ArticlePloS one2012
Erasing the epigenetic memory and beginning to switch--the onset of antigenic switching of var genes in Plasmodium falciparum.
Article in PloS one, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers.
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Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 39 citations in OpenAlex.
- The exception that proves the rule: Virulence gene expression at the onset of Plasmodium falciparum blood stage infections.PLoS pathogens · 2023Trial
- Mechanistic insights into coordinated var transcriptional switching in malaria parasites.The EMBO journal · 2026Article
- Emerging biology of noncoding RNAs in malaria parasites.PLoS pathogens · 2022Review
- Shared Mechanisms for Mutually Exclusive Expression and Antigenic Variation by Protozoan Parasites.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2022Review
- Resetting var Gene Transcription in Plasmodium falciparum.Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) · 2022Article
- Article
- Innate immunity to malaria-The role of monocytes.Immunological reviews · 2020Review
- Comprehensive analysis of Fc-mediated IgM binding to the Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 family in three parasite clones.Scientific reports · 2019Article
- An upstream open reading frame (uORF) signals for cellular localization of the virulence factor implicated in pregnancy associated malaria.Nucleic acids research · 2018Article
- Epigenetic Regulation of Virulence Gene Expression in Parasitic Protozoa.Cell host & microbe · 2016Review
- Mosquito Passage Dramatically Changes var Gene Expression in Controlled Human Plasmodium falciparum Infections.PLoS pathogens · 2016Article
- Multiple Plasmodium falciparum Erythrocyte Membrane Protein 1 Variants per Genome Can Bind IgM via Its Fc Fragment Fcμ.Infection and immunity · 2015Article
- Dissecting the determinants of malaria chronicity: why within-host models struggle to reproduce infection dynamics.Journal of the Royal Society, Interface · 2015Article
- Antisense long noncoding RNAs regulate var gene activation in the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2015Article
- Transcription of the var genes from a freshly-obtained field isolate of Plasmodium falciparum shows more variable switching patterns than long laboratory-adapted isolates.Malaria journal · 2015Article
- Article
- Immune characterization of Plasmodium falciparum parasites with a shared genetic signature in a region of decreasing transmission.Infection and immunity · 2015Article
- Recruitment of PfSET2 by RNA polymerase II to variant antigen encoding loci contributes to antigenic variation in P. falciparum.PLoS pathogens · 2014Article
- Parasite epigenetics and immune evasion: lessons from budding yeast.Epigenetics & chromatin · 2013Article
- Analysis of epigenetic stability and conversions in Saccharomyces cerevisiae reveals a novel role of CAF-I in position-effect variegation.Nucleic acids research · 2013Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Antigenic variation in Plasmodium falciparum is regulated by transcriptional switches among members of the var gene family, each expressed in a mutually exclusive manner and encoding a different variant of the surface antigens collectively named PfEMP1. Antigenic switching starts when the first merozoites egress from the liver and begin their asexual proliferation within red blood cells. By erasing the epigenetic memory we created parasites with no var background, similar to merozoites that egress from the liver where no var gene is expressed. Creating a null-var background enabled us to investigate the onset of antigenic switches at the early phase of infection. At the onset of switching, var transcription pattern is heterogeneous with numerous genes transcribed at low levels including upsA vars, a subtype that was implicated in severe malaria, which are rarely activated in growing cultures. Analysis of subsequent in vitro switches shows that the probability of a gene to turn on or off is not associated with its chromosomal position or promoter type per se but on intrinsic properties of each gene. We concluded that var switching is determined by gene specific associated switch rates rather than general promoter type or locus associated switch rates. In addition, we show that fine tuned reduction in var transcription increases their switch rate, indicating that transcriptional perturbation can alter antigenic switching.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.