signalling; parasite egress; intravital imaging; autophagy; host-pathogen interaction; Liver stage; Malaria
Kaiser Gesine, De Niz Mariana, Zuber Benoît, Burda Paul-Christian, Kornmann Benoît, Heussler Volker T, Stanway Rebecca R (2016), High resolution microscopy reveals an unusual architecture of the Plasmodium berghei endoplasmic reticulum., in
Molecular microbiology, 102(5), 775-791.
Heussler Volker, Spielmann Tobias, Frischknecht Friedrich, Gilberger Tim (2016), Plasmodium, in Walochnik Julia (ed.), Springer, Wien, 241.
De Niz Mariana, Burda Paul-Christian, Kaiser Gesine, Del Portillo Hernando A, Spielmann Tobias, Frischknecht Freddy, Heussler Volker T (2016), Progress in imaging methods: insights gained into Plasmodium biology., in
Nature reviews. Microbiology, ePub.
Kumar Hirdesh, Sattler Julia Magdalena, Singer Mirko, Heiss Kirsten, Reinig Miriam, Hammerschmidt-Kamper Christiane, Heussler Volker, Mueller Ann-Kristin, Frischknecht Friedrich (2016), Protective efficacy and safety of liver stage attenuated malaria parasites., in
Scientific reports, 6, 26824-26824.
Burda Paul-Christian, Roelli Matthias A., Schaffner Marco, Khan Shahid M., Janse Chris J., Heussler Volker T. (2015), A Plasmodium Phospholipase Is Involved in Disruption of the Liver Stage Parasitophorous Vacuole Membrane, in
PLOS PATHOGENS, 11(3), 1-25.
De Niz Mariana, Helm Susanne, Horstmann Sebastian, Annoura Takeshi, del Portillo Hernando A., Khan Shahid M., Heussler Volker T. (2015), In Vivo and In Vitro Characterization of a Plasmodium Liver Stage-Specific Promoter, in
PLOS ONE, 10(4), 1-17.
Prado Monica, Heussler Volker, Schmuckli-Maurer Jacqueline, Niklaus Livia, Caldelari Reto, Wacker Rahel, De Niz Mariana, Eickel Nina, Agop-Nersesian Carolina, Meyer Christian, Janse Chris, Khan Shahid, May Jürgen, Heitmann Anna (2015), Long-term live imaging reveals cytosolic immune responses of host hepatocytes against Plasmodium infection and parasite escape mechanisms, in
Autophagy, 11(9), 1561-1579.
Lehmann Christine, Heitmann Anna, Mishra Satish, Burda Paul-Christian, Singer Mirko, Prado Monica, Niklaus Livia, Lacroix Celine, Menard Robert, Frischknecht Friedrich, Stanway Rebecca, Sinnis Photini, Heussler Volker (2014), A Cysteine Protease Inhibitor of Plasmodium berghei Is Essential for Exo-erythrocytic Development, in
PLOS PATHOGENS, 10(8), e1004336.
Heussler Volker (2014), Imaging of the spleen in malaria, in
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Plasmodium development in hepatocytes and parasite egress from hepatocytes are both highly coordinated events. Although some key steps of the development of the exo-erythrocytic parasite have recently been deciphered, many questions remain to be answered. We propose to investigate parasite-host cell interactions during the late liver stage with the emphasis on i) parasite strategies to exploit host cell resources, ii) molecular analysis of parasite egress and iii) innate immune responses provoked by this event. In particular, the role of parasite-induced host cell autophagy as a possible source of nutrients will be investigated. Autophagy-modifying drugs as well as autophagy mouse models will be used. Parasite egress from the intracellular vacuole is normally followed by host cell death and we intend to identify the responsible parasite proteins. The putative proteases DPAP3 and SERA3 are most likely involved in these events and will be targeted by conditional knockout strategies and specific inhibitors. Phagocytes are recruited to the site of infection and we will investigate the time course of this infiltration and its relationship to the release of packed merozoites into blood vessels. The information gained from these approaches will be of use in generating improved attenuated parasites for vaccination trials in mice.