Alaganan Aditi, Singh Pallavi, Chitnis Chetan E
Department of Parasites and Insect Vectors, Malaria Parasite Biology and Vaccines Unit, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
Curr Opin Hematol. 2017 May;24(3):208-214. doi: 10.1097/MOH.0000000000000334.
Malaria parasites invade and multiply in diverse host cells during their complex life cycle. Some blood stage parasites transform into male and female gametocytes that are transmitted by female anopheline mosquitoes. The gametocytes are activated in the mosquito midgut to form male and female gametes, which egress from RBCs to mate and form a zygote. Here, we will review our current understanding of the molecular mechanisms that mediate invasion and egress by malaria parasites at different life cycle stages.
A number of key effector molecules such as parasite protein ligands for receptor-engagement during invasion as well as proteases and perforin-like proteins that mediate egress have been identified. Interestingly, these parasite-encoded effectors are located in internal, vesicular organelles and are secreted in a highly regulated manner during invasion and egress. Here, we will review our current understanding of the functional roles of these effectors as well as the signaling pathways that regulate their timely secretion with accurate spatiotemporal coordinates.
Understanding the molecular basis of key processes such as host cell invasion and egress by malaria parasites could provide novel targets for development of inhibitors to block parasite growth and transmission.
疟原虫在其复杂的生命周期中侵入并在多种宿主细胞内繁殖。一些血液阶段的寄生虫会转变为雄性和雌性配子体，由雌性按蚊传播。配子体在蚊子中肠被激活，形成雄配子和雌配子，它们从红细胞中逸出进行交配并形成合子。在此，我们将综述目前对疟原虫在不同生命周期阶段介导侵入和逸出的分子机制的理解。
已经鉴定出许多关键效应分子，例如在侵入过程中用于与受体结合的寄生虫蛋白配体，以及介导逸出的蛋白酶和穿孔素样蛋白。有趣的是，这些由寄生虫编码的效应分子位于内部的囊泡细胞器中，并在侵入和逸出过程中以高度调控的方式分泌。在此，我们将综述目前对这些效应分子的功能作用以及调控它们在精确的时空坐标下及时分泌的信号通路的理解。
了解疟原虫宿主细胞侵入和逸出等关键过程的分子基础，可为开发阻断寄生虫生长和传播的抑制剂提供新的靶点。
