Infection of human erythrocytes with the
malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum induces new permeability pathways (
NPPs) in the host cell membrane. Isotopic flux measurements demonstrated that the NPP are permeable to a wide variety of molecules, thus allowing uptake of nutrients and release of
waste products. Recent patch-clamp recordings demonstrated the
infection-induced up-regulation of an inwardly and an outwardly rectifying Cl(-) conductance. The present experiments have been performed to explore the sensitivity to cell volume and the organic osmolyte permeability of the two conductances. It is shown that the outward rectifier has a high relative
lactate permeability (P(
lactate)/P(Cl) = 0.4).
Sucrose inhibited the outward-rectifier and abolished the
infection-induced
hemolysis in isosmotic
sorbitol solution but had no or little effect on the inward-rectifier.
Furosemide and
NPPB blocked the outward-rectifying
lactate current and the
sorbitol hemolysis with IC(50)s in the range of 0.1 and 1 microM, respectively. In contrast, the IC(50)s of
NPPB and
furosemide for the inward-rectifying current were >10 microM. Osmotic cell-shrinkage inhibited the inwardly but not the outwardly rectifying conductance. In conclusion, the parasite-induced outwardly-rectifying
anion conductance allows permeation of
lactate and neutral
carbohydrates, whereas the inward rectifier seems largely impermeable to organic solutes. All together, these data should help to resolve ongoing controversy regarding the number of unique channels that exist in P. falciparum-infected erythrocytes.