Plasmodium falciparum avoids change in erythrocytic surface expression of phagocytosis markers during inhibition of nitric oxide synthase activity

TY - JOUR

T1 - Plasmodium falciparum avoids change in erythrocytic surface expression of phagocytosis markers during inhibition of nitric oxide synthase activity

AU - Hempel, Casper

AU - Kohnke, Hannes

AU - Maretty, Lasse

AU - Jensen, Peter Østrup

AU - Staalsø, Trine

AU - Kurtzhals, Jørgen A L

N1 - Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

PY - 2014/11

Y1 - 2014/11

N2 - Nitric oxide (NO) accumulates in Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes. It may be produced by a parasite NO synthase (NOS) or by nitrate reduction. The parasite's benefit of NO accumulation is not understood. We investigated if inhibiting the P. falciparum NOS with specific and unspecific NOS inhibitors led to a decrease in intraerythrocytic NO accumulation and if this was associated with a change in surface expression of the phagocytosis markers CD47 and phosphatidyl serine. The specific inducible NOS inhibitors l-canavanine and GW274150 dose-dependently decreased intraerythrocytic NO while l-NMMA (an unspecific NOS inhibitor) and caveolin-1 scaffolding domain peptide (a specific endothelial NOS inhibitor) did not affect NO levels. Phosphatidyl serine externalization markedly increased upon P. falciparum infection. l-canavanine did not modify this whereas caveolin-1 scaffolding domain peptide increased the fraction of phosphatidyl serine exposing cells significantly. The infection did not change the level of expression of neither total CD47 nor its oxidized form. Unrelated to NOS inhibition, incubation with caveolin-1 scaffolding domain peptide lead to a decrease in oxidized CD47. In conclusion, the data imply that NOS inhibitors decrease NO accumulation in P. falciparum-infected erythrocytes but this does not correlate with the level of two major erythrocytic phagocytosis markers.

AB - Nitric oxide (NO) accumulates in Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes. It may be produced by a parasite NO synthase (NOS) or by nitrate reduction. The parasite's benefit of NO accumulation is not understood. We investigated if inhibiting the P. falciparum NOS with specific and unspecific NOS inhibitors led to a decrease in intraerythrocytic NO accumulation and if this was associated with a change in surface expression of the phagocytosis markers CD47 and phosphatidyl serine. The specific inducible NOS inhibitors l-canavanine and GW274150 dose-dependently decreased intraerythrocytic NO while l-NMMA (an unspecific NOS inhibitor) and caveolin-1 scaffolding domain peptide (a specific endothelial NOS inhibitor) did not affect NO levels. Phosphatidyl serine externalization markedly increased upon P. falciparum infection. l-canavanine did not modify this whereas caveolin-1 scaffolding domain peptide increased the fraction of phosphatidyl serine exposing cells significantly. The infection did not change the level of expression of neither total CD47 nor its oxidized form. Unrelated to NOS inhibition, incubation with caveolin-1 scaffolding domain peptide lead to a decrease in oxidized CD47. In conclusion, the data imply that NOS inhibitors decrease NO accumulation in P. falciparum-infected erythrocytes but this does not correlate with the level of two major erythrocytic phagocytosis markers.

U2 - 10.1016/j.molbiopara.2014.11.003

DO - 10.1016/j.molbiopara.2014.11.003

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 25454716

SN - 0166-6851

VL - 198

SP - 29

EP - 36

JO - Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology

JF - Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology

IS - 1

ER -