Abstract

Giardia lamblia is a common parasitic protist that infects the small intestine and causes giardiasis, resulting in diarrhea, vomiting, weight loss, and malabsorption. Giardiasis leads to cellular damage, including loss of microvilli, disruption of tight junctions, impaired barrier function, enzyme inhibition, malabsorption, and apoptosis. In the host, motile Giardia trophozoites attach to the duodenal microvilli using a unique microtubule organelle called the ventral disc. Despite early observations of disc-shaped depressions in microvilli after parasite detachment, little is known about disc-mediated attachment mechanisms and there little direct evidence showing that parasite attachment causes cellular damage. However, advancements in in vitro organoid models of infection and genetic tools have opened new possibilities for studying molecular mechanisms of attachment and the impact of attachment on the host. Through high-resolution live imaging and a novel disc mutant, we provide direct evidence for disc contraction during attachment, resolving the long-standing controversy of its existence. Specifically, we identify three types of disc movements that characterize contraction, which in combination result in a decrease in disc diameter and volume. Additionally, we investigate the consequences of attachment and disc contractility using an attachment mutant that has abnormal disc architecture. In a human organoid model, we demonstrate that this mutant has a limited ability to break down the epithelial barrier as compared to wild type. Based on this direct evidence, we propose a model of attachment that incorporates disc contraction to generates the forces required for the observed "grasping" of trophozoites on the host epithelium. Overall, this work highlights the importance of disc contractility in establishing and maintaining parasite attachment, leading to intestinal barrier breakdown.