Major surface glycoproteins of insect forms of <em>Trypanosoma brucei</em> are not essential for cyclical transmission by tsetse (Publications)
ylinositol-anchored proteins known as procyclins. It has been proposed that procyclins protect parasites against proteases and/or participate in tropism, directing them from the midgut to the salivary [...] procyclins are essential for survival and transmission of T. brucei, all four genes were deleted and parasite fitness was compared in vitro and in vivo. When co-cultured in vitro, the null mutant and wild type [...] in vivo. Although the null mutant is patently defective in competition with...
A molecular marker of artemisinin-resistant <em>Plasmodium falciparum</em> malaria (Publications)
urgently needed. Here, using whole-genome sequencing of an artemisinin-resistant parasite line from Africa and clinical parasite isolates from Cambodia, we associate mutations in the PF3D7_1343700 kelch propeller [...] Cambodia. Strong correlations between the presence of a mutant allele, in vitro parasite survival rates and in vivo parasite clearance rates indicate that K13-propeller mutations are important determinants
Genesis of and trafficking to the Maurer's clefts of <em>Plasmodium falciparum</em>-infected erythrocytes (Publications)
Malaria parasites export proteins beyond their own plasma membrane to locations in the red blood cells in which they reside. Maurer's clefts are parasite-derived structures within the host cell cytoplasm [...] cytoplasm that are thought to function as a sorting compartment between the parasite and the erythrocyte membrane. However, the genesis of this compartment and the signals directing proteins to the Maurer's [...] domain are successfully delivered to Maurer's clefts. Other fragments...
A <em>Plasmodium falciparum</em> bromodomain protein regulates invasion gene expression (Publications)
falciparum, the parasite undergoes repeated rounds of replication, egress, and invasion. Erythrocyte invasion involves specific interactions between host cell receptors and parasite ligands and coordinated [...] coordinated expression of genes specific to this step of the life cycle. We show that a parasite-specific bromodomain protein, PfBDP1, binds to chromatin at transcriptional start sites of invasion-related genes [...] and directly controls their expression. Conditional PfBDP1 knockdown...
Optimization of pyrazolopyridine 4-carboxamides with potent antimalarial activity for which resistance is associated with the <em>P. falciparum</em>... (Publications)
against parasites when the ABCI3 transporter was knocked down. The low metabolic stability intrinsic to the pyrazolopyridine scaffold and the slow rate by which the compounds kill asexual parasites resulted [...] antimalarial therapies. Toward this goal, high throughput screens against the P. falciparum asexual parasite identified the pyrazolopyridine 4-carboxamide scaffold. Structure-activity relationship analysis [...] while the inclusion of a 7'-aza-benzomorpholine on the 4-carboxamide motif...
Multiplexed ddPCR-amplicon sequencing reveals isolated <em>Plasmodium falciparum</em> populations amenable to local elimination in Zanzibar, Tanzania (Publications)
pronounced fine-scale spatial and temporal parasite genetic structure. Clusters of near-clonal infections on Pemba indicate persistent local transmission with limited parasite importation, presenting an opportunity [...] opportunity for local elimination efforts. Furthermore, we observe an admixed parasite population on Unguja and detect a substantial fraction (2.9%) of significantly related infection pairs between Zanzibar [...] Zanzibar and the mainland, suggesting recent importation. Our...
Expression of the MSPDBL2 antigen in a discrete subset of <em>Plasmodium falciparum</em> schizonts is regulated by GDV1 but may not be linked to... (Publications)
leads to increased expression of AP2-G which causes parasites to switch to sexual development, so a surprising finding here is that MSPDBL2-positive parasites are mostly distinct from those that express AP2-G [...] AP2-G. This discrete antigenic subpopulation of mostly asexual parasites is regulated alongside sexually committed parasites, potentially enabling survival under stress conditions. [...] mature schizonts in clinical isolates have previously correlated with levels of many sexual stage ...
Expression of the MSPDBL2 antigen in a discrete subset of <em>Plasmodium falciparum</em> schizonts is regulated by GDV1 but may not be linked to... (Publications)
leads to increased expression of AP2-G which causes parasites to switch to sexual development, so a surprising finding here is that MSPDBL2-positive parasites are mostly distinct from those that express AP2-G [...] AP2-G. This discrete antigenic subpopulation of mostly asexual parasites is regulated alongside sexually committed parasites, potentially enabling survival under stress conditions. [...] mature schizonts in clinical isolates have previously correlated with levels of many sexual stage ...
Malaria importée: des médicaments tourjours plus efficaces et plus sûrs? (Publications)
the spread of parasite resistance to old antimalarial drugs, the large-scale implementation of artemisinine-based combinations has allowed to improving patient survival and reducing parasite transmission [...] n. Even though decreased susceptibility of parasites to artemisinine has been observed in South-East Asia, this phenomenon has no practical implications for travelers with uncomplicated malaria. The c
<em>Plasmodium</em> gene regulation: far more to factor in (Publications)
Gene expression in the malaria parasite has received generous attention over the past several decades, predominantly because of the importance of var gene regulation, which is key to antigenic variation [...] characterized. This mostly has been due to the lack of defined transcriptional regulators in Plasmodium parasites. Here, we describe recent advances that have become possible by joining traditional biochemistry [...] control of gene expression for antigenic variation but also in the...
