Publications by authors named "Robson Sartorello"

In mammals, haem degradation to biliverdin (BV) through the action of haem oxygenase (HO) is a critical step in haem metabolism. The malaria parasite converts haem into the chemically inert haemozoin to avoid toxicity. We discovered that the knock-out of HO in P.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study examined how the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum takes up haem during its development in red blood cells, focusing on the ring (R), trophozoite (T), and schizont (S) stages.
  • Using a fluorescent haem analogue, ZnPPIX, it was found that ZnPPIX uptake varies by stage: maximum uptake occurs at 60 minutes for R and S stages, while it takes 120 minutes for the T stage, indicating the highest haem activity during T.
  • The findings suggest P. falciparum has developed two ways to manage haem toxicity—forming haemozoin and using haem oxygenase (HO)—but the latter is less efficient compared to direct haem
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Plasmodium falciparum, the most lethal malarial parasite, expresses an ortholog for the protein kinase C (PKC) activator RACK1. However, PKC has not been identified in this parasite, and the mammalian RACK1 can interact with the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (InsP3R). Therefore we investigated whether the Plasmodium ortholog PfRACK also can affect InsP3R-mediated Ca(2+) signaling in mammalian cells.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF