Highly Variable Expression of Merozoite Surface Protein MSPDBL2 in Diverse Plasmodium falciparum Clinical Isolates and Transcriptome Scans for Correlating Genes.

ABSTRACT: The merozoite surface protein MSPDBL2 of Plasmodium falciparum is under strong balancing selection and is a target of naturally acquired antibodies. Remarkably, MSPDBL2 is expressed in only a minority of mature schizonts of any cultured parasite line, and mspdbl2 gene transcription increases in response to overexpression of the gametocyte development inducer GDV1, so it is important to understand its natural expression. Here, MSPDBL2 in mature schizonts was analyzed in the first ex vivo culture cycle of 96 clinical isolates from 4 populations with various levels of infection endemicity in different West African countries, by immunofluorescence microscopy with antibodies against a conserved region of the protein. In most isolates, less than 1% of mature schizonts were positive

SUBMITTER: Hocking SE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9426457 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature