Synthetic peptides derived from the C-terminal 6kDa region of Plasmodium falciparum SERA5 inhibit the enzyme activity and malaria parasite development.

Background: Plasmodium falciparum serine repeat antigen 5 (PfSERA5) is an abundant blood stage protein that plays an essential role in merozoite egress and invasion. The native protein undergoes extensive proteolytic cleavage that appears to be tightly regulated. PfSERA5 N-terminal fragment is being developed as vaccine candidate antigen.

Organization of Plasmodium falciparum spliceosomal core complex and role of arginine methylation in its assembly.

Background: Splicing and alternate splicing are the two key biological processes that result in the generation of diverse transcript and protein isoforms in Plasmodium falciparum as well as in other eukaryotic organisms. Not much is known about the organization of splicing machinery and mechanisms in human malaria parasite. Present study reports the organization and assembly of Plasmodium spliceosome Sm core complex.

Plasmodium falciparum Prp16 homologue and its role in splicing.

Large numbers of Plasmodium genes have been predicted to have introns. However, little information exists on the splicing mechanisms in this organism. Here, we describe the DExD/DExH-box containing Pre-mRNA processing proteins (Prps), PfPrp2p, PfPrp5p, PfPrp16p, PfPrp22p, PfPrp28p, PfPrp43p and PfBrr2p, present in the Plasmodium falciparum genome and characterized the role of one of these factors, PfPrp16p.

Proteome analysis reveals a large merozoite surface protein-1 associated complex on the Plasmodium falciparum merozoite surface.

Plasmodium merozoite surface protein-1 (MSP-1) is an essential antigen for the merozoite invasion of erythrocytes. A key challenge to the development of an effective malaria vaccine that can block the erythrocyte invasion is to establish the molecular interaction(s) among the parasite surface proteins as well as with the host cell encoded receptors. In the present study, we applied molecular interactions and proteome approaches to identify PfMSP-1 associated complex on the merozoite surface.

Plasmodium falciparum Tudor Staphylococcal Nuclease interacting proteins suggest its role in nuclear as well as splicing processes.

Tudor Staphylococcal Nuclease (p100 or SND1), a member of the micronuclease family is a multifunctional protein that plays a key role(s) in transcription and splicing processes in many eukaryotic cells. PfTudor-SN, a Plasmodium homolog of the human p100 protein is a structurally conserved protein; however molecular details of its function are not yet understood. Our previous studies have shown that PfTudor-SN binds RNA and it is possible to selectively inhibit parasite growth by PfTudor-SN specific drugs.

Biochemical characterization of alanine racemase--a spore protein produced by Bacillus anthracis.

Alanine racemase catalyzes the interconversion of L-alanine and D-alanine and plays a crucial role in spore germination and cell wall biosynthesis. In this study, alanine racemase produced by Bacillus anthracis was expressed and purified as a monomer in Escherichia coli and the importance of lysine 41 in the cofactor binding octapeptide and tyrosine 270 in catalysis was evaluated. The native enzyme exhibited an apparent K(m) of 3 mM for L-alanine, and a V(max) of 295 micromoles/min/mg, with the optimum activity occurring at 37 degrees C and a pH of 8-9.