Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0024530 (malaria)
 44,886 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Plasmodium berghei derived phosphoproteins are associated with the host erythrocyte membrane. Effectors of the phosphorylation reaction regulate the phosphorylation of the P. berghei derived proteins and spectrin in a similar manner. The spectrin kinase also phosphorylates the P. berghei phosphoproteins in a reconstituted reaction at the same site(s) as the endogenously phosphorylated proteins. These results indicate that a host protein kinase may regulate parasite phosphoproteins during malaria.
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PMID:Phosphorylation of Plasmodium berghei derived phosphoproteins associated with the host erythrocyte membrane by the spectrin kinase. 306 18

Seven cytosolic phosphoproteins with relative molecular masses of 110, 58, 52, 46, 38, 36 and 34kDa and isoelectric points between 4.2 and 5.0 are identified from the rodent malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei. Similar patterns of phosphorylated proteins are obtained from parasite cytosol after incubation of intact infected erythrocytes with [32P]orthophosphate, or from parasite cytosol incubated with [gamma-32P]ATP. The characteristics of the phosphorylation reaction are similar to the previously described Plasmodium protein kinase [Wiser, M.F., Eaton, J.W. and Sheppard, J.R. (1983) J. Cell. Biochem. 21, 305-314], suggesting that the same protein kinase is involved. More protein phosphorylation activity is associated with the mature parasites than the immature forms, suggesting that these phosphoproteins may play some role in the parasite's erythrocytic stage cycle.
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PMID:Cytosolic protein kinase activity associated with the maturation of the malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei. 390 92

Tumour necrosis factor (TNF) plays a pivotal role in the induction of cerebral complications during Plasmodium falciparum malaria. TNF secretion by macrophages can be induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and by P. falciparum antigens, but it is unclear whether similar mechanisms control the monokine expression in both cases. The signal transduction pathway by which parasite antigens induce TNF secretion remains to be established. The results reported here, using various inhibitors of second messenger pathways, clearly demonstrate that the signal transduction leading to TNF secretion is mediated partly through protein kinase C and calmodulin-dependent protein kinase activation. Furthermore, this signal seems to be differentially regulated after LPS or parasite stimulation, since cyclo-oxygenase inhibition by indomethacin resulted in twofold more TNF production enhancement with LPS stimulation than with parasite stimulation. The nature of the receptor involved in the parasite induced-macrophage stimulation remains obscure. However, the results discussed here indicate that parasite antigens stimulate multiple signal transduction pathways via G protein. Identification of the different pathways involved in these receptor-mediated events may be invaluable in the development of specific inhibitors against TNF over-production during cerebral malaria.
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PMID:Signal transduction pathways involved in tumour necrosis factor secretion by Plasmodium falciparum-stimulated human monocytes. 782 69

The composition of the erythrocyte plasma membrane is extensively modified during the intracellular growth of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. It has been previously shown that an 80-kD phosphoprotein is associated with the plasma membrane of human red blood cells (RBCs) infected with trophozoite/schizont stage malaria parasites. However, the identity of this 80-kD phosphoprotein is controversial. One line of evidence suggests that this protein is a phosphorylated form of RBC protein 4.1 and that it forms a tight complex with the mature parasite-infected erythrocyte surface antigen. In contrast, evidence from another group indicates that the 80-kD protein is derived from the intracellular malaria parasite. To resolve whether the 80-kD protein is indeed RBC protein 4.1, we made use of RBCs obtained from a patient with homozygous 4.1(-) negative hereditary elliptocytosis. RBCs from this patient are completely devoid of protein 4.1. We report here that this lack of protein 4.1 is correlated with the absence of phosphorylation of the 80-kD protein in parasite-infected RBCs, a finding that provides conclusive evidence that the 80-kD phosphoprotein is indeed protein 4.1. In addition, we also identify and partially characterize a casein kinase that phosphorylates protein 4.1 in P falciparum-infected human RBCs. Based on these results, we suggest that the maturation of malaria parasites in human RBCs is accompanied by the phosphorylation of protein 4.1. This phosphorylation of RBC protein 4.1 may provide a mechanism by which the intracellular malaria parasite alters the mechanical properties of the host plasma membrane and modulates parasite growth and survival in vivo.
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PMID:Phosphorylation of protein 4.1 in Plasmodium falciparum-infected human red blood cells. 819 70

The induction mechanism of gamete formation (gametogenesis) in a rodent malaria parasite, Plasmodium berghei, was investigated using Ca2+ antagonists, protein kinase inhibitors and amiloride, an inhibitor of monovalent cation/H+ exchange. Treatment with 3,4,5-trimethoxybenzoic acid 8-(diethylamino)octyl ester (TMB-8, a Ca2+ release inhibitor) and W-7/W-66 (calmodulin inhibitors) blocked formation of male gametes by inhibiting DNA synthesis from 1.5C to 8C level. In contrast, inhibitors of cAMP/cGMP-dependent protein kinases such as H-8, H-87, H-89 and staurosporine also ceased the development of gametocytes, but DNA synthesis in male gametocytes occurred as in the controls. Electron microscopy revealed that male gametocytes treated with TMB-8 and W-7 failed to enlarge nuclei and to form axonemes in the cytoplasm. In female gametocytes, treatment with both Ca2+ antagonists resulted in a dramatic morphological change in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), which is thought to be a Ca2+ store. The ER network condensed near nuclei and was laminated by the abnormal attachment of ribosomes between two ER membranes. On the other hand, male gametocytes treated with protein kinase inhibitors or amiloride had enlarged nuclei and axonemes, but failed to develop further. The ER network in female gametocytes treated with these inhibitors was similar to that in the controls.
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PMID:The roles of Ca2+/calmodulin- and cGMP-dependent pathways in gametogenesis of a rodent malaria parasite, Plasmodium berghei. 838 16

We have examined the effects of seven protein kinase inhibitors (staurosporine, genistein, methyl 2,5-dihydroxycinnamate, tyrphostins B44 and B46, lavendustin A and R03) on the erythrocytic cycle of the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. One (staurosporine) strongly inhibits serine/threonine kinases, but the remainder all exhibit a strong preference for tyrosine kinases. We have been able to discriminate between effects on invasion and on intraerythrocytic development. All reagents impeded development of intraerythrocytic parasites, though at widely differing concentrations, from the sub-micromolar to the millimolar. Several inhibitors, including staurosporine, also reduced invasion. The phosphatase inhibitor, okadaic acid, had a strong inhibitory effect both on invasion and development. The regulation of malaria development by phosphorylation or dephosphorylation reactions at several points in the blood-stage cycle is implied.
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PMID:Inhibition of invasion and intraerythrocytic development of Plasmodium falciparum by kinase inhibitors. 869 1

Pfmap-1, a gene encoding a novel protein kinase, has been identified in the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, using the polymerase chain reaction with degenerate oligodeoxyribonucleotides designed to hybridise to conserved regions of cdc2-related kinases. Computer comparison with other protein kinases strongly suggests that the protein encoded by this gene is closely related to mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases, which play important roles in eukaryotic adaptative response and signal transduction. In addition to the conserved MAP kinase catalytic domain, Pfmap-1 contains a highly charged C-terminal extension that includes two sets of repeated amino acid motifs. Pfmap-1 is located on chromosome 14 of P.falciparum, and its mRNA has a size of 3.7 kb.
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PMID:A MAP kinase homologue from the human malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. 892 36

Upon infection with Plasmodium berghei ANKA (PbA), various inbred strains of mice exhibit different susceptibility to the development of cerebral malaria (CM). Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF) and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) have been shown to be crucial mediators in the pathogenesis of this neurovascular complication. Brain microvascular endothelial cells (MVEC) represent an important target of both cytokines. In the present study, we show that brain MVEC purified from CM-susceptible (CM-S) CBA/J mice and CM-resistant (CM-R) BALB/c mice exhibit a different sensitivity to TNF. CBA/J brain MVEC displayed a higher capacity to produce IL-6 and to up-regulate intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) in response to TNF than BALB/c brain MVEC. In contrast, no difference was found in the induction of E-selectin after TNF challenge. CM-S brain MVEC were also significantly more sensitive to TNF-induced lysis. This differential reactivity to TNF was further substantiated by comparing TNF receptor expression on CM-S and CM-R brain MVEC. Although the constitutive expression of TNF receptors was comparable on cells from the two origins, TNF induced an up-regulation of both p55 and p75 TNF receptors in CM-S, but not in CM-R brain MVEC. A similar regulation was found at the level of TNF receptor mRNA, but not for receptor shedding. Although a protein kinase C inhibitor blocked the response to TNF in both the brain MVEC, an inhibitor of protein kinase A selectively abolished the response to TNF in CM-R, but not CM-S brain MVEC, suggesting a differential protein kinase involvement in TNF-induced activation of CM-S and CM-R brain MVEC. These results indicate that brain MVEC purified from CM-S and CM-R mice exhibit distinctive sensitivity to TNF This difference may be partly due to a differential regulation of TNF receptors and via distinct protein kinase pathways.
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PMID:Differential reactivity of brain microvascular endothelial cells to TNF reflects the genetic susceptibility to cerebral malaria. 986 35

Protein kinases are key regulators of many biochemical processes in eukaryotic cells. Malaria parasites, in spite of all their peculiarities, are not likely to represent an exception in this respect. Over the past few years, several genes encoding Plasmodium protein kinases have been cloned and characterized; these molecular studies extend previous data on kinase activities in parasite extracts. Here, Barbara Kappes, Christian Doerig and Ralph Graeser present available data on this topic, with an emphasis on cloned protein kinase genes, and discuss the potential outcome of such research in the context of drug development.
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PMID:An overview of Plasmodium protein kinases. 1051 87

A third calcium-dependent protein kinase (CDPK) gene has been isolated from the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum by vectorette technology. The gene consists of five exons and four introns. The open reading frame resulting from removal of the four introns encodes a protein of 562 amino acid residues with a predicted molecular mass of 65.3 kDa. The encoded protein, termed PfCDPK3, consists of four distinct domains characteristic of a member of the CDPK family and displays the highest homology (46% identity and 69% similarity) to PfCDPK2, the second CDPK of P. falciparum. The N-terminal variable domain is rich in serine/threonine and lysine and contains multiple consensus phosphorylation sites for a range of protein kinases. The catalytic domain possesses all conserved motifs of the protein kinase family except for the highly conserved glutamic acid residue in subdomain VIII, which is replaced by a glutamine residue. The sequence of the junction domain comprising 31 amino acid residues is less conserved. The calmodulin-like regulatory domain contains four EF-hand calcium-binding motifs, each consisting of a loop of 12 amino acid residues which is flanked by two alpha-helices. Southern blotting of genomic DNA digests showed that the Pfcdpk3 gene is present as a single copy per haploid genome. A 2900 nucleotide transcript of this gene is expressed specifically in the sexual erythrocytic stage, indicating that PfCDPK3 is involved in sexual stage-specific events. It is proposed that PfCDPK3 may serve as a link between calcium and gametogenesis of P. falciparum.
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PMID:Sexual stage-specific expression of a third calcium-dependent protein kinase from Plasmodium falciparum. 1076 Jun 1


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