The role of cholesterol in invasion and growth of malaria parasites.
Front Cell Infect Microbiol
; 12: 984049, 2022.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-36189362
ABSTRACT
Malaria parasites are unicellular eukaryotic pathogens that develop through a complex lifecycle involving two hosts, an anopheline mosquito and a vertebrate host. Throughout this lifecycle, the parasite encounters widely differing conditions and survives in distinct ways, from an intracellular lifestyle in the vertebrate host to exclusively extracellular stages in the mosquito. Although the parasite relies on cholesterol for its growth, the parasite has an ambiguous relationship with cholesterol cholesterol is required for invasion of host cells by the parasite, including hepatocytes and erythrocytes, and for the development of the parasites in those cells. However, the parasite is unable to produce cholesterol itself and appears to remove cholesterol actively from its own plasma membrane, thereby setting up a cholesterol gradient inside the infected host erythrocyte. Overall a picture emerges in which the parasite relies on host cholesterol and carefully controls its transport. Here, we describe the role of cholesterol at the different lifecycle stages of the parasites.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Parasites
/
Malaria
Limits:
Animals
Language:
En
Journal:
Front Cell Infect Microbiol
Year:
2022
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Australia