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Plasmodium falciparum:Structural and Functional Domains of the Mature-Parasite-Infected Erythrocyte Surface Antigen,☆☆

https://doi.org/10.1006/expr.1998.4374Get rights and content

Abstract

Kun, J. F. J., Waller, K. L., and Coppel, R. L. 1999.Plasmodium falciparum: Structural and functional domains of the mature-parasite-infected erythrocyte surface antigen.Experimental Parasitology91, 258–267. The mature parasite-infected erythrocyte surface antigen (MESA) is a protein exported to the membrane skeleton of the infected red cell, where it forms a strong noncovalent interaction with the host red cell protein, protein 4.1. The complete gene structure of MESA from the Ugandan isolate Palo Alto is described. Comparison to the previously reported MESA sequence from the Papua New Guinean cloned line D10 reveals strong conservation of the general gene structure of a short first exon and a long second exon. The exact exon/intron boundaries were determined by the generation and sequencing of a cDNA from this region. The MESA gene from both isolates consists of seven blocks of repeats that are identical in order. Repeat blocks are conserved to a high degree; however, differences are noted in most blocks in the form of scattered mutations or differences in repeat numbers. Previous work had shown that synthetic peptides spanning a 19-residue region could inhibit the binding of MESA to protein 4.1. Removal of this region from MESA almost completely abolished the binding of MESA to IOVs. Sequencing of this region from a number of laboratory and field isolates demonstrates complete conservation of the cytoskeletal binding domain and flanking sequences.

References (35)

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We thank Jutta Kun and Fiona Smith for expert technical assistance. J.F.J.K. was supported by a fellowship of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. K.J.W. is the recipient of a Monash University Graduate Scholarship. This work is supported by Grant DK 32094 from the National Institutes of Health and the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council.

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The sequence data have been submitted to GenBank and assigned the Accession No. AF056936.

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