This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Supplemental material
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Blythe, J. E.
Right arrow Articles by Preiser, P. R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Blythe, J. E.
Right arrow Articles by Preiser, P. R.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Infection and Immunity, July 2008, p. 3329-3336, Vol. 76, No. 7
0019-9567/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.01460-07
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Plasmodium falciparum STEVOR Proteins Are Highly Expressed in Patient Isolates and Located in the Surface Membranes of Infected Red Blood Cells and the Apical Tips of Merozoites{triangledown} ,{dagger}

Jane E. Blythe,1,2 Xue Yan Yam,1 Claudia Kuss,1 Zbynek Bozdech,1 Anthony A. Holder,2 Kevin Marsh,3 Jean Langhorne,2 and Peter R. Preiser1*

Nanyang Technological University, School of Biological Sciences, 60 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 637551, Singapore,1 Division of Parasitology, The National Institute for Medical Research, The Ridgeway, London NW7 1AA, United Kingdom,2 Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), P.O. Box 230, Kilifi, Kenya3

Received 31 October 2007/ Returned for modification 4 December 2007/ Accepted 3 May 2008

The human parasite Plasmodium falciparum has the potential to express a vast repertoire of variant proteins on the surface of the infected red blood cell (iRBC). Variation in the expression pattern of these proteins is linked to antigenic variation and thereby evasion of host antibody-mediated immunity. The genes in the stevor multigene family code for small variant antigens that are expressed in blood-stage parasites where they can be detected in membranous structures called Maurer's clefts (MC). Some studies have indicated that STEVOR protein may also be trafficked to the iRBC membrane. To address the location of STEVOR protein in more detail, we have analyzed expression in several cultured parasite lines and in parasites obtained directly from patients. We detected STEVOR expression in a higher proportion of parasites recently isolated from patients than in cultured parasite lines and show that STEVOR is trafficked in schizont-stage parasites from the MC to the RBC cytosol and the iRBC membrane. Furthermore, STEVOR protein is also detected at the apical end of merozoites. Importantly, we show that culture-adapted parasites do not require STEVOR for survival. These findings provide new insights into the role of the stevor multigene family during both the schizont and merozoite stages of the parasite and highlight the importance of studying freshly isolated parasites, rather than parasite lines maintained in culture, when investigating potential mediators of host-parasite interactions.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Nanyang Technological University, School of Biological Sciences, 60 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 637551, Singapore. Phone: 65 6316 2869. Fax: 65 6791 3856. E-mail: prpreiser{at}ntu.edu.sg

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 12 May 2008.

{dagger} Supplemental material for this article may be found at http://iai.asm.org/.

Editor: J. F. Urban, Jr.

Infection and Immunity, July 2008, p. 3329-3336, Vol. 76, No. 7
0019-9567/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.01460-07
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»