This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
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
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Montero, E.
Right arrow Articles by Lobo, C. A.
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Montero, E.
Right arrow Articles by Lobo, C. A.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Infection and Immunity, November 2009, p. 4783-4793, Vol. 77, No. 11
0019-9567/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.00969-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Babesia divergens Apical Membrane Antigen 1 and Its Interaction with the Human Red Blood Cell{triangledown}

Estrella Montero, Marilis Rodriguez, Yelena Oksov, and Cheryl A. Lobo*

Department of Blood-Borne Parasites, Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute, The New York Blood Center, New York, New York 10021

Received 1 August 2008/ Returned for modification 8 October 2008/ Accepted 25 August 2009

Multiple parasite ligand-erythrocyte receptor interactions must occur for successful Babesia and Plasmodium invasion of the human red cell. One such parasite ligand is the apical membrane antigen 1 (AMA1) which is a conserved apicomplexan protein present in the micronemes and then secreted onto the surface of the merozoite. Much evidence exists for a vital role for AMA1 in host cell invasion; however, its interaction with the host erythrocyte has remained controversial. In this paper, we present a detailed characterization of a Babesia divergens homolog of AMA1 (BdAMA1), and taking advantage of the relatively high amounts of native BdAMA1 available from the parasite culture system, show that proteolytic products of native BdAMA1 bind to a trypsin- and chymotrypsin-sensitive receptor on the red blood cell. Moreover, immuno-electron microscopic images of the B. divergens merozoite captured during invasion offer additional evidence of the presence of BdAMA1 on the red cell membrane. Given the importance of AMA1 in invasion and the central role invasion plays in pathogenesis, these studies have implications both for novel drug design and for the development of new vaccine approaches aimed at interfering with AMA1 function.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Blood-Borne Parasites, Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute, New York Blood Center, 310 E. 67th St., New York, NY 10021. Phone: (212) 570-3415. Fax: (212) 570-3121. E-mail: clobo{at}nybloodcenter.org

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 31 August 2009.

Editor: J. F. Urban, Jr.

Infection and Immunity, November 2009, p. 4783-4793, Vol. 77, No. 11
0019-9567/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.00969-08
Copyright © 2009, 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»