Phospholipid biosynthesis by Plasmodium knowlesi-infected erythrocytes: the incorporation of phospohlipid precursors and the identification of previously undetected metabolic pathways.

Metabolic pathways leading to phospholipid biosynthesis in Plasmodium-infected simian erythrocytes were tested and quantified by incubating leucocyte-free erythrocytes in the presence of labelled precursors. Plasma fatty acids and lysophospholipids both served as sources of the fatty acids required for cellular phospholipid biosynthesis. However, the entry of free fatty acids and lysophospholipids appeared to be controlled by a competitive mechanism.