The parasitophorous vacuole of Encephalitozoon cuniculi: origin of the membrane and characterization of pore-forming proteins

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Uwe Groß
• Subject Area: Parasitology and Biology of Tropical Infectious Disease Pathogens
• Term: from 2004 to 2015
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 5426832

Microsporidia are obligate intracellular pathogens of fungal origin which are recently recognized as emerging pathogens for immuno-compromised patients. Inside a host cell, they undergo a complex intracellular lifecycle in which the parasite subsequently develops from non-infectious, replicative meronts to sporonts and finally to mature, metabolically inactive spores, which upon release from their host-cell are able to infect other cells. The genetic program which is regulating this differentiation process is completely unknown, so far. In a first attempt to analyze the contribution of factors involved in the regulation of development, we will determine the expression patterns of key players known to play important roles for differentiation in other organism by quantitative real-time PCR. Factors to be analyzed will include kinases, phosphatases, transcription factors, cell cycle regulated genes and chromatin-modifying components. In this respect, the influence of external immune factors (i.e., TNF-a) on the expression profile will as well be analysed. In a second step, the differentiation process will be manipulated by treatment with activators and inhibitors of signal transduction components with the idea to identify conditions in which the proceeding of differentiation is blocked. Finally, transfection technology is sought to be established for microsporidia which would allow future functional gene analysis by reverse genetics.

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 1160: Colonisation and Infection by Human-pathogenic Fungi
• Participating Person: Dr. Wolfgang Bohne