UCLA-led study reveals the mechanism that helps malaria parasites take over human red blood cells

Researchers from UCLA and Washington University in St. Louis have discovered the previously unknown mechanism of how proteins from  Plasmodium parasites — which cause malaria — are exported into human red blood cells, a process that is vital for parasites to survive in humans. The finding could pave the way for new treatments for malaria.In the study, published today in Nature, researchers reveal the atomic structure of the Plasmodium translocon of exported proteins, or PTEX, the protein complex that transports these malaria proteins into the red blood cell. The research also provides the first direct evidence of the proteins moving through PTEX.“For many years, scientists hypothesized that PTEX was responsible for transporting these malaria proteins,” said Z. Hong Zhou, a professor of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics and director of the Electron Imaging Center for Nanomachines at the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA, who led the study. “We just never knew how it worked, until now.”Malaria is an infectious disease transmitted to people through the bites of infected mosquitos. It affects more than 200 million people annually, causing nearly a half-million deaths each year.When a human is bitten,  Plasmodium parasites invade human red blood cells and take a part of the red blood cell membrane to build a protective compartment, or vacuole, around itself.“Normal red blood cells are too simple to provide enough nutrients to support the act...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news