Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Triggers Gametocytogenesis in the Malaria Parasite

Chaubey, Shweta and Grover, Manish and Tatu, Utpal (2014) Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Triggers Gametocytogenesis in the Malaria Parasite. In: JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY, 289 (24). pp. 16662-16674.

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Abstract

The malaria parasite experiences a significant amount of redox stress during its growth in human erythrocytes and heavily relies on secretory functions for pathogenesis. Most certainly, the parasite is equipped with machinery to tackle perturbations in the secretory pathway, like the unfolded protein response pathway in higher eukaryotes. Our bioinformatics analysis revealed the complete absence of genes involved in the canonical unfolded protein response pathway in Plasmodium falciparum. Accordingly, the parasite was unable to up-regulate endoplasmic reticulum (ER) chaperones or ER-associated degradation in response to DTT-mediated ER stress. Global profiling of gene expression upon DTT treatment revealed a network of AP2 transcription factors and their targets being activated. The overall outcome was up-regulation of genes involved in protein export and the sexual stage of the parasite life cycle culminating in gametocytogenesis. Our results suggest that the malaria parasite uses ER stress as a cue to switch to the transmissible sexual stages.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY
Publisher:	AMER SOC BIOCHEMISTRY MOLECULAR BIOLOGY INC
Additional Information:	Copyright for this article belongs to the AMER SOC BIOCHEMISTRY MOLECULAR BIOLOGY INC, 9650 ROCKVILLE PIKE, BETHESDA, MD 20814-3996 USA
Department/Centre:	Division of Biological Sciences > Biochemistry
Date Deposited:	14 Aug 2014 10:02
Last Modified:	14 Aug 2014 10:02
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/49552

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