Pfsbp1, a Maurer's cleft Plasmodium falciparum protein, is associated with the erythrocyte skeleton.

T. Blisnick (1) , M. E. Morales Betoulle (1) , J. C. Barale (1) , P. Uzureau (1) , L. Berry (1) , S. Desroses (1) , H. Fujioka (2) , D. Mattei (1) , C. Braun Breton (1)

1 Biologie des Interactions Hôte-Parasite
2 Institute of Pathology

Antibodies from hyperimmune monkey sera, selected by absorption to Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes, and elution at acidic pH, allowed us to characterize a novel parasite protein, Pfsbp1 (P. falciparum skeleton binding protein 1). Pfsbp1 is an integral membrane protein of parasite-induced membranous structures associated with the erythrocyte plasma membrane and referred to as Maurer's clefts. The carboxy-terminal domain of Pfsbp1, exposed within the cytoplasm of the host cell, interacts with a 35 kDa erythrocyte skeletal protein and might participate in the binding of the Maurer's clefts to the erythrocyte submembrane skeleton. Antibodies to the carboxy- and amino-terminal domains of Pfsbp1 labelled similar vesicular structures in the cytoplasm of Plasmodium chabaudi and Plasmodium berghei-infected murine erythrocytes, suggesting that the protein is conserved among malaria species, consistent with an important role of Maurer's cleft-like structures in the intraerythrocytic development of malaria parasites.

Domaines: Parasitologie

T. Blisnick, M. E. Morales Betoulle, J. C. Barale, P. Uzureau, L. Berry, et al.. Pfsbp1, a Maurer's cleft Plasmodium falciparum protein, is associated with the erythrocyte skeleton.. Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology, 2000, 111 (1), pp.107-21. ⟨10.1016/S0166-6851(00)00301-7⟩. ⟨hal-00126407⟩