Synthetic Plasmodium-like hemozoin activates the immune response: a morphology - function study.
Increasing evidence points to an important role for hemozoin (HZ), the malaria pigment, in the immunopathology related to this infection. However, there is no consensus as to whether HZ exerts its immunostimulatory activity in absence of other parasite or host components. Contamination of native HZ...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2009-09-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2734055?pdf=render |
| _version_ | 1828392838572802048 |
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| author | Maritza Jaramillo Marie-Josée Bellemare Caroline Martel Marina Tiemi Shio Ana Paulina Contreras Marianne Godbout Michel Roger Eric Gaudreault Jean Gosselin D Scott Bohle Martin Olivier |
| author_facet | Maritza Jaramillo Marie-Josée Bellemare Caroline Martel Marina Tiemi Shio Ana Paulina Contreras Marianne Godbout Michel Roger Eric Gaudreault Jean Gosselin D Scott Bohle Martin Olivier |
| author_sort | Maritza Jaramillo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Increasing evidence points to an important role for hemozoin (HZ), the malaria pigment, in the immunopathology related to this infection. However, there is no consensus as to whether HZ exerts its immunostimulatory activity in absence of other parasite or host components. Contamination of native HZ preparations and the lack of a unified protocol to produce crystals that mimic those of Plasmodium HZ (PHZ) are major technical limitants when performing functional studies with HZ. In fact, the most commonly used methods generate a heterogeneous nanocrystalline material. Thus, it is likely that such aggregates do not resemble to PHZ and differ in their inflammatory properties. To address this issue, the present study was designed to establish whether synthetic HZ (sHZ) crystals produced by different methods vary in their morphology and in their ability to activate immune responses. We report a new method of HZ synthesis (the precise aqueous acid-catalyzed method) that yields homogeneous sHZ crystals (Plasmodium-like HZ) which are very similar to PHZ in their size and physicochemical properties. Importantly, these crystals are devoid of protein and DNA contamination. Of interest, structure-function studies revealed that the size and shape of the synthetic crystals influences their ability to activate inflammatory responses (e.g. nitric oxide, chemokine and cytokine mRNA) in vitro and in vivo. In summary, our data confirm that sHZ possesses immunostimulatory properties and underline the importance of verifying by electron microscopy both the morphology and homogeneity of the synthetic crystals to ensure that they closely resemble those of the parasite. Periodic quality control experiments and unification of the method of HZ synthesis are key steps to unravel the role of HZ in malaria immunopathology. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T07:28:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-49251ef6b71f4f72972fee16f4f1b91e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T07:28:26Z |
| publishDate | 2009-09-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-49251ef6b71f4f72972fee16f4f1b91e2022-12-22T01:57:39ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032009-09-0149e695710.1371/journal.pone.0006957Synthetic Plasmodium-like hemozoin activates the immune response: a morphology - function study.Maritza JaramilloMarie-Josée BellemareCaroline MartelMarina Tiemi ShioAna Paulina ContrerasMarianne GodboutMichel RogerEric GaudreaultJean GosselinD Scott BohleMartin OlivierIncreasing evidence points to an important role for hemozoin (HZ), the malaria pigment, in the immunopathology related to this infection. However, there is no consensus as to whether HZ exerts its immunostimulatory activity in absence of other parasite or host components. Contamination of native HZ preparations and the lack of a unified protocol to produce crystals that mimic those of Plasmodium HZ (PHZ) are major technical limitants when performing functional studies with HZ. In fact, the most commonly used methods generate a heterogeneous nanocrystalline material. Thus, it is likely that such aggregates do not resemble to PHZ and differ in their inflammatory properties. To address this issue, the present study was designed to establish whether synthetic HZ (sHZ) crystals produced by different methods vary in their morphology and in their ability to activate immune responses. We report a new method of HZ synthesis (the precise aqueous acid-catalyzed method) that yields homogeneous sHZ crystals (Plasmodium-like HZ) which are very similar to PHZ in their size and physicochemical properties. Importantly, these crystals are devoid of protein and DNA contamination. Of interest, structure-function studies revealed that the size and shape of the synthetic crystals influences their ability to activate inflammatory responses (e.g. nitric oxide, chemokine and cytokine mRNA) in vitro and in vivo. In summary, our data confirm that sHZ possesses immunostimulatory properties and underline the importance of verifying by electron microscopy both the morphology and homogeneity of the synthetic crystals to ensure that they closely resemble those of the parasite. Periodic quality control experiments and unification of the method of HZ synthesis are key steps to unravel the role of HZ in malaria immunopathology.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2734055?pdf=render |
| spellingShingle | Maritza Jaramillo Marie-Josée Bellemare Caroline Martel Marina Tiemi Shio Ana Paulina Contreras Marianne Godbout Michel Roger Eric Gaudreault Jean Gosselin D Scott Bohle Martin Olivier Synthetic Plasmodium-like hemozoin activates the immune response: a morphology - function study. PLoS ONE |
| title | Synthetic Plasmodium-like hemozoin activates the immune response: a morphology - function study. |
| title_full | Synthetic Plasmodium-like hemozoin activates the immune response: a morphology - function study. |
| title_fullStr | Synthetic Plasmodium-like hemozoin activates the immune response: a morphology - function study. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Synthetic Plasmodium-like hemozoin activates the immune response: a morphology - function study. |
| title_short | Synthetic Plasmodium-like hemozoin activates the immune response: a morphology - function study. |
| title_sort | synthetic plasmodium like hemozoin activates the immune response a morphology function study |
| url | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2734055?pdf=render |
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