Subdomain 3 of Plasmodium falciparum VAR2CSA DBL3x is identified as a minimal chondroitin sulfate A-binding region.

ABSTRACT: Molecular interactions between the VAR2CSA protein, expressed on the surface of Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes, and placental chondroitin sulfate A (CSA) are primarily responsible for pregnancy-associated malaria (PAM). Interrupting these interactions may prevent or ameliorate the severity of PAM. Several of the Duffy binding-like (DBL) domains of VAR2CSA, including the DBL3x domain, have been shown to bind CSA in vitro, but a more detailed understanding of how DBL domains bind CSA is needed. In this study, we demonstrate that subdomain 3 (S3), one of the three subdomains of VAR2CSA DBL3x by itself, is the major contributor toward CSA binding. NMR spectroscopy and flow cytometry analyses show that S3 and the intact DBL3x domain bind CSA similarly. Mutations within the S3 porti

SUBMITTER: Singh K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2915721 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature