Understanding the role of proteins in invasion of human red blood cellsby malaria parasites
Project type
Honours and/or PhD
| Supervisor(s) | Division | |
| (Primary) | Infection and Immunity | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) |
Dr Tony Hodder (Co-supervisor) |
Infection and Immunity | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) |
Dr Peter Czabotar (Co-supervisor) |
Structural Biology | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) |
Details of project
In this project, we seek to understand the function of these merozoite proteins and how they attach to the surface of the parasite cell.
We have already constructed parasite lines in which each gene has been disrupted so that we can analyse loss-of-function mutants to gain insight into their role. We will use these and other genetically modified parasite lines to do immuno-precipitation experiments to determine the proteins on the merozoite surface with which they interact. We will use antibodies specific to the surface proteins and, to definitively identify which proteins are in a complex, we will employ a combination of two dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry analyses.
We are interested in determining the structure of these proteins and the project could involve crystallisation studies and determination of 3-D shape. We have also made parasite lines in which some of these proteins have been tagged with green fluorescence protein so that we can follow them during merozoite invasion using live image with advanced microscopy.
The overall aim is to determine the structure of the merozoite surface and how these proteins are attached and the relevance of this to their function. This will be important information with respect to their potential usefulness as vaccines against malaria.
This project will be suited to both Honours and PhD candidates.
Project references
- Cowman AF & Crabb BS. Invasion of red blood cells by malaria parasites. Cell. 2006;124(4):755-766.
Research interests
To survive within humans, malaria parasites must invade host erythrocytes. Parasite invasion is initiated upon attachment of the parasite to the erythrocyte surface.
Our research is focused on understanding the role of proteins involved in this attachment and the recognition of the red blood cell surface. Most of the proteins present on the merozoite surface are known and include a group of proteins that are related and encoded by a small cluster of linked genes. These proteins are generally extrinsically attached to the merozoite surface via interactions with other unknown proteins.
Research theme
Infectious diseases
Scientific discipline
- Biochemistry
- Cell Biology
- Microbiology
- Molecular Biology
- Structural Biology
Keywords
malaria, crystal structure, human red blood cell