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
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Pal-Bhowmick, I.
Right arrow Articles by Jarori, G. K.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Pal-Bhowmick, I.
Right arrow Articles by Jarori, G. K.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Infection and Immunity, November 2007, p. 5500-5508, Vol. 75, No. 11
0019-9567/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.00551-07
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Protective Properties and Surface Localization of Plasmodium falciparum Enolase{triangledown}

Ipsita Pal-Bhowmick,1 Monika Mehta,1 Isabelle Coppens,2 Shobhona Sharma,1* and Gotam K. Jarori1

Department of Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Homi Bhabha Road, Colaba, Mumbai 400 005, India,1 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Malaria Research Institute, Baltimore, Maryland2

Received 17 April 2007/ Returned for modification 20 June 2007/ Accepted 15 August 2007

The enolase protein of the human malarial parasite Plasmodium falciparum has recently been characterized. Apart from its glycolytic function, enolase has also been shown to possess antigenic properties and to be present on the cell wall of certain invasive organisms, such as Candida albicans. In order to assess whether enolase of P. falciparum is also antigenic, sera from residents of a region of Eastern India where malaria is endemic were tested against the recombinant P. falciparum enolase (r-Pfen) protein. About 96% of immune adult sera samples reacted with r-Pfen over and above the seronegative controls. Rabbit anti-r-Pfen antibodies inhibited the growth of in vitro cultures of P. falciparum. Mice immunized with r-Pfen showed protection against a challenge with the 17XL lethal strain of the mouse malarial parasite Plasmodium yoelii. The antibodies raised against r-Pfen were specific for Plasmodium and did not react to the host tissues. Immunofluorescence as well as electron microscopic examinations revealed localization of the enolase protein on the merozoite cell surface. These observations establish malaria enolase to be a potential protective antigen.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Biological Sciences, TIFR, Homi Babha Road, Colaba, Mumbai 400 005, India. Phone: 91 22 2278 2625. Fax: 91 22 2280 4610. E-mail: sharma{at}tifr.res.in

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 4 September 2007.

Editor: W. A. Petri, Jr.

Infection and Immunity, November 2007, p. 5500-5508, Vol. 75, No. 11
0019-9567/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.00551-07
Copyright © 2007, 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»