Kuehn Andrea, Pradel Gabriele
Research Center for Infectious Diseases, University of Würzburg, Josef-Schneider-Strasse 2, Building D15, 97080 Würzburg, Germany.
J Biomed Biotechnol. 2010;2010:976827. doi: 10.1155/2010/976827. Epub 2010 Jan 5.
The tropical disease malaria, which results in more than one million deaths annually, is caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Plasmodium and transmitted by blood-feeding Anopheline mosquitoes. Parasite transition from the human host to the mosquito vector is mediated by gametocytes, sexual stages that are formed in human erythrocytes, which therefore play a crucial part in the spread of the tropical disease. The uptake by the blood-feeding mosquito triggers important molecular and cellular changes in the gametocytes, thus mediating the rapid adjustment of the parasite from the warm-blooded host to the insect host and subsequently initiating reproduction. The contact with midgut factors triggers gametocyte activation and results in their egress from the enveloping erythrocyte, which then leads to gamete formation and fertilization. This review summarizes recent findings on the role of gametocytes during transmission to the mosquito and particularly focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying gametocyte activation and emergence from the host erythrocyte during gametogenesis.
热带疾病疟疾每年导致超过一百万人死亡，它由疟原虫属的原生动物寄生虫引起，并通过吸食血液的按蚊传播。寄生虫从人类宿主向蚊媒的转变由配子体介导，配子体是在人类红细胞中形成的有性阶段，因此在这种热带疾病的传播中起着关键作用。吸食血液的蚊子摄取配子体后，会引发配子体重要的分子和细胞变化，从而介导寄生虫从温血宿主快速适应昆虫宿主，并随后开始繁殖。与中肠因子的接触会触发配子体激活，并导致它们从包裹的红细胞中逸出，进而导致配子形成和受精。本综述总结了配子体在传播至蚊子过程中作用的最新研究发现，尤其关注配子发生过程中配子体激活及从宿主红细胞中逸出的分子机制。
