Host-Parasite Interactions
ABOUT
Malaria is a vector-borne disease caused by Plasmodium parasites. Sporozoites, the motile and invasive parasite stage deposited in the skin by infected mosquitos, must migrate and invade blood vessels to complete their development in the liver, which precedes the symptomatic blood phase. My team aims to unravel and exploit the molecular determinants and biological processes required for the completion of the sporozoite journey in the mammalian host.
RESEARCH
The possibility to perform live imaging in animal models has been crucial to unravel many hidden secrets of the Plasmodium life cycle. By combining intravital confocal microscopy and/or whole-body bioluminescence imaging in mice with transgenic parasites, we have contributed to define mechanisms used by sporozoites to complete their journey. Of note, we have recently contributed to demonstrate that the skin is a critical site for antibody-mediated protection and the mechanisms by which effective antibodies eliminate the parasites. Indeed, the skin was for a long time disregarded due to the misconception in the field that sporozoites were directly inoculated in the blood. Discovering new antigens and immunization strategies that prevent sporozoites from exiting the skin is among the group interests.
We have also shown that following blood dissemination, sporozoites specifically home to the liver in the first minutes and proposed the first in vivo imaging method to visualize and quantify the homing of pathogens to the host tissues. We are currently investigating the molecular basis for this specific process. Among several parasite molecules of ongoing interest, we have shown that the surface adhesin “Thrombospondin-Related Sporozoite Protein” (TRSP) in sporozoites was redundant for infectivity.
If you are interested in collaborating or joining the lab, please email Joana Tavares (jtavares@i3s.up.pt).
Team
Selected Publications
MAEBL Contributes to Plasmodium Sporozoite Adhesiveness. International Journal of Molecular Sciences23(10):, 2022. [Journal: Article] [IF: 6,2 (*)]
DOI: 10.3390/ijms23105711 SCOPUS: 85130320899
Sá M., Costa D.M., Tavares J.,
Imaging Infection by Vector-Borne Protozoan Parasites Using Whole-Mouse Bioluminescence. Methods in Molecular Biology2524:353-367, 2022. [Book Series: Book Chapter]
DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2453-1_29 SCOPUS: 85133907400
Teixeira A.R., Pérez-Cabezas B., Costa D.M., Sá M., Golba S., Sefiane-Djemaoune H., Ribeiro J., Kaneko I., Iwanaga S., Yuda M., Tsuji M., Boscardin S.B., Amino R., Cordeiro-da-Silva A., Tavares J.,
Immunization with CSP and a RIG-I Agonist is Effective in Inducing a Functional and Protective Humoral Response Against Plasmodium. Frontiers in Immunology13:, 2022. [Journal: Article] [IF: 8,8 (*)]
DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.868305 SCOPUS: 85131347001
Ripp J., Kehrer J., Smyrnakou X., Tisch N., Tavares J., Amino R., Ruiz de Almodovar C., Frischknecht F.,
Malaria parasites differentially sense environmental elasticity during transmission. EMBO Molecular Medicine13(4):, 2021. [Journal: Article] [CI: 8] [IF: 14,3]
DOI: 10.15252/emmm.202113933 SCOPUS: 85102108770
De Niz M., Meehan G.R., Tavares J.,
Intravital microscopy: Imaging host–parasite interactions in lymphoid organs. Cellular Microbiology21(12):, 2019. [Journal: Review] [CI: 7] [IF: 3,4]
DOI: 10.1111/cmi.13117 SCOPUS: 85074833745
Costa D.M., Sá M., Teixeira A.R., Loureiro I., Thouvenot C., Golba S., Amino R., Tavares J.,
TRSP is dispensable for the Plasmodium pre-erythrocytic phase. Scientific Reports8(1):, 2018. [Journal: Article] [CI: 5] [IF: 4]
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-33398-8 SCOPUS: 85054635985
Aliprandini E., Tavares J., Panatieri R.H., Thiberge S., Yamamoto M.M., Silvie O., Ishino T., Yuda M., Dartevelle S., Traincard F., Boscardin S.B., Amino R.,
Cytotoxic anti-circumsporozoite antibodies target malaria sporozoites in the host skin. Nature Microbiology3(11):1224-1233, 2018. [Journal: Letter] [CI: 49] [IF: 14,3]
DOI: 10.1038/s41564-018-0254-z SCOPUS: 85055548444
Mendes Costa D., Cecílio P., Santarém N., Cordeiro-da-Silva A., Tavares J.,
Murine infection with bioluminescent Leishmania infantum axenic amastigotes applied to drug discovery. Scientific Reports9(1):, 2019. [Journal: Article] [CI: 9] [IF: 4]
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-55474-3 SCOPUS: 85076420685
Tavares J., Costa D.M., Teixeira A.R., Cordeiro-da-Silva A., Amino R.,
In vivo imaging of pathogen homing to the host tissues. Methods127:37-44, 2017. [Journal: Article] [CI: 12] [IF: 4]
DOI: 10.1016/j.ymeth.2017.05.008 SCOPUS: 85019637511
Ménard R., Tavares J., Cockburn I., Markus M., Zavala F., Amino R.,
Looking under the skin: The first steps in malarial infection and immunity. Nature Reviews Microbiology11(10):701-712, 2013. [Journal: Review] [CI: 126] [IF: 23,3]
DOI: 10.1038/nrmicro3111 SCOPUS: 84884228351
Tavares J., Formaglio P., Thiberge S., Mordelet E., Van Rooijen N., Medvinsky A., Ménard R., Amino R.,
Role of host cell traversal by the malaria sporozoite during liver infection. Journal of Experimental Medicine210(5):905-915, 2013. [Journal: Article] [CI: 131] [IF: 13,9]
DOI: 10.1084/jem.20121130 SCOPUS: 84879577443