AI Article Synopsis
- The study investigates the role of the adhesin protein PvGAMA in the invasion of reticulocytes by Plasmodium vivax, focusing on its regions that aid in cell binding.
- Genetic analysis revealed that PvGAMA has a size variation typical of P. vivax proteins, with two conserved areas that show a preference for adhesion to target cells, indicating they are functionally important.
- This research is significant as it is the first to detail the binding properties of PvGAMA, highlighting its potential role in the parasite's ability to attach to target cells during infection.
Article Abstract
Background: Adhesin proteins are used by Plasmodium parasites to bind and invade target cells. Hence, characterising molecules that participate in reticulocyte interaction is key to understanding the molecular basis of Plasmodium vivax invasion. This study focused on predicting functionally restricted regions of the P. vivax GPI-anchored micronemal antigen (PvGAMA) and characterising their reticulocyte binding activity.
Results: The pvgama gene was initially found in P. vivax VCG-I strain schizonts. According to the genetic diversity analysis, PvGAMA displayed a size polymorphism very common for antigenic P. vivax proteins. Two regions along the antigen sequence were highly conserved among species, having a negative natural selection signal. Interestingly, these regions revealed a functional role regarding preferential target cell adhesion.
Conclusions: To our knowledge, this study describes PvGAMA reticulocyte binding properties for the first time. Conserved functional regions were predicted according to natural selection analysis and their binding ability was confirmed. These findings support the notion that PvGAMA may have an important role in P. vivax merozoite adhesion to its target cells.
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| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5438544 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13071-017-2183-8 | DOI Listing |
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