ArticleNature2018
Malaria parasite translocon structure and mechanism of effector export.
Article in Nature, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 125 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
125 citing papers in PubMed, 201 citations in OpenAlex.
- Unpacking boxes: identification of novel inhibitors of malaria parasite invasion.International journal for parasitology. Drugs and drug resistance · 2026Article
- Evolutionary Rate Covariation Across Malaria Parasite Species Enables Inference of Protein Interactions.Genome biology and evolution · 2026Article
- The parasitophorous vacuole membrane of Toxoplasma gondii: A custom structural framing with smart interior plumbing for resource allocation.PLoS pathogens · 2026Review
- Atomic clarity: how structural biology is shaping blood-stage malaria vaccines.Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene · 2026Review
- Controlled human malaria infection in adults identify combinations of merozoite antigens associated with clinical immunity.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Deciphering Membrane Protein Complexes in Plasmodium falciparum Gametocytes via Integrative Structural Systems Biology.Molecular & cellular proteomics : MCP · 2026Article
- Targeting protein-protein interactions in Plasmodium: from asexual replication to sexual development.Parasites & vectors · 2026Review
- Heme as activator and target for artemisinin: Towards multiple pharmacological bioactivity.Biochemistry and biophysics reports · 2026Review
- Breaking barriers: transitioning from X-ray crystallography to cryo-EM for structural studies.Acta crystallographica. Section D, Structural biology · 2026Article
- Evolutionary rate covariation across malaria parasite species enables inference of protein interactions.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Is the Association of Granzyme B and the Exported Parasite Hsp70 a Possible Trojan Horse of Severe Malaria?Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2026Article
- MAP-X reveals distinct protein complex dynamics across Plasmodium falciparum blood stages.Nature microbiology · 2025Article
- Endogenous structure of antimalarial target PfATP4 reveals an apicomplexan-specific P-type ATPase modulator.Nature communications · 2025Article
- An overview of the interconnectedness of the PEXEL and non-PEXEL mediated protein export iniScience · 2025Review
- mSphere of Influence: From pixels to parasite insight-cryo-EM is rewiring apicomplexan cell biology.mSphere · 2025Article
- Biochemistry of Heat Shock Proteins From Human Intracellular Protozoan Parasites as Diagnostic and Therapeutic Biomarkers.Biochemistry · 2025Review
- Structure of endogenous Pfs230:Pfs48/45 in complex with potent malaria transmission-blocking antibodies.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Structural insights into polyisoprenyl-binding glycosyltransferases.Structure (London, England : 1993) · 2025Review
- Redesign of Translocon EXP2 Nanopore for Detecting Peptide Fragments.Small methods · 2025Article
- Targeting Bottlenecks in Malaria Transmission: Antibody-Epitope Descriptions Guide the Design of Next-Generation Biomedical Interventions.Immunological reviews · 2025Review
65 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The putative Plasmodium translocon of exported proteins (PTEX) is essential for transport of malarial effector proteins across a parasite-encasing vacuolar membrane into host erythrocytes, but the mechanism of this process remains unknown. Here we show that PTEX is a bona fide translocon by determining structures of the PTEX core complex at near-atomic resolution using cryo-electron microscopy. We isolated the endogenous PTEX core complex containing EXP2, PTEX150 and HSP101 from Plasmodium falciparum in the 'engaged' and 'resetting' states of endogenous cargo translocation using epitope tags inserted using the CRISPR-Cas9 system. In the structures, EXP2 and PTEX150 interdigitate to form a static, funnel-shaped pseudo-seven-fold-symmetric protein-conducting channel spanning the vacuolar membrane. The spiral-shaped AAA+ HSP101 hexamer is tethered above this funnel, and undergoes pronounced compaction that allows three of six tyrosine-bearing pore loops lining the HSP101 channel to dissociate from the cargo, resetting the translocon for the next threading cycle. Our work reveals the mechanism of P. falciparum effector export, and will inform structure-based design of drugs targeting this unique translocon.
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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.