Abstract |
Apical membrane antigen 1 (AMA1) interacts with RON2 to form a protein complex that plays a key role in the invasion of host cells by malaria parasites. Blocking this protein- protein interaction represents a potential route to controlling malaria and related parasitic diseases, but the polymorphic nature of AMA1 has proven to be a major challenge to vaccine-induced antibodies and peptide inhibitors exerting strain-transcending inhibitory effects. Here we present the X-ray crystal structure of AMA1 domains I and II from Plasmodium falciparum strain FVO. We compare our new structure to those of AMA1 from P. falciparum 3D7 and Plasmodium vivax. A combination of normalized B factor analysis and computational methods has been used to investigate the flexibility of the domain I loops and how this correlates with their roles in determining the strain specificity of human antibody responses and inhibitory peptides. We also investigated the domain II loop, a key region involved in inhibitor binding, by comparison of multiple AMA1 crystal structures. Collectively, these results provide valuable insights that should contribute to the design of strain-transcending agents targeting P. falciparum AMA1.
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Authors | San Sui Lim, Wei Yang, Bankala Krishnarjuna, Komagal Kannan Sivaraman, Indu R Chandrashekaran, Itamar Kass, Christopher A MacRaild, Shane M Devine, Cael O Debono, Robin F Anders, Martin J Scanlon, Peter J Scammells, Raymond S Norton, Sheena McGowan |
Journal | Biochemistry
(Biochemistry)
Vol. 53
Issue 46
Pg. 7310-20
(Nov 25 2014)
ISSN: 1520-4995 [Electronic] United States |
PMID | 25360546
(Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
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Chemical References |
- Antigens, Protozoan
- Membrane Proteins
- Protozoan Proteins
- apical membrane antigen I, Plasmodium
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Topics |
- Antigens, Protozoan
(chemistry)
- Crystallography, X-Ray
- Humans
- Malaria, Falciparum
(parasitology)
- Membrane Proteins
(chemistry)
- Molecular Dynamics Simulation
- Plasmodium falciparum
(chemistry)
- Plasmodium vivax
(chemistry)
- Protein Structure, Tertiary
- Protozoan Proteins
(chemistry)
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