Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Dipartimento di Malattie Infettive, Parassitarie ed Immunomediate, Roma, Italy.
PLoS One. 2013 Jun 28;8(6):e67238. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0067238. Print 2013.
The early transcribed membrane proteins ETRAMPs belong to a family of small, transmembrane molecules unique to Plasmodium parasite, which share a signal peptide followed by a short lysine-rich stretch, a transmembrane domain and a variable, highly charged C-terminal region. ETRAMPs are usually expressed in a stage-specific manner. In the blood stages they localize to the parasitophorous vacuole membrane and, in described cases, to vesicle-like structures exported to the host erythrocyte cytosol. Two family members of the rodent parasite Plasmodium berghei, uis3 and uis4, localize to secretory organelles of sporozoites and to the parasitophorous membrane vacuole of the liver stages. By the use of specific antibodies and the generation of transgenic lines, we showed that the P. berghei ETRAMP family member SEP2 is abundantly expressed in gametocytes as well as in mosquito and liver stages. In intracellular parasite stages, SEP2 is routed to the parasitophorous vacuole membrane while, in invasive ookinete and sporozoite stages, it localizes to the parasite surface. To date SEP2 is the only ETRAMP protein detected throughout the parasite life cycle. Furthermore, SEP2 is also released during gliding motility of salivary gland sporozoites. A limited number of proteins are known to be involved in this key function and the best characterized, the CSP and TRAP, are both promising transmission-blocking candidates. Our results suggest that ETRAMP members may be viewed as new potential candidates for malaria control.
早期转录的膜蛋白 ETRAMPs 属于一个小的、跨膜分子家族,这些分子是疟原虫寄生虫所特有的,它们共享一个信号肽,随后是一个短的赖氨酸富含区、一个跨膜结构域和一个可变的、高度带电的 C 末端区域。ETRAMPs 通常以特定的阶段表达。在血液阶段,它们定位于寄生泡膜,在描述的情况下,定位于出口到宿主红细胞细胞质的囊泡样结构。啮齿动物寄生虫疟原虫伯氏疟原虫的两个家族成员 uis3 和 uis4,定位于孢子虫的分泌细胞器和肝阶段的寄生泡膜。通过使用特异性抗体和生成转基因系,我们表明疟原虫 ETRAMP 家族成员 SEP2 在配子体以及蚊子和肝阶段大量表达。在细胞内寄生虫阶段,SEP2 被路由到寄生泡膜,而在侵袭性的动合子和孢子虫阶段,它定位于寄生虫表面。迄今为止,SEP2 是在寄生虫整个生命周期中检测到的唯一 ETRAMP 蛋白。此外,SEP2 在唾液腺孢子虫的滑行运动期间也被释放。已知有少量蛋白质参与这一关键功能,其中最具特征性的是 CSP 和 TRAP,它们都是有前途的阻断传播候选物。我们的研究结果表明,ETRAMP 成员可以被视为疟疾控制的新的潜在候选物。