Plasmodium chitinases: revisiting a target of transmission-blockade against malaria.

ABSTRACT: Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by one of the five species of Plasmodium, among which Plasmodium falciparum cause the deadliest form of the disease. Plasmodium species are dependent on a vertebrate host and a blood-sucking insect vector to complete their life cycle. Plasmodium chitinases belonging to the GH18 family are secreted inside the mosquito midgut, during the ookinete stage of the parasite. Chitinases mediate the penetration of parasite through the peritrophic membrane, facilitating access to the gut epithelial layer. In this review, we describe Plasmodium chitinases with special emphasis on chitinases from P. falciparum and P. vivax, the representative examples of the short and long forms of this protein. In addition to the chitinase domain, chitinases belonging to th

SUBMITTER: Viswanath VK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8284580 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature