Abstract

Microsporidia are emerging human and veterinary pathogens that cause a wide range of disease syndromes. The unique structure of the microsporidia is the polar tube, which is used to infect the host cell. The investigators have characterized the polar tube proteins (PTP's) and have identified putative polar tube associated proteins (PTAP's) of several microsporidian species and propose to further characterize and localize these proteins in additional species of microsporidia.
The specific aims are to, 1) identify and analyze conserved structural motifs of PTP's to characterize their function, 2) identify and characterize PTAP's that may function in polar tube formation and function, 3) localize the PTP's and PTAP's during development (3a) and eversion (3b) of the polar tube, and 4) characterize the mechanism of polar tube assembly using recombinant proteins in vitro. It is anticipated that the results of these studies will further studies to identify drug targets for interfering with polar tube development and/or function in future studies.

  Funding Agency

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
2R01AI031788-08
Application #
6020246
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-AARR-4 (02))
Program Officer
Laughon, Barbara E
Project Start
1992-04-01
Project End
2003-06-30
Budget Start
1999-07-01
Budget End
2000-06-30
Support Year
8
Fiscal Year
1999
Total Cost
Indirect Cost

  Institution

Name
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Department
Pathology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
009095365
City
Bronx
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
10461

  Publications

Han, Bing; Weiss, Louis M (2018) Therapeutic targets for the treatment of microsporidiosis in humans. Expert Opin Ther Targets 22:903-915
Yakubu, Rama R; Weiss, Louis M; Silmon de Monerri, Natalie C (2018) Post-translational modifications as key regulators of apicomplexan biology: insights from proteome-wide studies. Mol Microbiol 107:1-23
Santiana, Marianita; Pau, Cyrilla; Takvorian, Peter M et al. (2015) Analysis of the beta-tubulin gene and morphological changes of the microsporidium Anncaliia algerae both suggest albendazole sensitivity. J Eukaryot Microbiol 62:60-8
Pombert, Jean-François; Xu, Jinshan; Smith, David R et al. (2013) Complete genome sequences from three genetically distinct strains reveal high intraspecies genetic diversity in the microsporidian Encephalitozoon cuniculi. Eukaryot Cell 12:503-11
Jelicks, Linda A; Lisanti, Michael P; Machado, Fabiana S et al. (2013) Imaging of small-animal models of infectious diseases. Am J Pathol 182:296-304
Selman, Mohammed; Sak, Bohumil; Kvac, Martin et al. (2013) Extremely reduced levels of heterozygosity in the vertebrate pathogen Encephalitozoon cuniculi. Eukaryot Cell 12:496-502
Takvorian, Peter M; Buttle, Karolyn F; Mankus, David et al. (2013) The multilayered interlaced network (MIN) in the sporoplasm of the microsporidium Anncaliia algerae is derived from Golgi. J Eukaryot Microbiol 60:166-78
Weiss, Louis M; Cushion, Melanie T; Didier, Elizabeth et al. (2013) The 12th International Workshops on Opportunistic Protists (IWOP-12). J Eukaryot Microbiol 60:298-308
Pombert, Jean-François; Selman, Mohammed; Burki, Fabien et al. (2012) Gain and loss of multiple functionally related, horizontally transferred genes in the reduced genomes of two microsporidian parasites. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 109:12638-43
Zencheck, Wendy D; Xiao, Hui; Weiss, Louis M (2012) Lysine post-translational modifications and the cytoskeleton. Essays Biochem 52:135-45

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