Ectopic Expression of Plasmodium vivax vir Genes in P. falciparum Affects Cytoadhesion via Increased Expression of Specific var Genes.

ABSTRACT: Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes (PfIEs) adhere to endothelial cell receptors (ECRs) of blood vessels mainly via PfEMP1 proteins to escape elimination via the spleen. Evidence suggests that P. vivax-infected reticulocytes (PvIRs) also bind to ECRs, presumably enabled by VIR proteins, as shown by inhibition experiments and studies with transgenic P. falciparum expressing vir genes. To test this hypothesis, our study investigated the involvement of VIR proteins in cytoadhesion using vir gene-expressing P. falciparum transfectants. Those VIR proteins with a putative transmembrane domain were present in Maurer's clefts, and some were also present in the erythrocyte membrane. The VIR protein without a transmembrane domain

SUBMITTER: Rehn T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9230084 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature