ArticlePLoS pathogens2025
Loss of serine/threonine protein phosphatase 6 severely impairs sexual stage development in malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei.
Article in PLoS pathogens, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Protein phosphorylation plays a critical role during the development of malaria parasites. Here, we performed a functional analysis of the Plasmodium berghei Ser/Thr protein phosphatase 6 (PbPP6), which is associated with the plasma membrane of macrogametes and ookinetes. Compared to wild-type P. berghei, the genetic disruption of pbpp6 (∆pbpp6) resulted in reduced asexual growth of the parasites and prolonged survival of infected mice. The ∆pbpp6 parasites showed impaired gametogenesis, particularly affecting male gametogenesis, which substantially decreased both ookinete formation and mosquito transmission. Transcriptomic analysis revealed an over 11-fold downregulation of nek3, a regulator of MAPK2 within the PKG-Ca2⁺ signaling cascade, foreshadowing pathway dysregulation that was further evidenced by significantly diminished intracellular cGMP levels, decreased cytosolic Ca2⁺ mobilization, and reduced DNA replication in activated Δpbpp6 gametocytes. Phosphoproteomic analysis detected increased phosphorylation at the Ser508 site of guanylyl cyclase alpha (GCα), indicating that PbPP6 regulates cGMP-PKG-Ca2+ signaling through modulation of GCα activity during gametogenesis. Additionally, we observed altered expression of messenger ribonucleoproteins in the Δpbpp6 parasites, which may affect the translational repression of stored mRNAs in female gametocytes and impact post-fertilization development in mosquitoes. Collectively, this study highlights the potential of targeting PP6 to disrupt malaria transmission.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.