Stability of the Plasmodium falciparum AMA1-RON2 Complex Is Governed by the Domain II (DII) Loop.

ABSTRACT: Plasmodium falciparum is an obligate intracellular protozoan parasite that employs a highly sophisticated mechanism to access the protective environment of the host cells. Key to this mechanism is the formation of an electron dense ring at the parasite-host cell interface called the Moving Junction (MJ) through which the parasite invades. The MJ incorporates two key parasite components: the surface protein Apical Membrane Antigen 1 (AMA1) and its receptor, the Rhoptry Neck Protein (RON) complex, the latter one being targeted to the host cell membrane during invasion. Crystal structures of AMA1 have shown that a partially mobile loop, termed the DII loop, forms part of a deep groove in domain I and overlaps with the RON2 binding site. To investigate the mechanism by which the DII loop influ

SUBMITTER: Delgadillo RF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4701444 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature