NKT cell numbers in the liver, showing a link between type I IFN signaling, cell recruitment, and subsequent parasite elimination. Our findings demonstrate innate immune sensing of malaria parasite liver-stage infection and that the ensuing innate responses can eliminate the parasite.

Botulinum neurotoxin causes rapid flaccid paralysis through inhibition of acetylcholine release at the neuromuscular junction. The seven BoNT serotypes (A-G) have been proposed to bind motor neurons via ganglioside- protein dual receptors. To date, the structure-function properties of BoNT/F host receptor interactions have not been resolved. Here we report the crystal structures of the receptor binding domains (HCR) of BoNT/A and BoNT/F and the characterization of the dual receptors for BoNT/F. The overall polypeptide fold of HCR/A is essentially identical to the receptor binding domain of the BoNT/A holotoxin, and the structure of HCR/F is very similar to that of HCR/A, except for two regions implicated in neuronal binding. Solid phase array analysis identified two HCR/F binding glycans: ganglioside GD1a and oligosaccharides containing an N-acetyllactosamine core. Using affinity chromatography, HCR/F bound native synaptic vesicle glycoproteins as part of a protein complex. Deglycosylation of glycoproteins using α(1-3,4)- fucosidase, endo-β-galactosidase and PNGase F disrupted the interaction with HCR/F, while the binding of HCR/B to its cognate receptor, synaptotagmin I, was unaffected. These data indicate that the HCR/F binds synaptic vesicle glycoproteins through the keratan sulfate moiety of SV2. The interaction of HCR/F with gangliosides was also investigated. HCR/F bound specifically to gangliosides that contain α2, 3-linked sialic acid on the terminal galactose of a neutral saccharide core (binding order: GT1b = GD1a ≫ GM3; no binding to GD1b and GM1a). Mutations within the putative ganglioside binding pocket of HCR/F decreased binding to gangliosides, synaptic vesicle protein complexes and primary rat hippocampal neurons. Thus, BoNT/F neuronal discrimination involves recognition of ganglioside and protein (glycosylated SV2) carbohydrate moieties, providing a structural basis for the high affinity and specificity of BoNT/F for neurons.

Tetanus neurotoxin (TeNT) is an exotoxin produced byClostridium tetani that causes paralytic death to hundreds of thousands of humans annually. TeNT cleaves vesicle-associated membrane protein-2, which inhibits neurotransmitter release in the central nervous system to elicit spastic paralysis, but the molecular basis for TeNT entry into neurons remains unclear. TeNT is a ϳ150-kDa protein that has AB structure-function properties; the A domain is a zinc metalloprotease, and the B domain encodes a translocation domain and C-terminal receptor-binding domain (HCR/T). Earlier studies showed that HCR/T bound gangliosides via two carbohydrate-binding sites, termed the lactose-binding site (the "W" pocket) and the sialic acid-binding site (the "R" pocket). Here we report that TeNT high affinity binding to neurons is mediated solely by gangliosides. Glycan array and solid phase binding analyses identified gangliosides that bound exclusively to either the W pocket or the R pocket of TeNT; GM1a bound to the W pocket, and GD3 bound to the R pocket. Using these gangliosides and mutated forms of HCR/T that lacked one or both carbohydrate-binding pocket, gangliosides binding to both of the W and R pockets were shown to be necessary for high affinity binding to neuronal and non-neuronal cells. The crystal structure of a ternary complex of HCR/T with sugar components of two gangliosides bound to the W and R supported the binding of gangliosides to both carbohydrate pockets. These data show that gangliosides are functional dual receptors for TeNT.Tetanus is an acute, often fatal disease of humans that was first described by Hippocrates over 24 centuries ago (1). Tetanus is characterized by generalized increased rigidity and convulsive spasms of skeletal muscles. Tetanus is caused by exposure to tetanus neurotoxin (TeNT) 3 produced by the sporeforming bacterium Clostridium tetani. TeNT is delivered from the bloodstream to the peripheral nervous system, from where TeNT traffics to the central nervous system to cleave vesicleassociated membrane protein-2 (VAMP2), which inhibits neurotransmitter release and elicits spastic paralysis (2). Although prevented by vaccination, tetanus is responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths per year in countries where vaccination is not common (3).TeNT is produced as a ϳ150-kDa protein that is cleaved to a di-chain protein, comprising an N-terminal light chain (ϳ50 kDa) and a C-terminal heavy chain domain (ϳ100 kDa) linked through a single disulfide bond (4). TeNT light chain is a zinc metalloprotease that cleaves the neuronal SNARE protein VAMP2 (2). The TeNT heavy chain contains two functional domains: a translocation domain and a C-terminal receptorbinding domain (HCR/T, ϳ50 kDa).The first step in TeNT action involves binding to a receptor(s) on the presynaptic membrane of ␣-motor neurons. Although the molecular basis for TeNT entry remains undetermined, an unambiguous role for gangliosides has been demonstrated (5-9). Current models implicate a dual receptor mechanism for the binding of t...

Among the agents classified as “Category A” by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) is the most toxic protein known, with microgram quantities of the protein causing severe morbidity and mortality by oral or i.v. routes. Given that this toxin easily could be used in a potential bioterrorist attack, countermeasures urgently are needed to counteract the pathophysiology of BoNT. At a molecular level, BoNT exerts its paralytic effects through intracellular cleavage of vesicle docking proteins and subsequent organism-wide autonomic dysfunction. In an effort to identify small molecules that would disrupt the interaction between the light-chain metalloprotease of BoNT serotype A and its cognate substrate, a multifaceted screening effort was undertaken. Through the combination of in vitro screening against an optimized variant of the light chain involving kinetic analysis, cellular protection assays, and in vivo mouse toxicity assays, molecules that prevent BoNT/A-induced intracellular substrate cleavage and extend the time to death of animals challenged with lethal toxin doses were identified. Significantly, the two most efficacious compounds in vivo showed less effective activity in cellular assays intended to mimic BoNT exposure; indeed, one of these compounds was cytotoxic at concentrations three orders of magnitude below its effective dose in animals. These two lead compounds have surprisingly simple molecular structures and are readily amenable to optimization efforts for improvements in their biological activity. The findings validate the use of high-throughput screening protocols to define previously unrecognized chemical scaffolds for the development of therapeutic agents to treat BoNT exposure.

Human alkyladenine DNA glycosylase (AAG) locates and excises a wide variety of damaged purine bases from DNA, including hypoxanthine that is formed by the oxidative deamination of adenine. We used steady state, pre-steady state, and single-turnover kinetic assays to show that the multipleturnover excision of hypoxanthine in vitro is limited by release of the abasic DNA product. This suggests the possibility that the product release step is regulated in vivo by interactions with other base excision repair (BER) proteins. Such coordination of BER activities would protect the abasic DNA repair intermediate and ensure its correct processing. AP endonuclease 1 (APE1) is the predominant enzyme for processing abasic DNA sites in human cells. Therefore, we have investigated the functional effects of added APE1 on the base excision activity of AAG. We find that APE1 stimulates the multiple-turnover excision of hypoxanthine by AAG, but has no effect on singleturnover excision. Since the amino terminus of AAG has been implicated in other protein-protein interactions we also characterize the deletion mutant lacking the first 79 amino acids. We find that APE1 fully stimulates the multiple-turnover glycosylase activity of this mutant, demonstrating that the amino terminus of AAG is not strictly required for this functional interaction. These results are consistent with a model whereby APE1 displaces AAG from the abasic site, thereby coordinating the first two steps of the base excision repair pathway.Single base lesions are the most frequently occurring type of DNA damage and the majority of these are repaired by the base excision repair (BER) 1 pathway (1). The BER pathway is initiated by a DNA repair glycosylase that is responsible for finding the base lesions, flipping out the damaged nucleotide into the active site, and catalyzing hydrolysis of the N-glycosidic bond. Cells contain a diverse repertoire of DNA repair glycosylases that collectively are able to recognize hundreds of distinct base lesions (2-4). In the case of monofunctional glycosylases the products are the nucleobase lesion and an apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) DNA duplex. Subsequently, AP endonuclease 1 (APE1) hydrolyzes the phosphodiester bond immediately 3 to the AP site to create a single strand break with a 3´-hydroxyl and a 5´-deoxyribose † This work was supported by a grant from the NIH to P.O. (CA122254). SUPPORTING INFORMATION AVAILABLEPre-incubation controls establishing the stability of Δ80 AAG, formamide quenched controls to show that APE1 has little residual activity in the absence of magnesium ion, linear concentration dependence of burst amplitude and steady state rate, demonstration that the singleturnover reaction is saturated at low ionic strength, and an additional experiment showing that one equivalent of product abolishes the burst phase. This material is available free of charge via the internet at http://pub.acs.org. 1 Abbreviations: AAG, Alkyladenine DNA glycosylase, also known as methylpurine DNA glycosylase (MPG) and 3-methylad...

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