Generating Genetically Modified Plasmodium berghei Sporozoites

Summary

Malaria is transmitted through inoculation of the sporozoite stage of Plasmodium by infected mosquitoes. Transgenic Plasmodium has allowed us to understand the biology of malaria better and has contributed directly to malaria vaccine development efforts. Here, we describe a streamlined methodology to generate transgenic Plasmodium berghei sporozoites.

Abstract

Malaria is a deadly disease caused by the parasite Plasmodium and is transmitted through the bite of female Anopheles mosquitoes. The sporozoite stage of Plasmodium deposited by mosquitoes in the skin of vertebrate hosts undergoes a phase of mandatory development in the liver before initiating clinical malaria. We know little about the biology of Plasmodium development in the liver; access to the sporozoite stage and the ability to genetically modify such sporozoites are critical tools for studying the nature of Plasmodium infection and the resulting immune response in the liver. Here, we present a comprehensive protocol for the generation of transgenic Plasmodium berghei sporozoites. We genetically modify blood-stage P. berghei and use this form to infect Anopheles mosquitoes when they take a blood meal. After the transgenic parasites undergo development in the mosquitoes, we isolate the sporozoite stage of the parasite from the mosquito salivary glands for in vivo and in vitro experimentation. We demonstrate the validity of the protocol by generating sporozoites of a novel strain of P. berghei expressing the green fluorescent protein (GFP) subunit 11 (GFP₁₁), and show how it could be used to investigate the biology of liver-stage malaria.

Introduction

Despite advances in drug development and research into malaria prevention and treatment, the global disease burden of malaria remains high. Over half a million people die of malaria each year, with the highest levels of mortality seen among children living in malaria-endemic regions, such as sub-Saharan Africa¹. Malaria is caused by the parasite Plasmodium, which is transmitted to humans through the bite of female Anopheles mosquitoes bearing the parasite in their salivary glands. The infectious stage of Plasmodium-the sporozoites-are deposited in the skin of the vertebrate hosts during a blood m....

Protocol

All research involving vertebrate animals in our laboratory was performed in compliance with the University of Georgia animal use guidelines and protocols.

1. Generation of P. berghei -infected mice

1. Initiate blood-stage infection in male or female, 6-8-week-old C57BL/6 (B6) mice using wild-type P. berghei parasites. To do this, transfer cryopreserved P. berghei-infected blood (2 x 10⁵ infected RBCs), reconstituted in 400 µ.......

Discussion

We have used the above protocol in our laboratory to create several lines of transgenic P. berghei parasites. Though optimized for P. berghei, we have also successfully used this protocol to generate transgenic P. yoelii sporozoites. After injecting the transfected schizonts into mice, parasites are detectable typically no later than 3 d.p.i. in all groups, including the no plasmid control. Selection is started only once parasitemia has been detected to ensure the viability of parasites followi.......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
30 G x 1/2" Syringe needle	Exel international	26437
Alsever's solution	Sigma-Aldritch	A3551-500ML
Amaxa Basic Parasite Nucleofector Kit 2	Lonza	VMI-1021
Avertin (2,2,2-Tribromoethanol)	TCI America	T1420
Blood collection tubes	BD bioscience	365967	for serum collection
C-Chip disposable hematocytometer	INCYTO	DHC-N01-5
CellVeiw Cell Culture Dish	Greiner Bio-One	627860
Centrifuge 5425	Eppendorf	5405000107
Centrifuge 5910R	Eppendorf	5910R	For gradient centrifugation
Delta Vision II - Inverted microscope system	Olympus	IX-71
Dimethyl Sulfoxide	Sigma	D5879-500ml
Fetal bovine serum	GenClone	25-525
GFP11 plasmid	Kurup Lab	pSKspGFP11	Generated from PL0017 plasmid
Giemsa Stain	Sigma-Aldritch	48900-1L-F
Hepa GFP1-10 cells	Kurup Lab	Hepa GFP1-10	Generated from Hepa 1-6 cells (ATCC Cat# CRL-1830)
Mouse Serum			Used for mosquito dissection media
NaCl	Millipore-Sigma	SX0420-5	1.5 M and 0.15 M for percoll solution
Nucleofector II	Amaxa Biosystems (Lonza)		Program U-033 used for RBC electroporation
Pasteur pipette	VWR	14673-043
Penicillin/Streptomycin	Sigma-Aldritch	P0781-100ML
Percoll (Density gradient stock medium)	Cytivia	17-0891-02	Details in protocol
PL0017 Plasmid	BEI Resources	MRA-786
Pyrimethamine (for oral administration)	Sigma	46706	Preparation details: Add 17.5 mg Pyrimethamine to 2.5 mL of DMSO. Vortex, if needed to dissolve completely; Adjust pH of 225 mL of dH2O to 4 using HCL. Add Pyrimethamine in DMSO to water and bring to 250 mL. Add 10 g of sugar to encourage regular consumption of drugged water. Pyrimethamine is light sensitive. Use dark bottle or aluminum foil covered bottle when treating mice.
RPMI 1640	Corning	15-040-CV
SoftWoRx microscopy software	Applied Precision	v6.1.3