98%
921
2 minutes
20
The function of Plasmodium falciparum chloroquine resistance transporter (PfCRT) can be quantified using a Saccharomyces cerevisiae model system [Baro, N. K., Pooput, C., and Roepe, P. D. (2011) Biochemistry 50, 6701-6710]. We further optimized this system to distinguish PfCRT isoforms found in P. falciparum strains and isolates from across the globe. We created and expressed 13 naturally occurring pfcrt alleles associated with a range of chloroquine resistant (CQR) phenotypes. Using galactose induction of PfCRT, we quantified PfCRT and chloroquine (CQ)-dependent yeast growth inhibition and [3H]CQ transport specifically due to a given PfCRT isoform. Surprisingly, we found poor correlation between these parameters and the CQ IC50 observed in strains of malaria harboring the same isoforms. This suggested that an increased level of CQ transport due to PfCRT mutation is necessary, but not sufficient, for the range of CQ IC50 values observed in globally distributed CQR P. falciparum isolates.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3703759 | PMC |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/bi400557x | DOI Listing |
Commun Med (Lond)
September 2025
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Bio21 Institute and The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
Background: Mixed-species, mixed-strain plasmodia infections are known to occur in humans in malaria endemic areas. It may be surprising that to date, the extent of this complexity has not been systematically explored in high-burden countries of sub-Saharan Africa, especially in the reservoir of asymptomatic infections in all ages, which sustains transmission.
Methods: Here we take a metagenomic lens to these infections by sampling variable blood volumes from 188 afebrile residents living in high, seasonal transmission in Northern Sahelian Ghana.
J Infect Dis
September 2025
Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA USA.
Sequestration of Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes (IE) in the microvasculature is a major virulence determinant. While the sequestration of mature stage parasites (trophozoite and schizonts) to vascular endothelium is well established, the conditions that promote ring-stage IE sequestration is less understood. Here, we observed in ring-stage parasites that febrile exposure increased transcript levels of several exported parasite genes involved in the trafficking of the P.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEmerg Microbes Infect
December 2025
School of Global Health, Chinese Centre for Tropical Diseases Research, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
There is no vaccine for severe malaria. STEVOR antigens on the surface of -infected red blood cells are implicated in severe malaria and are targeted by neutralizing antibodies, but their epitopes remain unknown. Using computational immunology, we identified highly immunogenic overlapping B- and T-cell epitopes (referred to as multiepitopes, 7-27 amino acids) in the semiconserved domain of four STEVORs linked with severe malaria and clinical immunity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Parasitol Drugs Drug Resist
August 2025
Department of Microbiology, School of Life Sciences, Pondicherry University, Puducherry, 605014, India. Electronic address:
Antimalarial resistance is a primary challenge in the treatment of malaria. The ongoing search for novel drug sources remains a critical strategy for addressing this issue. This study evaluated the blood stage antiplasmodial and cytotoxic activities of the crude extract and fractions obtained from Lepidobotrys staudtii.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Pathol
September 2025
Departamento de Imunologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo (ICB/USP), São Paulo, Brazil.
We hypothesized that variants in inflammasome-related genes could influence susceptibility to gestational malaria (GM). To test this, we conducted an association study in a cohort of pregnant women from a malaria-endemic region in northern Brazil, assessing whether specific functional single nucleotide variants (SNVs) in inflammasome genes affect (1) the response to Plasmodium infection and (2) the development of placental malaria. Our findings revealed that the NLRP1 p.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF