Project description:In order to further our understanding of the metabolic network of the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, we carried out a concurrent transcriptomic and metabolomic study of the parasite's intraerythrocytic developmental cycle. These microarray data were generated to compare the expression levels of metabolic enzymes to the concentrations of their associated metabolites over the 48-hour life cycle.
Project description:Investigations on the fundamental of malaria parasite biology, such as invasion, growth cycle, metabolism and cell signalling have uncovered a number of potential antimalarial drug targets, including choline kinase, a key enzyme involved in the synthesis of phosphatidylcholine, an important component in parasite membrane compartment. The effect on gene expression of Plasmodium falciparum K1 strain following 72 hours exposure to 2 μM (IC50 concentration) of the choline kinase inhibitor, hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HDTAB) was evaluated by DNA microarray analysis. Genes important in P. falciparum intra-erythrocytic life cycle, such as invasion, cytoadherance and growth were among those affected by at least 2-fold changes in their expression levels compared with non HDTAB-treated control.
Project description:The human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum employs intricate post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms in different stages of its life cycle. Despite the importance of post-transcriptional regulation, key elements of these processes, namely RNA binding proteins (RBPs), are poorly characterized. In this study, the RNA binding properties of P. falciparum proteins were characterized including two putative members of the Bruno/CELF family of RBPs (PfCELF1 and PfCELF2), dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase (PfDHFR-TS), and adenosine deaminase (PfAda).The mRNA targets of these P. falciparum proteins were investigated by ribonomics using DNA microarrays.
Project description:Investigations on the fundamental of malaria parasite biology, such as invasion, growth cycle, metabolism and cell signalling have uncovered a number of potential antimalarial drug targets, including choline kinase, a key enzyme involved in the synthesis of phosphatidylcholine, an important component in parasite membrane compartment. The effect on gene expression of Plasmodium falciparum K1 strain following 72 hours exposure to 2 M-NM-<M (IC50 concentration) of the choline kinase inhibitor, hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HDTAB) was evaluated by DNA microarray analysis. Genes important in P. falciparum intra-erythrocytic life cycle, such as invasion, cytoadherance and growth were among those affected by at least 2-fold changes in their expression levels compared with non HDTAB-treated control. Two different cultures of P. falciparum was divided into two groups, untreated and HDTAB treated. The parasites were incubated for 72 hours and harvested for total RNA extraction. The expression profile was analysed by microarray.
