scholarly journals Biochemical and structural characterization of the apicoplast dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase of Plasmodium falciparum

2015 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Larissa M. Laine ◽  
Marco Biddau ◽  
Olwyn Byron ◽  
Sylke Müller
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Plasmodium Falciparum ◽  
Drug Discovery ◽  
Structural Characterization ◽  
Malaria Parasite ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Loss Of Function ◽  
Dihydrolipoamide Dehydrogenase ◽  
Stage Development

The malaria parasite dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase is active as a dimer and has specific structural features which could be exploitable for drug discovery. The enzyme is not essential for blood stage development but loss of function affects redox homoeostasis and cell cycle.

scholarly journals Characterization of the accessible genome in the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (18) ◽  
pp. 9414-9431 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Luis Ruiz ◽  
Juan J Tena ◽  
Cristina Bancells ◽  
Alfred Cortés ◽  
José Luis Gómez-Skarmeta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plasmodium Falciparum ◽  
Malaria Parasite ◽  
Human Malaria Parasite ◽  
Human Malaria ◽  
Parasite Plasmodium ◽  
Parasite Plasmodium Falciparum

scholarly journals Conditional expression of PfAP2-G for controlled massive sexual conversion in Plasmodium falciparum

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (24) ◽  
pp. eaaz5057 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oriol Llorà-Batlle ◽  
Lucas Michel-Todó ◽  
Kathrin Witmer ◽  
Haruka Toda ◽  
Carmen Fernández-Becerra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plasmodium Falciparum ◽  
Transcription Factor ◽  
Sexual Development ◽  
Malaria Parasite ◽  
Drug Susceptibility ◽  
Small Subset ◽  
Human Malaria Parasite ◽  
Conditional Expression ◽  
Sexual Stages

Malaria transmission requires that some asexual parasites convert into sexual forms termed gametocytes. The initial stages of sexual development, including sexually committed schizonts and sexual rings, remain poorly characterized, mainly because they are morphologically identical to their asexual counterparts and only a small subset of parasites undergo sexual development. Here, we describe a system for controlled sexual conversion in the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, based on conditional expression of the PfAP2-G transcription factor. Using this system, ~90 percent of the parasites converted into sexual forms upon induction, enabling the characterization of committed and early sexual stages without further purification. We characterized sexually committed schizonts and sexual rings at the transcriptomic and phenotypic levels, which revealed down-regulation of genes involved in solute transport upon sexual commitment, among other findings. The new inducible lines will facilitate the study of early sexual stages at additional levels, including multiomic characterization and drug susceptibility assays.

scholarly journals Structure-Based Identification and Functional Characterization of a Lipocalin in the Malaria Parasite Plasmodium falciparum

Cell Reports ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (12) ◽  
pp. 107817
Author(s):  
Paul-Christian Burda ◽  
Thomas Crosskey ◽  
Katharina Lauk ◽  
Aimo Zurborg ◽  
Christoph Söhnchen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plasmodium Falciparum ◽  
Malaria Parasite ◽  
Functional Characterization ◽  
Parasite Plasmodium ◽  
Parasite Plasmodium Falciparum

scholarly journals Structural characterization of fibrous synthetic hydrogels using fluorescence microscopy

Soft Matter ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (17) ◽  
pp. 4210-4219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johannes Vandaele ◽  
Boris Louis ◽  
Kaizheng Liu ◽  
Rafael Camacho ◽  
Paul H. J. Kouwer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fluorescence Microscopy ◽  
Structural Characterization ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Synthetic Hydrogels

The structural features of the matrix surrounding the cells play a crucial role in regulating their behavior.

scholarly journals Characterization of a Conserved Rhoptry-Associated Leucine Zipper-Like Protein in the Malaria Parasite Plasmodium falciparum

2008 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 879-887 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Haase ◽  
Ana Cabrera ◽  
Christine Langer ◽  
Moritz Treeck ◽  
Nicole Struck ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plasmodium Falciparum ◽  
Malaria Parasite ◽  
Leucine Zipper ◽  
Gene Knockout ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Specific Protein ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
Parasite Plasmodium ◽  
Parasite Plasmodium Falciparum ◽  
High Degree

ABSTRACT One of the key processes in the pathobiology of the malaria parasite is the invasion and subsequent modification of the human erythrocyte. In this complex process, an unknown number of parasite proteins are involved, some of which are leading vaccine candidates. The majority of the proteins that play pivotal roles in invasion are either stored in the apical secretory organelles or located on the surface of the merozoite, the invasive stage of the parasite. Using transcriptional and structural features of these known proteins, we performed a genomewide search that identified 49 hypothetical proteins with a high probability of being located on the surface of the merozoite or in the secretory organelles. Of these candidates, we characterized a novel leucine zipper-like protein in Plasmodium falciparum that is conserved in Plasmodium spp. This protein is expressed in late blood stages and localizes to the rhoptries of the parasite. We demonstrate that this Plasmodium sp.-specific protein has a high degree of conservation within field isolates and that it is refractory to gene knockout attempts and thus might play an important role in invasion.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document