Glycosylphosphatidylinositols synthesized by asexual erythrocytic stages of the malarial parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. Candidates for plasmodial glycosylphosphatidylinositol membrane anchor precursors and pathogenicity factors

• Published in: The Journal of biological chemistry Vol. 269; no. 4; pp. 2597 - 2606
• Main Authors: Gerold, P, Dieckmann-Schuppert, A, Schwarz, R T
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bethesda, MD American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 28-01-1994
• Subjects: Analytical, structural and metabolic biochemistry; Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Carbohydrate Sequence; Chromatography, Gel; Chromatography, Ion Exchange; Chromatography, Thin Layer; Erythrocytes - parasitology; Ethanolamine; Ethanolamines - metabolism; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Glucosamine - metabolism; Glycerolipids, phospholipids; Glycolipids - biosynthesis; Glycolipids - chemistry; Glycolipids - isolation & purification; Glycosylphosphatidylinositols - biosynthesis; Glycosylphosphatidylinositols - isolation & purification; Humans; Lipids; Mannose - metabolism; Molecular Sequence Data; Other biological molecules; Phospholipase D - metabolism; Phospholipases A - metabolism; Phospholipases A2; Plasmodium falciparum; Plasmodium falciparum - metabolism; Plasmodium falciparum - physiology; Polysaccharides - biosynthesis; Polysaccharides - isolation & purification; Tritium; Protozoa; Plasmodium falciparum; Glycophospholipid; Radiolabelling; Development; Biosynthesis; Biosynthesis precursor; Sporozoa; Anchoring
• ISSN: 0021-9258; 1083-351X
• DOI: 10.1016/S0021-9258(17)41986-7

Plasmodium falciparum is the causative agent of malaria tropica in man. Biochemical studies were focused on the asexual, intraerythrocytic
stages of P. falciparum, because of their role in the clinical phase of the disease and the possibility of propagation in
a cell culture system. In this report, we describe the in-culture labeling of malarial glycolipids and the analysis of their
hydrophilic moieties. They were identified as glycosylphosphatidylinositols (GPIs) by: 1) labeling with [3H]mannose, [3H]glucosamine,
and [3H]ethanolamine and 2) sensitivity toward glycosylphosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase D, phospholipase A2, and
nitrous acid. Malarial GPIs are shown to be unaffected by treatment with phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C, regardless
of prior treatment with mild base commonly used for inositol deacylation. Two candidates for putative GPI-anchor precursors
to malarial membrane proteins with the structures ethanolamine-phosphate-6(Man alpha 1-2)Man alpha 1-2Man alpha 1-6Man alpha
1-4 GlcN-PI (Pfg1 alpha) and ethanolamine-phosphate-6Man alpha 1-2Man alpha 1-6Man-alpha 1-4-GlcN-PI (Pfg1 beta) were identified.