Emerging therapeutic targets in psoriasis.

Biopharmaceuticals that target specific disease-mediating molecules have advanced our understanding of the pathogenesis of psoriasis. The traditional paradigm that psoriasis is primarily a disease of epidermal cells has been replaced with a model that now includes keratinocyte-derived factors, inflammatory mediators and angiogenic mechanisms. Recent studies have highlighted some of the key molecules involved in all of these pathogenic processes. Several have already been evaluated as putative targets in in vitro and in vivo studies, whereas other molecules are significantly upregulated in psoriasis and require further study to elucidate their role and contribution to disease. Although not all these molecules will eventually qualify as drug targets, data from similar experimental strategies are predicted to underpin the next generation of candidate targets and novel therapeutic approaches.

Expression profiling of the Leishmania life cycle: cDNA arrays identify developmentally regulated genes present but not annotated in the genome.

As genomic sequencing of Leishmania nears completion, functional analyses that provide a global genetic perspective on biological processes are important. Despite polycistronic transcription, RNA transcript abundance can be measured using microarrays. To provide a resource to evaluate cDNA arrays, we undertook 5' expressed sequence tag analysis of 2183 full-length randomly selected cDNAs from Leishmania major promastigote (days 3, 7, 10 of culture in vitro), and lesion-derived amastigote libraries. PCR-amplified inserts from 1830 of these cDNA representing 1001 unique genes were spotted onto microarrays, and compared internally with PCR-amplified open reading frames (ORFs) from 904 genes representing 842 unique genes annotated in the L. major genome. Microarrays were screened with RNA from procyclic, metacyclic and amastigote populations of L. major. Redundant clones on the array gave highly reproducible results, providing confidence in identification of stage-specific gene expression. Four hundred and thirty unique (i.e. non-redundant) stage-specific genes were identified. A higher percentage of stage-specific gene expression was observed in amastigotes ( approximately 35%) compared to metacyclics ( approximately 12%) for both cDNAs and ORFs, but cDNAs provided a richer source of regulated genes than currently annotated ORFs from the Leishmania genome. In mapping cDNAs onto the Leishmania genome, we noted that approximately 42% aligned to regions not recognised as genes using current predictive annotation tools. These genes are highly represented in our stage-specific genes, and therefore represent important drug targets and vaccine candidates. Careful annotation of cDNAs onto the Leishmania genome will be important before producing the next generation of oligonucleotide arrays based on annotated genes of the genomic sequencing project.

From genomes to vaccines: Leishmania as a model.

The 35 Mb genome of Leishmania should be sequenced by late 2002. It contains approximately 8500 genes that will probably translate into more than 10 000 proteins. In the laboratory we have been piloting strategies to try to harness the power of the genome-proteome for rapid screening of new vaccine candidate. To this end, microarray analysis of 1094 unique genes identified using an EST analysis of 2091 cDNA clones from spliced leader libraries prepared from different developmental stages of Leishmania has been employed. The plan was to identify amastigote-expressed genes that could be used in high-throughput DNA-vaccine screens to identify potential new vaccine candidates. Despite the lack of transcriptional regulation that polycistronic transcription in Leishmania dictates, the data provide evidence for a high level of post-transcriptional regulation of RNA abundance during the developmental cycle of promastigotes in culture and in lesion-derived amastigotes of Leishmania major. This has provided 147 candidates from the 1094 unique genes that are specifically upregulated in amastigotes and are being used in vaccine studies. Using DNA vaccination, it was demonstrated that pooling strategies can work to identify protective vaccines, but it was found that some potentially protective antigens are masked by other disease-exacerbatory antigens in the pool. A total of 100 new vaccine candidates are currently being tested separately and in pools to extend this analysis, and to facilitate retrospective bioinformatic analysis to develop predictive algorithms for sequences that constitute potentially protective antigens. We are also working with other members of the Leishmania Genome Network to determine whether RNA expression determined by microarray analyses parallels expression at the protein level. We believe we are making good progress in developing strategies that will allow rapid translation of the sequence of Leishmania into potential interventions for disease control in humans.