In:
Scientific Reports, Springer Science and Business Media LLC, Vol. 7, No. 1 ( 2017-08-25)
Abstract:
The malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum is exposed, during its development, to major changes of ionic composition in its surrounding medium. We demonstrate that the P . falciparum serpentine-like receptor PfSR25 is a monovalent cation sensor capable of modulating Ca 2+ signaling in the parasites. Changing from high (140 mM) to low (5.4 mM) KCl concentration triggers [Ca 2+ ] cyt increase in isolated parasites and this Ca 2+ rise is blocked either by phospholipase C (PLC) inhibition or by depleting the parasite’s internal Ca 2+ pools. This response persists even in the absence of free extracellular Ca 2+ and cannot be elicited by addition of Na + , Mg 2+ or Ca 2+ . However, when the PfSR25 gene was deleted, no effect on [Ca 2+ ] cyt was observed in response to changing KCl concentration in the knocked out ( PfSR25 − ) parasite. Finally, we also demonstrate that: i) PfSR25 plays a role in parasite volume regulation, as hyperosmotic stress induces a significant decrease in parasite volume in wild type (wt), but not in PfSR25 − parasites; ii) parasites lacking PfSR25 show decreased parasitemia and metacaspase gene expression on exposure to the nitric oxide donor sodium nitroprusside (SNP) and iii), compared to PfSR25 − parasites, wt parasites showed a better survival in albumax-deprived condition.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
2045-2322
DOI:
10.1038/s41598-017-09959-8
Language:
English
Publisher:
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Publication Date:
2017
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2615211-3
