Tilley L, Hanssen E
Department of Biochemistry and Centre of Excellence for Coherent X-ray Science, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria 3086, Australia.
Transfus Clin Biol. 2008 Feb-Mar;15(1-2):72-81. doi: 10.1016/j.tracli.2008.03.014. Epub 2008 May 23.
The most deadly of the human malaria parasites, Plasmodium falciparum, invades the erythrocytes of its host and initiates a remarkable series of morphological rearrangements within the host cell cytoplasm. The mature erythrocyte is effectively a floating sack of haemoglobin with no endogenous protein synthesis or protein trafficking machinery. In order to colonise and remodel its extracellular space, the parasite generates a series of novel structures that are involved in the export of virulence factors to the surface of the host cell. These include extensions of the parasite's vacuolar membrane, known as the tubulovesicular network, and structures referred to as Maurer's clefts. Maurer's clefts are convoluted collections of distorted discs that are tethered to the red blood cell membrane by structures with stalk-like profiles. Recently electron tomography has enabled visualisation--in three dimensions and at unprecedented resolution--the complexity of the membrane systems within the infected RBC cytoplasm.
人类疟原虫中最致命的恶性疟原虫，会侵入宿主的红细胞，并在宿主细胞质内引发一系列显著的形态重排。成熟红细胞实际上是一个漂浮的血红蛋白袋，没有内源性蛋白质合成或蛋白质运输机制。为了在其细胞外空间定殖并进行重塑，疟原虫会产生一系列新结构，这些结构参与将毒力因子输出到宿主细胞表面。其中包括寄生虫液泡膜的延伸部分，称为微管泡网络，以及被称为毛氏小体的结构。毛氏小体是扭曲圆盘的卷曲集合，通过具有茎状轮廓的结构与红细胞膜相连。最近，电子断层扫描技术能够以前所未有的分辨率在三维空间中可视化受感染红细胞细胞质内膜系统的复杂性。
