ArticleMolecular microbiology2013
Malaria parasites tolerate a broad range of ionic environments and do not require host cation remodelling.
Article in Molecular microbiology, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers.
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35 citing papers in PubMed.
- Article
- Babesia divergens host cell egress is mediated by essential and druggable kinases and proteases.Nature microbiology · 2026Article
- Nutrient stress dramatically increases malaria parasite clag2 copy number to increase host cell permeability and enable pathogen survival.PLoS pathogens · 2025Article
- Optimized plasmid loading of human erythrocytes for Plasmodium falciparum DNA transfections.International journal for parasitology · 2024Article
- Novel Ion Channel Genes in Malaria Parasites.Genes · 2024Review
- Unique Properties of Nutrient Channels onPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Cultivation of Asexual Intraerythrocytic Stages ofPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Changes in KInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Conditional permeabilization of the P. falciparum plasma membrane in infected cells links cation influx to reduced membrane integrity.PloS one · 2023Article
- Optimized Pyridazinone Nutrient Channel Inhibitors Are Potent and Specific Antimalarial Leads.Molecular pharmacology · 2022Article
- Article
- Coordinated action of multiple transporters in the acquisition of essential cationic amino acids by the intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii.PLoS pathogens · 2021Article
- Promises and Pitfalls of Parasite Patch-clamp.Trends in parasitology · 2021Review
- An Insight into the Stages of Ion Leakage during Red Blood Cell Storage.International journal of molecular sciences · 2021Article
- Insilico Functional Analysis of Genome-Wide Dataset From 17,000 Individuals Identifies Candidate Malaria Resistance Genes Enriched in Malaria Pathogenic Pathways.Frontiers in genetics · 2021Article
- Calcium in the Backstage of Malaria Parasite Biology.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2021Review
- The Functioning of NaCells · 2020Review
- Article
- Increased CaCellular microbiology · 2018Article
- Cell Swelling Induced by the Antimalarial KAE609 (Cipargamin) and Other PfATP4-Associated Antimalarials.Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy · 2018Article
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Abstract
Malaria parasites grow within erythrocytes, but are also free in host plasma between cycles of asexual replication. As a result, the parasite is exposed to fluctuating levels of Na(+) and K(+) , ions assumed to serve important roles for the human pathogen, Plasmodium falciparum. We examined these assumptions and the parasite's ionic requirements by establishing continuous culture in novel sucrose-based media. With sucrose as the primary osmoticant and K(+) and Cl(-) as the main extracellular ions, we obtained parasite growth and propagation at rates indistinguishable from those in physiological media. These conditions abolish long-known increases in intracellular Na(+) via parasite-induced channels, excluding a requirement for erythrocyte cation remodelling. We also dissected Na(+) , K(+) and Cl(-) requirements and found that unexpectedly low concentrations of each ion meet the parasite's demands. Surprisingly, growth was not adversely affected by up to 148 mM K(+) , suggesting that low extracellular K(+) is not an essential trigger for erythrocyte invasion. At the same time, merozoite egress and invasion required a threshold ionic strength, suggesting critical electrostatic interactions between macromolecules at these stages. These findings provide insights into transmembrane signalling in malaria and reveal fundamental differences between host and parasite ionic requirements.
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