IMC1b is a putative membrane skeleton protein involved in cell shape, mechanical strength, motility, and infectivity of malaria ookinetes.

ABSTRACT: Membrane skeletons are cytoskeletal elements that have important roles in cell development, shape, and structural integrity. Malaria parasites encode a conserved family of putative membrane skeleton proteins related to articulins. One member, IMC1a, is expressed in sporozoites and localizes to the pellicle, a unique membrane complex believed to form a scaffold onto which the ligands and glideosome are arranged to mediate parasite motility and invasion. IMC1b is a closely related structural paralogue of IMC1a, fostering speculation that it could be functionally homologous but in a different invasive life stage. Here we have generated genetically modified parasites that express IMC1b tagged with green fluorescent protein, and we show that it is targeted exclusively to the pellicle of ookinet

SUBMITTER: Tremp AZ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2562075 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature