Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41904125›Full record

ArticleNature communications2026

A bridge-like lipid transfer protein is critical for generation of invasive stages in malaria parasites.

Andrés Guillén-Samander, Nika Perepelkina, Vendula Horáčková, Hannah M Behrens, Hely O Rodriguez Cruz, Joëlle Paolo Mesén-Ramírez, Ana Ribeiro-Holbein, Per Haberkant, Frank Stein, Tobias Spielmann

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Andrés Guillén-SamanderBernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6882-3850
Nika PerepelkinaBernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0009-6283-109X
Vendula HoráčkováBernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9734-4701
Hannah M BehrensBernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7406-7086
Hely O Rodriguez CruzDepartment of Cell Biology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0005-7155-5366
Joëlle Paolo Mesén-RamírezBernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7842-5867
Ana Ribeiro-HolbeinBernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany.
Per HaberkantEMBL Proteomics Core, Heidelberg, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5608-9062
Frank SteinEMBL Proteomics Core, Heidelberg, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9695-1692
Tobias SpielmannBernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany. spielmann@bnitm.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3968-4601

Funding

European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) ALTF 166-2022
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Malaria blood stages build and maintain an intricate system of membranes during their cycle of rapid growth and schizogony (daughter-cell formation), requiring precise mechanisms of lipid synthesis and trafficking. Lipid transfer proteins (LTPs) at ER membrane contact sites (MCSs) have emerged as key for lipid distribution processes but remain largely unexplored in protozoans. Here we use the ER adapter VAP to identify essential mechanisms of lipid transfer at ER-MCSs in P. falciparum. One PfVAP-interacting LTP is the bridge-like PfVPS13L1, which allows bulk flow of lipids between two apposed membranes. PfVPS13L1 bridges the ER with the nascent inner membrane complex (IMC), a de novo-generated organelle required for schizogony. Its loss-of-function reduces IMC growth and leads to smaller anucleated progeny, impairing schizogony. Our data supports a model in which VPS13L1 is critical for the formation of apicomplexan invasive stages by mediating bulk transfer of lipids from the ER to the growing IMC.

Indexed as

Carrier ProteinsPlasmodium falciparumProtozoan ProteinsEndoplasmic ReticulumHumansCarrier Proteinslipid transfer proteinProtozoan Proteins

Identifiers

PMID41904125
PMCPMC13036008

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Registered trials

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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.