<i>Plasmodium falciparum</i> Guanylyl Cyclase-Alpha and the Activity of Its Appended P4-ATPase Domain Are Essential for cGMP Synthesis and Blood-Stage Egress.

ABSTRACT: Guanylyl cyclases (GCs) synthesize cyclic GMP (cGMP) and, together with cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases, are responsible for regulating levels of this intracellular messenger which mediates myriad functions across eukaryotes. In malaria parasites (Plasmodium spp), as well as their apicomplexan and ciliate relatives, GCs are associated with a P4-ATPase-like domain in a unique bifunctional configuration. P4-ATPases generate membrane bilayer lipid asymmetry by translocating phospholipids from the outer to the inner leaflet. Here, we investigate the role of Plasmodium falciparum guanylyl cyclase alpha (GCα) and its associated P4-ATPase module, showing that asexual blood-stage parasites lacking both the cyclase and P4-ATPase domains are unable to egress from host erythrocytes

SUBMITTER: Nofal SD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7858053 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature