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  • Review Article
  • Published:

Progress in imaging methods: insights gained into Plasmodium biology

Key Points

  • Over the past decade, several key advances in imaging technologies have led to important discoveries about the biology of Plasmodium spp. parasites and their interaction with their mammalian host and mosquito vector.

  • Various electron microscopy methods, such as cryoelectron tomography and cryo-X-ray tomography, together with the introduction of super-resolution fluorescence microscopy has greatly expanded our knowledge of the architecture and structure of various life cycle stages of Plasmodium spp. parasites. In particular, these techniques have helped to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of merozoite attachment and invasion, and the structural basis for sporozoite motility. Likewise, these imaging tools have been key to the study of erythrocyte remodelling at previously unachieved resolutions.

  • High-speed imaging has shed light on sporozoite motility within the mammalian host, on egress of Plasmodium spp. blood stages from the infected erythrocyte, and on the mechanisms of defence used by liver-stage parasites to avoid the cytosolic immune response in hepatocytes.

  • Intravital microscopy (IVM) has served as a powerful technique to dissect sporozoite deposition in the skin and the subsequent journey of the parasite to hepatocytes. Likewise, this technique led to the discovery of merosomes — a stage of pre-erythrocytic parasites that was previously not known to exist. In addition to the skin and liver stages, IVM has been applied to view organs, including the placenta, the lungs and the brain, in animal models infected with Plasmodium spp.

  • Long-term time-lapse microscopy has enabled the first visualization of the complete Plasmodium falciparum erythrocytic life cycle and of all the Plasmodium berghei pre-erythrocytic developmental stages in vitro. This imaging has revealed a range of dynamic host–pathogen interactions that were previously unknown.

  • The development of new imaging techniques and the further application of existing methods in malaria research will continue to expand our knowledge of Plasmodium spp. parasites in the future and will help to answer several fundamental biological questions related to parasite ultrastructure, parasite-induced signalling in the host cell and parasite transmission.

Abstract

Over the past decade, major advances in imaging techniques have enhanced our understanding of Plasmodium spp. parasites and their interplay with mammalian hosts and mosquito vectors. Cryoelectron tomography, cryo-X-ray tomography and super-resolution microscopy have shifted paradigms of sporozoite and gametocyte structure, the process of erythrocyte invasion by merozoites, and the architecture of Maurer's clefts. Intravital time-lapse imaging has been revolutionary for our understanding of pre-erythrocytic stages of rodent Plasmodium parasites. Furthermore, high-speed imaging has revealed the link between sporozoite structure and motility, and improvements in time-lapse microscopy have enabled imaging of the entire Plasmodium falciparum erythrocytic cycle and the complete Plasmodium berghei pre-erythrocytic stages for the first time. In this Review, we discuss the contribution of key imaging tools to these and other discoveries in the malaria field over the past 10 years.

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Figure 1: Imaging of Plasmodium spp. sporozoites.
Figure 2: Imaging techniques reveal relevant biological events during liver-stage development.
Figure 3: Imaging of Plasmodium spp. erythrocytic stages.
Figure 4: Imaging of the architecture, deformability and sublocalization of Plasmodium spp. sexual stages within the host bone marrow.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to J. Brewer, U. Frevert, M. Marti, C. Agop-Nersesian, R. Douglas, C. Grüring and B. Zuber for helpful comments and suggestions, and N. Brancucci for help with figure 4d. They also thank the Microscope Imaging Center (MIC) at the University of Bern, Switzerland, for outstanding technical support. M.D.N., H.A.P. and V.T.H. acknowledge funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Program (grant 242095: EVIMalaR). T.S. acknowledges support from the research training group GRK1459 and the German Research Foundation (DFG) (grant SP1209/1). F.F. acknowledges support from the CellNetwork research cluster of Heidelberg University, Germany. Work in the F.F. laboratory is currently funded by grants from the DFG (SFB1129, FR 2140/6-1), the Human Frontier Science Program and the European Research Council. V.T.H. acknowledges support from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) (grant 310030–159519) and from SystemsX (grant 51RTPO_151032).

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Correspondence to Mariana De Niz or Volker T. Heussler.

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Supplementary information

Supplementary information S1 (movie)

Fluorescent sporozoites ejected from an immobilised Anopheles stephensi mosquito. Movie plays 20 times real time. Video was recorded at the Biology of Parasitism course in Woods Hole; courtesy of C. Nosala, University of California, Davis, USA, and F. Frischknecht, Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg, Germany. (MOV 89 kb)

Supplementary information S2 (movie)

Long term live imaging of liver stage parasites: Full development of mCherry-expressing parasite from invaded sporozoite to merozoite development. Host cell is expressing GFP-LC3. Video courtesy of J. Teutsch and V. Heussler, University of Bern, Switzerland. (AVI 2089 kb)

Supplementary information S3 (movie)

Live cell imaging: mCherry expressing sporozoite transmigrating and invading a GFP- expressing hepatocyte. Video courtesy of K. Rankin and V. Heussler, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany. (MOV 1818 kb)

Supplementary information S4 (movie)

Fast-iterative imaging of 3D reconstructed PVM from PbEXP1-mCherry liver schizont (at 33hpi) recorded with 0.4 μm z-increments and 15 s intervals. It allows visualization of the complex architecture of the PVM and the dynamics of the TVN. Scale bar represents 10 μm. Video courtesy of C. Nersesian and V. Heussler, University of Bern, Switzerland. (AVI 582 kb)

Supplementary information S5 (movie)

Host actin reorganization event coinciding with P. berghei deformation and disappearance (red: mCherry:β-actin; green: GFP-Pb), scale bar represents 10 μm. Video reproduced from Gomes-Santos, C. S. S. et al. Highly dynamic host actin reorganization around developing Plasmodium inside hepatocytes. PLoS ONE 7, e29408 (2012). (MOV 925 kb)

Supplementary information S6 (movie)

Intravital imaging of parasite egress from the liver of an infected mouse. GFP-expressing sporozoites were used to infect a mouse and imaging of the exposed liver started at 44 hpi. Red fluorescent BSA was used to stain the blood vessels. Video modified from Sturm, A. et al. Manipulation of host hepatocytes by the malaria parasite for delivery into liver sinusoids. Science 313, 1287–1290 (2006). Reprinted with permission from AAAS. Sturm, A. et al. Manipulation of host hepatocytes by the malaria parasite for delivery into liver sinusoids. Science. 313, 1287–1290 (2006). (MOV 4451 kb)

Supplementary information S7 (movie)

Long term live imaging of P. falciparum blood stage parasite: The last part of schizont development followed by re-invasion by a merozoite and development of a ring stage parasite is shown. The time-lapse movie covers 620 minutes (125 time points, at 5 minute time intervals) and shows a single z-section of the z-stack collected for each time point. Video from Nature Publishing Group. Gruring, C. et al. Development and host cell modifications of Plasmodium falciparum blood stages in four dimensions. Nat. Commun. 2, 165 (2011). (MOV 3722 kb)

Supplementary information S8 (movie)

Rotation of a 3D reconstruction of an infected RBC, showing the TVN. Bodipy-TR-C5-ceramide (red) labels the host and parasite membranes and highlights the cavity. DAPI (blue) shows the parasite nucleus, while GFP (green) shows the Maurer's clefts. Video from Nature Publishing Group. Gruring, C. et al. Development and host cell modifications of Plasmodium falciparum blood stages in four dimensions. Nat. Commun. 2, 165 (2011). (MOV 564 kb)

PowerPoint slides

Glossary

Sporozoite

A motile, crescent-shaped stage of Plasmodium spp. parasites; sporozoites are injected into a mammalian host by a mosquito vector.

Gametocytes

Sexual stages of Plasmodium spp. parasites. Gametocytes are either male or female gamete precursors and are solely responsible for transmission of the parasite from the vertebrate host to the mosquito.

Oocysts

Cysts that develop from parasite ookinetes on the outside of the mosquito midgut, under the basal lamina, and in which asexual replication produces hundreds of sporozoites.

Secretory vesicles

Membrane-bound vesicles that are derived from intracellular organelles and contain material for transport beyond the plasma membrane.

Subpellicular network

(SPN). A skeletal component of organisms such as Plasmodium spp., consisting of a network of intermediate filaments on the cytoplasmic side of the inner membrane complex (IMC).

Pore-forming proteins

Secreted, monomeric, water-soluble proteins that, in proximity to membranes, oligomerize into ring-like structures to enable membrane insertion and pore formation.

Actin

A highly abundant structural protein that exists in a monomeric globular form (G-actin) and can polymerize into microfilaments (F-actin) to form the actin cytoskeleton, which supports cellular shape and cell migration, and provides tracks for the transport of vesicles and organelles within the cell.

Basal lamina

A layer of extracellular matrix that is secreted by epithelial cells and on which the epithelium lies.

Merozoites

Daughter parasites that originate from the asexual replication of certain apicomplexan parasites in infected red blood cells or hepatocytes. Merozoites can invade and infect red blood cells.

Merosomes

Hepatocyte-derived membrane vesicles that contain a few to thousands of infectious merozoites that are extruded into the blood circulation.

Sinusoids

Low-pressure, discontinuous blood vessels with a high rate of metabolite and nutrient exchange. Permeability in the sinusoids is enhanced by intercellular clefts and fewer tight junctions in the underlying endothelium.

Circumsporozoite protein

(CSP). The most abundant surface protein of Plasmodium spp. sporozoites. CSP is involved in initial hepatocyte binding and invasion.

Highly sulfated proteoglycans

(HSPGs). A family of glycoproteins that are highly sulfated by covalently attached heparan sulfate chains. These glycoproteins are presented on the cell surface for ligand interaction and are found in all vertebrate tissues, but are highly enriched in the liver.

Cell traversal

Behaviour that is displayed by Plasmodium spp. sporozoites and ookinetes, involving the breaching of the plasma membrane of a host cell, gliding through the host cytosol and exiting the host cell.

Kupffer cells

Phagocytic cells, also known as resident stellate macrophages, that line the sinusoids of the liver.

Inner membrane complex

(IMC). An organelle of all alveolate organisms that consists of flattened vesicles which underlie the plasma membrane and are interconnected with the cytoskeleton.

Schizogony

A mode of asexual replication in which several rounds of mitosis generate a multinucleated cell. In Plasmodium spp., schizogony is followed by cytokinesis to form individual infectious merozoites.

Selective autophagy

Selective targeting of damaged cell organelles, large protein aggregates or intracellular pathogens for degradation in autophagosomes.

Canonical autophagy

An intracellular self-degradative process that delivers cytoplasmic constituents to the lysosome and is important for balancing sources of energy in response to nutrient stress or at key stages of cell development.

Gelsolin

An actin-binding protein that regulates actin filament assembly and disassembly.

UBC–eGFP mouse

A transgenic mouse that expresses enhanced GFP (eGFP) under the control of the ubiquitin C (UBC) promoter in all tissues.

Knobs

Protrusions, or knob-like raised platforms, on the surface of Plasmodium falciparum-infected red blood cells. These knobs are formed by the self-assembly of the parasite protein knob-associated histidine-rich protein (KAHRP) and enable the presentation of erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1).

Rhoptries

Specialized secretory organelles that are positioned at the apical end of certain stages of apicomplexan parasites, including Plasmodium spp. sporozoites and merozoites. They have a function in host cell invasion and the formation of the parasitophorous vacuole membrane.

Dense granules

Specialized secretory organelles that are positioned at the apical part of certain stages of apicomplexan parasites, including Plasmodium spp. sporozoites and merozoites. They are involved in host cell modification during invasion.

Micronemes

Specialized secretory organelles that are positioned at the apical end of apicomplexan parasites, including all motile Plasmodium spp, stages. They function in host cell adhesion and motility.

Myosin

A large family of ATP-dependent motor proteins that bind to and translocate cargo along actin filaments.

Echinocytosis

The formation of an abnormal cell membrane with multiple small, evenly spaced projections. This phenomenon is unique to red blood cells and is often induced by Plasmodium spp. invasion.

Mesoscopic imaging

An imaging modality with penetration depths of up to 10 mm and resolutions of below 100 μm, depending on the tissue type and wavelength of operation. Examples include fluorescence tomography and optoacoustic imaging.

Microvesicles and exosomes

Forms of extracellular vesicle that represent an important mode of intercellular communication and are capable of transferring cytosolic proteins, lipids and RNAs between cells. Although a precise definition for each type of vesicle is lacking, exosomes are typically characterized as < 100 nm, whereas microvesicles are defined as 100–1,000 nm.

Hypnozoites

Liver-stage parasites (Plasmodium vivax or Plasmodium ovale) that enter a latent, non-replicative state shortly after hepatocyte invasion. These dormant hypnozoites can be reactivated to complete liver-stage development thus causing a blood-stage infection in the range of weeks to years after an initial infection.

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De Niz, M., Burda, PC., Kaiser, G. et al. Progress in imaging methods: insights gained into Plasmodium biology. Nat Rev Microbiol 15, 37–54 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrmicro.2016.158

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