Malaria var gene expression: keeping up with the neighbors
- PMID: 22264506
- PMCID: PMC4135027
- DOI: 10.1016/j.chom.2012.01.002
Malaria var gene expression: keeping up with the neighbors
Abstract
Plasmodium falciparum PfEMP1 is a malaria virulence protein whose expression is epigenetically regulated. The parasite's ability to express exclusively only one of the sixty var genes that encode PfEMP1 is essential for disease pathogenesis. Two recent papers identify key molecular players in determining whether a var gene is active or silenced (Volz et al., 2012; Zhang et al., 2011).
Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Comment on
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A critical role of perinuclear filamentous actin in spatial repositioning and mutually exclusive expression of virulence genes in malaria parasites.Cell Host Microbe. 2011 Nov 17;10(5):451-63. doi: 10.1016/j.chom.2011.09.013. Cell Host Microbe. 2011. PMID: 22100161 Free PMC article.
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PfSET10, a Plasmodium falciparum methyltransferase, maintains the active var gene in a poised state during parasite division.Cell Host Microbe. 2012 Jan 19;11(1):7-18. doi: 10.1016/j.chom.2011.11.011. Cell Host Microbe. 2012. PMID: 22264509
References
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- Deitsch KW, Calderwood MS, Wellems TE. Malaria. Cooperative silencing elements in var genes. Nature. 2001;412:875–876. - PubMed
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- Duraisingh MT, Voss TS, Marty AJ, Duffy MF, Good RT, Thompson JK, Freitas-Junior LH, Scherf A, Crabb BS, Cowman AF. Heterochromatin silencing and locus repositioning linked to regulation of virulence genes in Plasmodium falciparum. Cell. 2005;121:13–24. - PubMed
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