Name: deciphering the molecular mechanism and function of pore-forming toxins using leishmania major
Uploaded: 2022-10-28T14:00:00
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The authors would like to thank members of the Keyel and Zhang labs for their critical review of the manuscript. The authors thank the College of Arts and Sciences Microscopy for the use of facilities.

All appropriate guidelines and standard microbiological, safety, and cell culture practices were employed for the use and handling of the RG2 pathogen Leishmania major and recombinant DNA. All experiments with live L. major were performed in a biosafety cabinet in a BSL-2 certified laboratory. The work was overseen by the Texas Tech University Institutional Biosafety Committee.
NOTE: From a safety perspective, live L. major promastigotes are Risk Group 2 pathogens. H...

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In this study, methods to study the molecular mechanisms and functions of PFTs were described, using the human pathogen Leishmania major as a model system. A medium-throughput flow cytometry-based cytotoxicity assay to measure single-cell viability was developed. Viability is quantitative at the population level because LC50 values can be calculated from the dose-response curve using logistic modeling. As a proof-of-principle, a flow cytometric assay was used to illustrate that the choice of media can...

Pore-forming toxins (PFTs) are the largest family of bacterial toxins1, but the mechanisms by which they perforate and destroy cells are poorly understood. The best-studied family of pore-forming toxins is that of cholesterol-dependent cytolysins (CDCs). CDCs are primarily synthesized by gram-positive bacteria, including the causative agent of necrotizing fasciitis, Streptococcus pyogenes2. S. pyogenes secretes the CDC streptolysin O (SLO), which binds to sterols in the plasma membrane of host cells as monomers, oligomerizes, and inserts ~20-30 nm pores into the membrane1. The role that lipids play in this process remains poorly determined.
One approach to studying lipid-CDC interactions is the use of chemically defined liposomes. While defined liposomes provide information on the necessary thresholds of lipids to sustain toxin binding and pore formation3,4, they do not fully recapitulate cellular functions. For example, reconstituted liposomes lack the lipid asymmetry of mammalian hosts and lipid modifications in response to toxins5. One alternative to liposomes is to use mammalian cell lines. While these cell lines are more physiologically relevant, there is a large degree of redundancy in toxin sensing and resistance mechanisms2. As a consequence, the repair pathways used to resist CDCs remain poorly determined. Notably, Ca2+ influx is the primary activator of membrane repair1. Downstream of Ca2+ influx, multiple pathways are engaged, including a ceramide-dependent repair6,7 and a MEK-dependent repair pathway6. These pathways interact with other protein effectors, including the endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT)8, and annexins6,9,10. Dissecting these pathways in mammalian cells is challenging due to the redundancy, which muddles data interpretation.
One way to balance complexity with simplicity for dissecting repair pathways is the use of simpler organisms, such as protozoan pathogens in the genus Leishmania. Leishmania sp. cause leishmaniasis in humans and other animals. Leishmaniasis ranges from cutaneous leishmaniasis (self-limited skin lesions) to the fatal visceral leishmaniasis (hepatosplenomegaly), depending on the species and other factors11. Leishmania major, the causative agent of cutaneous leishmaniasis, is transmitted to humans via a sandfly vector and is used to understand Leishmania function and infection12. In addition, Leishmania sp. are digenic12. They exist as intracellular mammalian macrophage parasites termed amastigotes and as free-swimming, flagellated promastigotes in the sandfly12.&#160;L. major promastigotes can be cultured in serum-supplemented media such as M199 to high density13. Promastigotes are also genetically tractable; many gene knockouts exist, including those targeting lipid biosynthesis pathways13. These knockouts can be evaluated for growth and differences in infectivity and lesion development via infection of Balb/c mice13.
In addition to the relative ease of Leishmania culture and the range of lipid biosynthesis knockouts, the parasite has a simpler genome than mammals. The best-characterized species of Leishmania is L. major, which has many existing genetic tools, such as mutants with defective lipid metabolism14. Notably, many repair proteins are absent. L. major has no homologs identified to date for key mammalian repair proteins such as annexins. This enables the characterization of evolutionarily conserved repair pathways without the complexity of mammalian systems. However, repair pathways have not been characterized in Leishmania to date. At the same time, key signaling pathways involved in repair, such as the MEK pathway6, are conserved in Leishmania sp.15,16, though homologs need to be validated. The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway is well-studied in L. mexicana, where it contributes to intracellular survival and thermostability in mammalian cells and controls metacyclogenesis16. In Leishmania sp., 10 of the 15 MAPKs have been characterized17. LmMAPK9 and LmMAPK13 are predicted to be the most similar to mammalian ERK1/2 based on identity in the conserved phosphorylation lip sequence. The phosphorylation lip sequence is TEY for both mammalian ERK1/2 and LmMAPK9 and LmMAPK13. However, eight of the Leishmania MAPKs have a TDY phosphorylation motif15. At least two homologs of MEK have been identified in Leishmania sp., LmxMKK18 and MEKK-related kinase (MRK1)19. This suggests that insights identified in Leishmania could translate to mammalian systems. Where they do not translate to mammalian systems, they represent therapeutic targets for treating leishmaniasis.
In order to use L. major promastigotes to study membrane repair and interactions with toxins, medium-throughput techniques are needed. While high-resolution live cell imaging enables the visualization of labeled proteins and membranes in real time, it is low throughput and may not measure cellular survival. Medium-throughput viability assays include dye uptake measured by flow cytometry, the measurement of mitochondrial activity, or the release of cellular proteins like lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). In mammalian cells, LDH assays do not quantitatively measure cell death20. Furthermore, population-based assays like LDH release or mitochondrial activity do not allow robust single-cell or multiparametric analysis20. In contrast, flow cytometry-based assays enable multiparametric single-cell analysis20. However, these assays have not been applied to understanding toxin biology or responses to toxins in L. major promastigotes.
In this study, SLO is used as a tool to understand the plasma membrane perturbation of the sphingolipid null mutant of L. major in two different buffers-the M199 media routinely used to culture L. major promastigotes and the simpler Tyrode&#39;s buffer. A medium-throughput flow cytometry assay is described and used to generate toxin dose-response curves. Data from the flow cytometric assay are modeled to a logistic curve to determine the LC50 values. With this information, a sublytic dose of SLO can be determined so that MAPK antibodies can be validated using western blotting.

<table border="1" fo:keep-together.within-page="1" fo:keep-with-next.within-page="always">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>1.2 mL microtiter (Marsh) tubes</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>02-681-376</td>
			<td>Cytotoxicity assay</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>1.5 mL microcentrifuge tube</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>05-408-129</td>
			<td>Toxin dilutions</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>15 mL centrifuge tube&#160;</td>
			<td>Avantor VWR (Radnor, PA)</td>
			<td>89039-666</td>
			<td>To hold cells and media</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>1x Phosphate buffered saline (PBS)</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>BP399</td>
			<td>For cell processing</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>3% H2O2&#160;</td>
			<td>Walmart&#160; (Fayetteville, AR)</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>For ECL</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>5x M199</td>
			<td>Cell-gro</td>
			<td>11150067</td>
			<td>Basal growth media for L. major promastigotes</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Biosafety cabinet</td>
			<td>Baker</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>To culture cells in sterile conditions</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Bovine serum albumin (BSA)</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>BP1605-100</td>
			<td>Fraction V acceptable purity</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>CaCl2</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>BP510-100</td>
			<td>Stock concentration 100 mM</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Centrifuge</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher&#160;</td>
			<td>Heraeus Megafuge 40R</td>
			<td>To pellet the cells from culture</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cy5 Mono-reactive dye pack</td>
			<td>Cytiva (Marlborough, MA)</td>
			<td>PA25031</td>
			<td>Fluorophore label for toxins</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Digital dry bath</td>
			<td>Benchmark</td>
			<td>BSH1002</td>
			<td>To denature protein samples</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>EGTA</td>
			<td>Amresco</td>
			<td>0732-100G</td>
			<td>Stock concentration 0.5 M</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Excel</td>
			<td>Microsoft (Redmond, VA)</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Data analysis software</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Flow cytometer (4-laser Attune NxT)</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Cytometer for data acquisition</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>FlowJo</td>
			<td>BD (Ashland, OR)</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Software</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Formaldehyde</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>BP531-500</td>
			<td>Fixative for counting cells</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>G418</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>BP673-1</td>
			<td>Selection agent for cells</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Hellmanex III</td>
			<td>Sigma</td>
			<td>Z805939</td>
			<td>Dilute 1:4 for cleaning cytometer</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Hemacytometer</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>0267151B</td>
			<td>For counting cells</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Human red blood cells</td>
			<td>Zen-bio (Durham, NC)</td>
			<td>SER-10MLRBC</td>
			<td>To validate toxin activity</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Ice bucket</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Light microscope</td>
			<td>Nikon</td>
			<td>Eclipse 55i</td>
			<td>To visualize cells</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Nitrocellulose</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>88018</td>
			<td>For probing proteins via antibodies</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Pipettors and tips</td>
			<td>Avantor VWR</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>To dispense reagents</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Power supply</td>
			<td>Bio-Rad</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>To run SDS-PAGE and transfers</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Propidium iodide</td>
			<td>Biotium</td>
			<td>40016</td>
			<td>Stock concentration 2 mg/mL in water</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Protein ladder</td>
			<td>Bio-Rad</td>
			<td>161-0373</td>
			<td>To determine molecular weight of proteins</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>SDS-PAGE Running Apparatus (Mini Protean III)</td>
			<td>Bio-Rad</td>
			<td>165-3302</td>
			<td>To separate proteins based on their size</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sealing tape</td>
			<td>R&#38;D</td>
			<td>DY992</td>
			<td>To seal plates with cells</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Streptolysin O C530A plasmid insert</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Cloned into pBAD-gIII vector (Reference: 7)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Streptolysin O C530A toxin</td>
			<td>Lab purified</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Specific activity&#160; 4.34 x 105 HU/mg</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Swinging bucket rotor</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher&#160;</td>
			<td>75003607</td>
			<td>To centrifuge cells</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>V-bottom plate</td>
			<td>Greiner Bio-one</td>
			<td>651206</td>
			<td>For cytotoxicity assay</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Vortex</td>
			<td>Benchmark</td>
			<td>BV1000</td>
			<td>To mix cells</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Western blot imaging system (Chemi-doc)</td>
			<td>Bio-Rad</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>To visualize proteins by western blot</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Western Blot Transfer Apparatus (Mini Protean III)</td>
			<td>Bio-Rad</td>
			<td>170-3930</td>
			<td>Transfer proteins to nitrocellulose</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Whatman Filter paper</td>
			<td>GE Healthcare Life Sciences</td>
			<td>3030-700</td>
			<td>Used in transfer of proteins to nitrocellulose</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Antibody</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Anti-ERK antibody</td>
			<td>Cell Signaling Technologies&#160;</td>
			<td>Cat# 9102S</td>
			<td>Rabbit (1:1000 dilution)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Anti-lipophosphoglycan (LPG) antibody</td>
			<td>CreativeBioLabs&#160;</td>
			<td>Cat# WIC79.3</td>
			<td>Mouse (1: 1000)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Anti-MEK antibody</td>
			<td>Cell Signaling Technologies&#160;</td>
			<td>Cat# 9122L</td>
			<td>Rabbit (1:1000)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Anti-mouse IgG, HRP conjugate</td>
			<td>Jackson Immunoresearch&#160;</td>
			<td>Cat#715-035-151</td>
			<td>Donkey (1:10000)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Anti-phosphoERK antibody</td>
			<td>Cell Signaling Technologies&#160;</td>
			<td>Cat# 9101S</td>
			<td>Rabbit (1:1000)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Anti-pMEK antibody</td>
			<td>Cell Signaling Technologies&#160;</td>
			<td>Cat# 9121S</td>
			<td>Rabbit (1:1000)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Anti-rabbit IgG, HRP conjugate</td>
			<td>Jackson Immunoresearch&#160;</td>
			<td>Cat#711-035-152</td>
			<td>Donkey (1:10000)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Anti-tubulin antibody</td>
			<td>Sigma</td>
			<td>Cat# T5168</td>
			<td>Mouse (1: 2000)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Leishmania major Genotypes&#160;</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Reference: 13</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Episomal addback (spt2-/+SPT2)</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>&#916;spt2::HYG/&#916;spt2:PAC/+pXG-SPT2</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Serine palmitoyltransferase subunit 2 knockout (spt2-)</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>&#916;spt2::HYG/&#916;spt2::PAC&#160;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Wild type (WT)</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>LV39 clone 5 (Rho/SU/59/P)</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

deciphering the molecular mechanism and function of pore-forming toxins using leishmania major

Understanding the function and mechanism of pore-forming toxins (PFTs) is challenging because cells resist the membrane damage caused by PFTs. While biophysical approaches help understand pore formation, they often rely on reductionist approaches lacking the full complement of membrane lipids and proteins. Cultured human cells provide an alternative system, but their complexity and redundancies in repair mechanisms make identifying specific mechanisms difficult. In contrast, the human protozoan pathogen responsible for cutaneous leishmaniasis, Leishmania major,&#160;offers an optimal balance between complexity and physiologic relevance. L. major is genetically tractable and can be cultured to high density in vitro, and any impact of perturbations on infection can be measured in established murine models. In addition, L. major synthesizes lipids distinct from their mammalian counterparts, which could alter membrane dynamics. These alterations in membrane dynamics can be probed with PFTs from the best-characterized toxin family, cholesterol-dependent cytolysins (CDCs). CDCs bind to ergosterol in the Leishmania membrane and can kill L. major promastigotes, indicating that L. major is a suitable model system for determining the cellular and molecular mechanisms of PFT function. This work describes methods for testing PFT function in L. major promastigotes, including parasite culture, genetic tools for assessing lipid susceptibility, membrane binding assays, and cell death assays. These assays will enable the rapid use of L. major as a powerful model system for understanding PFT function across a range of evolutionarily diverse organisms and commonalities in lipid organization.

Increased promastigote sensitivity to SLO in Tyrode&#39;s buffer compared to M199 
The SLO sensitivity of L. major promastigotes was compared between different assay buffers. Wild-type, spt2-, and spt2-/+SPT2&#160;promastigotes were challenged with SLO in serum-free M199 or Tyrode&#39;s buffer supplemented with 2 mM CaCl2 for 30 min prior to analysis on a flow cytometer. Suitable parasites for analysis were single cells identified by forwar...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Deciphering the Molecular Mechanism and Function of Pore-Forming Toxins Using Leishmania major at JoVE.com

Deciphering the Molecular Mechanism and Function of Pore-Forming Toxins Using Leishmania major

Presented here is a protocol using Leishmania major promastigotes to determine the binding, cytotoxicity, and signaling induced by pore-forming toxins. A proof-of-concept with streptolysin O is provided. Other toxins can also be used to leverage the genetic mutants available in L. major to define new mechanisms of toxin resistance.

Deciphering the Molecular Mechanism and Function of Pore-Forming Toxins Using Leishmania major

Understanding the function and mechanism of pore-forming toxins (PFTs) is challenging because cells resist the membrane damage caused by PFTs. While ...

The mechanism of resistance to pore-forming toxins is poorly understood. Our protocol enables function and mechanism to pore-forming toxins using Leishmania major, a genetically tractable and physiologically relevant system. The main advantage of the cytotoxicity assay is comparing cell viability of multiple phenotypes at a single-cell level in a medium-throughput assay when challenged with toxins in real time.Membrane-perturbing agents like amphotericin B are frontline therapies for Leishmania. This assay enables the identification of agents that potentiate amphotericin B and/or new membrane-damaging agents. This assay provides insight into areas such as repair response and signaling pathways related to repair responses.This assay can be applied to protozoans such as Trypanosoma and Naegleria fowleri. People find it difficult to understand the toxin serial dilution series. So the best advice I can give is to draw a schematic of the serial dilution series before you set up the experiment.To begin, reserve 0.5 milliliters of processed promastigotes in a separate tube as unstained control. Add two milligrams per milliliter propidium iodide, or PI, to a final concentration of 10 micrograms per milliliter to the remaining promastigotes. Vortex for three seconds.Add processed promastigotes to each well of a V-bottom, 96-well plate or Marsh tubes, and place the plate or tube rack on the ice at an approximately 45-degrees angle from viewing. Add 100 microliters of assay buffer with propidium iodide to each no-toxin control. Verify that the control was correctly added by visually identifying tubes with a total volume of 200 microliters that appear darker in color.Add the volume of toxin to the highest dilution. Then, serially dilute the toxin. Pipette up and down at least eight times to ensure mixing.Starting from the lowest toxin concentration, quickly add 100 microliters of toxin to the correct row, and continue until all the toxin has been added to the cells. Seal the plate with sealing tape. After incubating at 37 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes, package and transport the plate to the flow cytometer.For data acquisition, start with setting up the flow cytometer and acquisition software according to the manufacturer's instructions and per facility policy. Using the unstained L.major promastigote sample, set the gates for forward and side scatter and the initial fluorescent parameters based on the dyes chosen. Using single-stained controls, set the gates for the viability dye and any fluorescently labeled toxins.Monitor forward scatter versus time for microclogs, and acquire more than 10, 000 gated events for each sample on the cytometer. For data analysis, gate total single-cell L.major promastigotes by gating on forward and side scatter and time as needed. Use height or area as recommended for the flow cytometer.Identify and gate dead cells as PI high. Organize the dose-response curve in Excel for analysis. Determine the average percent PI high for each condition between the two technical replicates.Include toxin concentration and average percent specific lysis, along with experimental details and/or raw percent PI high calculations. Label four more columns as Modeled, Residuals, Parameters, and Parameter Values. Verify that the first columns correspond to the experimental parameters, the toxin concentration, and percent specific lysis.Initialize the parameters L, k, and c by entering the values in the Parameter Values column. In the Modeled column, create the logistic model. In the Residuals column, calculate the square of the difference between the modeled number and the actual specific lysis.In the Parameter Values column, next to SUM, sum all the values in the Residuals column. In the Parameter Values column, next to LC50, initialize the equation to calculate the LC50 from the determined values. Open the Solver from the Data tab.Select the set objective to be the cell containing the sum of the residuals calculated. Set it to Min. Change the variable cells for the parameter values of L, k, and c.For negative k values, modify equations by factoring out negative one from k to change k to positive. Use the GRG Nonlinear Solving method, and click Solve. Check the curve and that the LC50 is automatically calculated.Verify the fit by graphically plotting both percent specific lysis and modeling against toxin concentration. The sphingolipid-deficient SPT2 knockout promastigotes were sensitive to SLO in both serum-free M199 and Tyrode's buffer. Wild type and SPT2 add-back promastigotes were resistant to SLO in serum-free M199 but had less than 20%specific lysis in Tyrode's buffer.The SPT2 knockout promastigotes were approximately eightfold more sensitive to SLO in Tyrode's buffer than in M199. These data demonstrate that toxin sensitivity may vary based on the buffer used. A 120-kilodalton band was observed for phospho-MEK in the L.major promastigotes.For total MEK, bands at about 120 kilodaltons and 55 kilodaltons were observed, which are consistent with the sizes of MRK1 and LmxMKK, respectively. Phospho-ERK detected similar bands, while the ERK antibody staining was not robust in this assay. The most important thing to remember when attempting this procedure is ensuring the proper handling of the toxin.Leishmania can be utilized as a genetically tractable model to study plasma membrane repair, providing new insights into membrane repair mechanics during Leishmania bacteria interaction in sandfly midgut.

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Research

JoVE Journal

Immunology and Infection

In vivo Imaging of Transgenic Leishmania Parasites in a Live Host

Distinct species of Leishmania, a protozoan parasite of the family Trypanosomatidae, typically cause different human disease manifestations. The most common forms of disease are visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). Mouse models of leishmaniasis are widely used, but quantification of parasite burdens during murine disease requires mice to be euthanized at various times after infection. Parasite loads are then measured either by microscopy, limiting dilution assay, or qPCR amplification of parasite DNA. The in vivo imaging system (IVIS) has an integrated software package that allows the detection of a bioluminescent signal associated with cells in living organisms. Both to minimize animal usage and to follow infection longitudinally in individuals, in vivo models for imaging Leishmania spp. causing VL or CL were established. Parasites were engineered to express luciferase, and these were introduced into mice either intradermally or intravenously. Quantitative measurements of the luciferase driving bioluminescence of the transgenic Leishmania parasites within the mouse were made using IVIS. Individual mice can be imaged multiple times during longitudinal studies, allowing us to assess the inter-animal variation in the initial experimental parasite inocula, and to assess the multiplication of parasites in mouse tissues. Parasites are detected with high sensitivity in cutaneous locations. Although it is very likely that the signal (photons/second/parasite) is lower in deeper visceral organs than the skin, but quantitative comparisons of signals in superficial versus deep sites have not been done. It is possible that parasite numbers between body sites cannot be directly compared, although parasite loads in the same tissues can be compared between mice. Examples of one visceralizing species (L. infantum chagasi) and one species causing cutaneous leishmaniasis (L. mexicana) are shown. The IVIS procedure can be used for monitoring and analyzing small animal models of a wide variety of Leishmania species causing the different forms of human leishmaniasis.

In vivo Imaging of Transgenic Leishmania Parasites in a Live Host

An in vivo imaging system is used to generate quantitative measurements of murine infection with the Trypanosomatid protozoan Leishmania. This is a non-invasive and non-lethal method for detecting parasites expressing luciferase within many tissues throughout the course of chronic Leishmania spp. infection.

Distinct species of Leishmania, a protozoan parasite of the family Trypanosomatidae, typically cause different human disease manifestations. The most ...

Determination of Molecular Structures of HIV Envelope Glycoproteins using Cryo-Electron Tomography and Automated Sub-tomogram Averaging

Since its discovery nearly 30 years ago, more than 60 million people have been infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) <a href="http://www.usaid.gov">(www.usaid.gov)</a>. The virus infects and destroys CD4+ T-cells thereby crippling the immune system, and causing an acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) 2. Infection begins when the HIV Envelope glycoprotein "spike" makes contact with the CD4 receptor on the surface of the CD4+ T-cell. This interaction induces a conformational change in the spike, which promotes interaction with a second cell surface co-receptor 5,9. The significance of these protein interactions in the HIV infection pathway makes them of profound importance in fundamental HIV research, and in the pursuit of an HIV vaccine.
The need to better understand the molecular-scale interactions of HIV cell contact and neutralization motivated the development of a technique to determine the structures of the HIV spike interacting with cell surface receptor proteins and molecules that block infection. Using cryo-electron tomography and 3D image processing, we recently demonstrated the ability to determine such structures on the surface of native virus, at &tilde;20 &Aring; resolution 9,14. This approach is not limited to resolving HIV Envelope structures, and can be extended to other viral membrane proteins and proteins reconstituted on a liposome. In this protocol, we describe how to obtain structures of HIV envelope glycoproteins starting from purified HIV virions and proceeding stepwise through preparing vitrified samples, collecting, cryo-electron microscopy data, reconstituting and processing 3D data volumes, averaging and classifying 3D protein subvolumes, and interpreting results to produce a protein model. The computational aspects of our approach were adapted into modules that can be accessed and executed remotely using the Biowulf GNU/Linux parallel processing cluster at the NIH <a href="http://biowulf.nih.gov">(http://biowulf.nih.gov)</a>. This remote access, combined with low-cost computer hardware and high-speed network access, has made possible the involvement of researchers and students working from school or home.

The protocol describes a high-throughput approach to determining structures of membrane proteins using cryo-electron tomography and 3D image processing. It covers the details of specimen preparation, data collection, data processing and interpretation, and concludes with the production of a representative target for the approach, the HIV-1 Envelope glycoprotein. These computational procedures are designed in a way that enables researchers and students to work remotely and contribute to data processing and structural analysis.

Since its discovery nearly 30 years ago, more than 60 million people have been infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (www.usaid.gov). The ...

Enumeration of Major Peripheral Blood Leukocyte Populations for Multicenter Clinical Trials Using a Whole Blood Phenotyping Assay

Cryopreservation of peripheral blood leukocytes is widely used to preserve cells for immune response evaluations in clinical trials and offers many advantages for ease and standardization of immunological assessments, but detrimental effects of this process have been observed on some cell subsets, such as granulocytes, B cells, and dendritic cells 1-3. Assaying fresh leukocytes gives a more accurate picture of the in vivo state of the cells, but is often difficult to perform in the context of large clinical trials. Fresh cell assays are dependent upon volunteer commitments and timeframes and, if time-consuming, their application can be impractical due to the working hours required of laboratory personnel. In addition, when trials are conducted at multiple centers, laboratories with the resources and training necessary to perform the assays may not be located in sufficient proximity to clinical sites. To address these issues, we have developed an 11-color antibody staining panel that can be used with Trucount tubes (Becton Dickinson; San Jose, CA) to phenotype and enumerate the major leukocyte populations within the peripheral blood, yielding more robust cell-type specific information than assays such as a complete blood count (CBC) or assays with commercially-available panels designed for Trucount tubes that stain for only a few cell types. The staining procedure is simple, requires only 100 &mu;l of fresh whole blood, and takes approximately 45 minutes, making it feasible for standard blood-processing labs to perform. It is adapted from the BD Trucount tube technical data sheet (<a href="http://www.bdbiosciences.com/external_files/is/doc/tds/Package_Inserts_CE/live/web_enabled/23-3483-06_PI_Trucount tubes_CE_EN.pdf" target="_blank">version 8/2010</a>). The staining antibody cocktail can be prepared in advance in bulk at a central assay laboratory and shipped to the site processing labs. Stained tubes can be fixed and frozen for shipment to the central assay laboratory for multicolor flow cytometry analysis. The data generated from this staining panel can be used to track changes in leukocyte concentrations over time in relation to intervention and could easily be further developed to assess activation states of specific cell types of interest. In this report, we demonstrate the procedure used by blood-processing lab technicians to perform staining on fresh whole blood and the steps to analyze these stained samples at a central assay laboratory supporting a multicenter clinical trial. The video details the procedure as it is performed in the context of a clinical trial blood draw in the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN).

In this report, we demonstrate the staining and analysis steps of a phenotyping assay performed on fresh whole blood to enumerate major innate and adaptive leukocyte populations. We emphasize considerations for performing these procedures in the context of a multicenter clinical trial.

Cryopreservation of peripheral blood leukocytes is widely used to preserve cells for immune response evaluations in clinical trials and offers many ...

In Situ Detection of Autoreactive CD4 T Cells in Brain and Heart Using Major Histocompatibility Complex Class II Dextramers

This report demonstrates the use of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II dextramers for detection of autoreactive CD4 T cells in situ in myelin proteolipid protein (PLP) 139-151-induced experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in SJL mice and cardiac myosin heavy chain-&#945; (Myhc) 334-352-induced experimental autoimmune myocarditis (EAM) in A/J mice. Two sets of cocktails of dextramer reagents were used, where dextramers+ cells were analyzed by laser scanning confocal microscope (LSCM): EAE, IAs/PLP 139-151 dextramers (specific)/anti-CD4 and IAs/Theiler&#8217;s murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV) 70-86 dextramers (control)/anti-CD4; and EAM, IAk/Myhc 334-352 dextramers/anti-CD4 and IAk/bovine ribonuclease (RNase) 43-56 dextramers (control)/anti-CD4. LSCM analysis of brain sections obtained from EAE mice showed the presence of cells positive for CD4 and PLP 139-151 dextramers, but not TMEV 70-86 dextramers suggesting that the staining obtained with PLP 139-151 dextramers was specific. Likewise, heart sections prepared from EAM mice also revealed the presence of Myhc 334-352, but not RNase 43-56-dextramer+ cells as expected. Further, a comprehensive method has also been devised to quantitatively analyze the frequencies of antigen-specific CD4 T cells in the &#8216;Z&#8217; serial images.

In Situ Detection of Autoreactive CD4 T Cells in Brain and Heart Using Major Histocompatibility Complex Class II Dextramers

The protocol to detect self-reactive CD4 T cells in brain and heart by direct staining with major histocompatibility complex class II dextramers has been described in this report. For comprehensive analysis, a reliable method to enumerate the frequencies of antigen-specific CD4+ T cells in situ is also devised.

This report demonstrates the use of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II dextramers for detection of autoreactive CD4 T cells in situ in myelin ...

Intravital Microscopy Imaging of the Liver following Leishmania Infection: An Assessment of Hepatic Hemodynamics

Intravital microscopy (IVM) is a powerful optical imaging technique that has made possible the visualization, monitoring and quantification of various biological events in real time and in live animals. This technology has greatly advanced our understanding of physiological processes and pathogen-mediated phenomena in specific organs.
In this study, IVM is applied to the mouse liver and protocols are designed to image in vivo the circulatory system of the liver and measure red blood cell (RBC) velocity in individual hepatic vessels. To visualize the different vessel subtypes that characterize the hepatic organ and perform blood flow speed measurements, C57Bl/6 mice are intravenously injected with a fluorescent plasma reagent that labels the liver-associated vasculature. IVM enables in vivo, real time, measurement of RBC velocity in a specific vessel of interest. Establishing this methodology will make it possible to investigate liver hemodynamics under physiological and pathological conditions. Ultimately, this imaging-based methodology will be important for studying the influence of L. donovani infection&#160;on hepatic hemodynamics.
This method can be applied to other infectious models and mouse organs and might be further extended to pre-clinical testing of a drug&#8217;s effect on inflammation by quantifying its effect on blood flow.

Intravital Microscopy Imaging of the Liver following Leishmania Infection: An Assessment of Hepatic Hemodynamics

This article reports on a detailed method for the dynamic measurement and quantification of blood flow velocity within individual blood vessels of the mouse liver vasculature using intravital microscopy imaging in combination with a specific methodology for image acquisition and analysis.

Intravital microscopy (IVM) is a powerful optical imaging technique that has made possible the visualization, monitoring and quantification of various ...

Deciphering and Imaging Pathogenesis and Cording of Mycobacterium abscessus in Zebrafish Embryos

Zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos are increasingly used as an infection model to study the function of the vertebrate innate immune system in host-pathogen interactions.&#160;The ease of obtaining large numbers of embryos, their accessibility due to external development, their optical transparency as well as the availability of a wide panoply of genetic/immunological tools and transgenic reporter line collections, contribute to the versatility of this model.&#160;In this respect, the present manuscript describes the use of zebrafish as an&#160;in vivo&#160;model system to investigate the chronology of Mycobacterium abscessus infection. This human pathogen can exist either as smooth (S) or rough (R) variants, depending on cell wall composition, and their respective virulence can be imaged and compared in zebrafish embryos and larvae. Micro-injection of either S or R fluorescent variants directly in the blood circulation via the caudal vein, leads to chronic or acute/lethal infections, respectively. This biological system allows high resolution visualization and analysis of the role of mycobacterial cording in promoting abscess formation. In addition, the use of fluorescent bacteria along with transgenic zebrafish lines harbouring fluorescent macrophages produces a unique opportunity for multi-color imaging of the host-pathogen interactions. This article describes detailed protocols for the preparation of homogenous M. abscessus inoculum and for intravenous injection of zebrafish embryos for subsequent fluorescence imaging of the interaction with macrophages. These techniques open the avenue to future investigations involving mutants defective in cord formation and are dedicated to understand how this impacts on M. abscessus pathogenicity in a whole vertebrate.

Deciphering and Imaging Pathogenesis and Cording of Mycobacterium abscessus in Zebrafish Embryos

Optically transparent zebrafish embryos are widely used to study and visualize in real time the interactions between pathogenic microorganisms and the innate immune cells. Micro-injection of Mycobacterium abscessus, combined with fluorescence imaging, is used to scrutinize essential pathogenic features such as cord formation in zebrafish embryos.

Zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos are increasingly used as an infection model to study the function of the vertebrate innate immune system in host-pathogen ...

Implementation of a Permeable Membrane Insert-based Infection System to Study the Effects of Secreted Bacterial Toxins on Mammalian Host Cells

Many bacterial pathogens secrete potent toxins to aid in the destruction of host tissue, to initiate signaling changes in host cells or to manipulate immune system responses during the course of infection. Though methods have been developed to successfully purify and produce many of these important virulence factors, there are still many bacterial toxins whose unique structure or extensive post-translational modifications make them difficult to purify and study in in vitro systems. Furthermore, even when pure toxin can be obtained, there are many challenges associated with studying the specific effects of a toxin under relevant physiological conditions. Most in vitro cell culture models designed to assess the effects of secreted bacterial toxins on host cells involve incubating host cells with a one-time dose of toxin. Such methods poorly approximate what host cells actually experience during an infection, where toxin is continually produced by bacterial cells and allowed to accumulate gradually during the course of infection. This protocol describes the design of a permeable membrane insert-based bacterial infection system to study the effects of Streptolysin S, a potent toxin produced by Group A Streptococcus, on human epithelial keratinocytes. This system more closely mimics the natural physiological environment during an infection than methods where pure toxin or bacterial supernatants are directly applied to host cells. Importantly, this method also eliminates the bias of host responses that are due to direct contact between the bacteria and host cells. This system has been utilized to effectively assess the effects of Streptolysin S (SLS) on host membrane integrity, cellular viability, and cellular signaling responses. This technique can be readily applied to the study of other secreted virulence factors on a variety of mammalian host cell types to investigate the specific role of a secreted bacterial factor during the course of infection.

Here, a method using a permeable membrane insert-based infection system to study the effects of Streptolysin S, a secreted toxin produced by Group A Streptococcus, on keratinocytes is described. This system can be readily applied to the study of other secreted bacterial proteins on various host cell types during infection.

Many bacterial pathogens secrete potent toxins to aid in the destruction of host tissue, to initiate signaling changes in host cells or to manipulate ...

Assessing Retinal Microglial Phagocytic Function In Vivo Using a Flow Cytometry-based Assay

Microglia are the tissue resident macrophages of the central nervous system (CNS) and they perform a variety of functions that support CNS homeostasis, including phagocytosis of damaged synapses or cells, debris, and/or invading pathogens. Impaired phagocytic function has been implicated in the pathogenesis of diseases such as Alzheimer's and age-related macular degeneration, where amyloid-&#946; plaque and drusen accumulate, respectively. Despite its importance, microglial phagocytosis has been challenging to assess in vivo. Here, we describe a simple, yet robust, technique for precisely monitoring and quantifying the in vivo phagocytic potential of retinal microglia. Previous methods have relied on immunohistochemical staining and imaging techniques. Our method uses flow cytometry to measure microglial uptake of fluorescently labeled particles after intravitreal delivery to the eye in live rodents. This method replaces conventional practices that involve laborious tissue sectioning, immunostaining, and imaging, allowing for more precise quantification of microglia phagocytic function in just under six hours. This procedure can also be adapted to test how various compounds alter microglial phagocytosis in physiological settings. While this technique was developed in the eye, its use is not limited to vision research.

Assessing Retinal Microglial Phagocytic Function In Vivo Using a Flow Cytometry-based Assay

Microglial phagocytosis is critical for the maintenance of tissue homeostasis and inadequate phagocytic function has been implicated in pathology. However, assessing microglia function in vivo is technically challenging. We have developed a simple but robust technique for precisely monitoring and quantifying the phagocytic potential of microglia in a physiological setting.

Microglia are the tissue resident macrophages of the central nervous system (CNS) and they perform a variety of functions that support CNS homeostasis, ...

Unravelling the Function of a Bacterial Effector from a Non-cultivable Plant Pathogen Using a Yeast Two-hybrid Screen

Unravelling the molecular mechanisms of disease manifestations is important to understand pathologies and symptom development in plant science. Bacteria have evolved different strategies to manipulate their host metabolism for their own benefit. This bacterial manipulation is often coupled with severe symptom development or the death of the affected plants. Determining the specific bacterial molecules responsible for the host manipulation has become an important field in microbiological research. After the identification of these bacterial molecules, called &#34;effectors,&#34; it is important to elucidate their function. A straightforward approach to determine the function of an effector is to identify its proteinaceous binding partner in its natural host via a yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) screen. Normally the host harbors numerous potential binding partners that cannot be predicted sufficiently by any in silico algorithm. It is thus the best choice to perform a screen with the hypothetical effector against a whole library of expressed host proteins. It is especially challenging if the causative agent is uncultivable like phytoplasma. This protocol provides step-by-step instructions for DNA purification from a phytoplasma-infected woody host plant, the amplification of the potential effector, and the subsequent identification of the plant&#39;s molecular interaction partner with a Y2H screen. Even though Y2H screens are commonly used, there is a trend to outsource this technique to biotech companies that offer the Y2H service at a cost. This protocol provides instructions on how to perform a Y2H in any decently equipped molecular biology laboratory using standard lab techniques.

Bacterial effector proteins are important for establishing successful infections. This protocol describes the experimental identification of proteinaceous binding partners of a bacterial effector protein in its natural plant host. Identifying these effector interactions via yeast two-hybrid screens has become an important tool in unravelling molecular pathogenicity strategies.

Unravelling the molecular mechanisms of disease manifestations is important to understand pathologies and symptom development in plant science. Bacteria ...

In Vivo Assay for Detection of Antigen-specific T-cell Cytolytic Function Using a Vaccination Model

Current methodologies for antigen-specific killing are limited to in vitro use or utilized in infectious disease models. However, there is not a protocol specifically intended to measure antigen-specific killing without an infection. This protocol is designed and describes methods to overcome these limitations by allowing for the detection of antigen-specific killing of a target cell by CD8+ T cells in vivo. This is accomplished by merging a vaccination model with a traditional CFSE-labeled target killing assay. This combination allows the researcher to assess the antigen-specific CTL potential directly and quickly as the assay is not dependent upon tumor growth or infection. In addition, the readout is based on flow cytometry and so should be readily accessible to most researchers. The major limitation of the study is identifying the timeline in vivo that is appropriate to the hypothesis being tested. Variations in antigen strength and mutations in the T cells that may result in differential cytolytic function need to be carefully assessed to determine the optimal time for cell harvest and assessment. The appropriate concentration of peptide for vaccination has been optimized for hgp10025-33 and OVA257-264, but further validation would be needed for other peptides that may be more appropriate to a given study. Overall, this protocol allows a quick assessment of killing function in vivo and can be adapted to any given antigen.

In Vivo Assay for Detection of Antigen-specific T-cell Cytolytic Function Using a Vaccination Model

The goal of this protocol is to allow for detection of in vivo antigen-specific killing of a target cell in a murine model.

Current methodologies for antigen-specific killing are limited to in vitro use or utilized in infectious disease models. However, there is not a protocol ...