Search anything and hit enter
  • Teams
  • Members
  • Projects
  • Events
  • Calls
  • Jobs
  • publications
  • Software
  • Tools
  • Network
  • Equipment

A little guide for advanced search:

  • Tip 1. You can use quotes "" to search for an exact expression.
    Example: "cell division"
  • Tip 2. You can use + symbol to restrict results containing all words.
    Example: +cell +stem
  • Tip 3. You can use + and - symbols to force inclusion or exclusion of specific words.
    Example: +cell -stem
e.g. searching for members in projects tagged cancer
Search for
Count
IN
OUT
Content 1
  • member
  • team
  • department
  • center
  • program_project
  • nrc
  • whocc
  • project
  • software
  • tool
  • patent
  • Administrative Staff
  • Assistant Professor
  • Associate Professor
  • Clinical Research Assistant
  • Clinical Research Nurse
  • Clinician Researcher
  • Department Manager
  • Dual-education Student
  • Full Professor
  • Honorary Professor
  • Lab assistant
  • Master Student
  • Non-permanent Researcher
  • Nursing Staff
  • Permanent Researcher
  • Pharmacist
  • PhD Student
  • Physician
  • Post-doc
  • Prize
  • Project Manager
  • Research Associate
  • Research Engineer
  • Retired scientist
  • Technician
  • Undergraduate Student
  • Veterinary
  • Visiting Scientist
  • Deputy Director of Center
  • Deputy Director of Department
  • Deputy Director of National Reference Center
  • Deputy Head of Facility
  • Director of Center
  • Director of Department
  • Director of Institute
  • Director of National Reference Center
  • Group Leader
  • Head of Facility
  • Head of Operations
  • Head of Structure
  • Honorary President of the Departement
  • Labex Coordinator
Content 2
  • member
  • team
  • department
  • center
  • program_project
  • nrc
  • whocc
  • project
  • software
  • tool
  • patent
  • Administrative Staff
  • Assistant Professor
  • Associate Professor
  • Clinical Research Assistant
  • Clinical Research Nurse
  • Clinician Researcher
  • Department Manager
  • Dual-education Student
  • Full Professor
  • Honorary Professor
  • Lab assistant
  • Master Student
  • Non-permanent Researcher
  • Nursing Staff
  • Permanent Researcher
  • Pharmacist
  • PhD Student
  • Physician
  • Post-doc
  • Prize
  • Project Manager
  • Research Associate
  • Research Engineer
  • Retired scientist
  • Technician
  • Undergraduate Student
  • Veterinary
  • Visiting Scientist
  • Deputy Director of Center
  • Deputy Director of Department
  • Deputy Director of National Reference Center
  • Deputy Head of Facility
  • Director of Center
  • Director of Department
  • Director of Institute
  • Director of National Reference Center
  • Group Leader
  • Head of Facility
  • Head of Operations
  • Head of Structure
  • Honorary President of the Departement
  • Labex Coordinator
Search

← Go to Research

Go back
Scroll to top
Share
© Artur Scherf
Scanning Electron Microscopy of Red Blood Cell infected by Plasmodium falciparum.
Project

Identification of parasite co-factors that are critical for adhesion of P. falciparum–infected RBC

Scientific Fields
Diseases
Organisms
Applications
Technique
Starting Date
08
Jul 2015
Status
Ongoing
Members
2
Structures
1

About

Although PfEMP1/var is studied in many laboratories in the world, a number of key questions remain unknown. By analysing a mutant parasite (D10) with a chromosome 9 deletion and loss of adhesion, we linked the non-cytoadherence phenotype to the loss of 25 subtelomeric genes. However, in contrast to previous publications, knockout of the clag9 gene from 3D7 did not interfere with parasite adhesion to CD36. In addition, we demonstrate for the first time the surface expression of PfEMP1 that has lost binding to receptors but is still recognized strongly by human hyperimmune serum similar to infected RBC that cytoadhere (Nacer et al., 2011 PLoS One). By carefully analysing the genes deleted on chromosome 9 of D10, 12 genes were selected as possible candidates and used for episomal complementation studies of D10. One single gene annotated as an open reading frame with no obvious homology to any known gene was able to restore adhesion. We termed this gene PfVAP1 (Virulence Associated Protein 1). To further validate this finding, an inducible protein knock down of the PfVAP1 gene was obtained for the strongly cytoadherent reference line FCR3. In conditions of reduced expression of PfVAP1, FCR3 parasite adhesion is to at least 60 to 70% (Nacer et al., 2015 Cell Microbiol). According to the Plasmodium databank PlasmoDB (www.plasmodb.org), PfVAP1 seems to be highly expressed during the gametocytogenesis, the parasite development process to form gametocytes.  Thus, it seems important to investigate the PfVAP1 expression in the sexual stages. Further analysis of PfVAP1 is ongoing to investigate it’s biological role in this adhesion process.