Stage-specific proteins of the avian malariaPlasmodium lophurae

Abstract

SUMMARYThe proteins in the soluble and membrane fractions ofPlasmodium lophurae, separated by SDS-PAGE and stained with Coomassie blue, were distinct from one another and different from the soluble and membrane proteins of the host cell, the duckling erythrocyte. Pulse-labelling of malaria-infected red cells containing schizonts or trophozoites with [14C]isoleucine, followed by parasite isolation, SDS-PAGE and autoradiography, showed a pattern of incorporation into soluble proteins identical to the banding pattern of gels stained with Coomassie blue. On autoradiograms, the banding patterns of the membrane proteins of trophozoites and schizonts labelled with [14C]isoleucine were similar. No qualitative differences in the soluble proteins of trophozoites and schizonts were apparent when isoleucine was used as the radiotracer; however, the banding pattern of membrane and soluble proteins labelled with [14C]isoleucine were distinct from each other. The banding pattern of soluble proteins, after staining with Coomassie blue, was distinctly different from the array of bands seen after autoradiography of parasites derived from infected cells pulse-labelled with [14C]histidine. Only small amounts of contaminating haemoglobin in the soluble protein fraction of parasites were labelled with histidine; the membrane fraction, on the other hand, had high incorporation into a single 43 kDalton band, the histidine-rich protein. No band differences, either in the membrane or soluble fractions, were observed in autoradiograms after pulse-labelling trophozoites and schizonts with [14C]histidine. The most consistent and distinct differences in protein synthesis were seen inP. lophuraepulse-labelled with [14C]proline. Autoradiograms of both soluble and membrane fractions showed the presence of bands unique to the trophozoite and schizont–stage-specific proteins.

Developmental modulation of protein synthetic patterns by the human malarial parasite Plasmodium falciparum

“…lophurae, an avian malaria (20). Stage-specific proteins have been reported for schizonts and merozoites of P.falciparurn (2 1,22) and recently for several Can.…”