Joao Mello-Vieira

Institute für Biochemie II Goethe University

Cell-autonomous immunity is the first line of defense by which cells recognize and contribute to eliminating invasive pathogens. It is composed of immune signaling networks that sense microbial pathogens, promote pathogen restriction, and stimulate their elimination, including host cell death. Ubiquitination is a pivotal orchestrator of these pathw...

Malaria is a febrile illness caused by species of the protozoan parasite Plasmodium and is characterized by recursive infections of erythrocytes, leading to clinical symptoms and pathology. In mammals, Plasmodium parasites undergo a compulsory intrahepatic development stage before infecting erythrocytes. Liver-stage parasites have a metabolic confi...

Plasmodium parasites possess a translocon that exports parasite proteins into the infected erythrocyte. Although the translocon components are also expressed during the mosquito and liver stage of infection, their function remains unexplored. Here, using a combination of genetic and chemical assays, we show that the translocon component Exported Pr...

Female Anopheles mosquitoes are the definitive hosts of Plasmodium parasites. A new study has found that successful establishment and development of Plasmodium in the Anopheles midgut requires mosquito oogenesis, without affecting egg production.

The causative agent of malaria, Plasmodium, replicates inside a membrane-bound parasitophorous vacuole (PV), which shields this intracellular parasite from the cytosol of the host cell (1) . One common threat for intracellular pathogens is the homeostatic process of autophagy, through which cells capture unwanted intracellular material for lysosoma...

The relevance of genetic factors in conferring protection to severe malaria has been demonstrated, as in the case of sickle cell trait and G6PD deficiency (1) . However, it remains unknown whether environmental components, such as dietary or metabolic variations, can contribute to the outcome of infection (2) . Here, we show that administration of...

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Intracellular pathogens have evolved mechanisms to ensure their survival and development inside their host cells. Here, we show that glucose is a pivotal modulator of hepatic infection by the rodent malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei and that glucose uptake via the GLUT1 transporter in specifically enhanced in P. berghei-infected cells. We further...

Submillimolar concentrations of cytotoxic bile acids (BAs) induce cell death via apoptosis. On the other hand, several cytoprotective BAs acids were shown to prevent apoptosis in the same concentration range. Still, the mechanisms by which BAs trigger these opposite signaling effects remain unclear. This study was aimed to determine if cytotoxic an...

Hydrophobic bile acids (BAs) such as deoxycholic acid (DCA) induce cell death via multiple pathways, including both the intrinsic and extrinsic pathways of apoptosis. On the other hand, it has been shown that hydrophilic BAs, particularly ursodeoxycholic (UDCA) and tauroursodeoxycholic (TUDCA) acids prevent apoptosis. Still, the mechanisms by which...