Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 12, 2026
11:28
Isolating and Incorporating Light-Harvesting Antennas from Diatom Cyclotella Meneghiniana in Liposomes with Thylakoid Lipids
Published on: August 28, 2018
Involvement of lipids in ferriprotoporphyrin IX polymerization in malaria
1Department of Internal Medicine, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, 1402 South Grand Boulevard, Saint Louis, MO 63104, USA. fitchcd@slu.edu
Biochimica Et Biophysica Acta
|June 4, 1999
Summary
Certain lipids and detergents promote ferriprotoporphyrin IX polymerization in malaria parasites. Unsaturated lipids may facilitate this process within the parasite
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Parasitology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Ferriprotoporphyrin IX (FP) polymerization is a key target for antimalarial drugs.
- Understanding the factors influencing FP polymerization is crucial for developing new therapies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify substances that promote ferriprotoporphyrin IX polymerization in Plasmodium berghei.
- To elucidate the mechanism by which these substances facilitate FP polymerization.
Main Methods:
- Chloroform extraction of infected erythrocytes to isolate polymerizing activity.
- In vitro assays using various lipids and detergents to test their effect on FP polymerization.
- Characterization of the resulting polymer using spectroscopic and solubility methods.
Main Results:
- Approximately 70% of FP polymerizing activity was recovered in a chloroform extract.
- Unsaturated fatty acids (arachidonic, linoleic, oleic) and mono-/di-acylglycerols significantly promoted FP polymerization.
- Mono-oleoylglycerol co-precipitated with FP and promoted 61% polymerization at pH 5.
Conclusions:
- Unsaturated lipids and certain detergents can promote ferriprotoporphyrin IX polymerization.
- These substances likely act by dissolving monomeric FP, facilitating its aggregation into hemozoin within the parasite's acidic food vacuole.
Related Concept Videos
01:35Asymmetric Lipid Bilayer
Biological membranes show uneven distribution of different types of lipids in the inner and outer layers, resulting in transverse asymmetric membranes. The treatment of the erythrocyte membrane with the enzyme phospholipase confirmed the asymmetric nature of the lipid bilayer. The enzyme hydrolyzes lipids into fatty acids and hydrophilic groups. The phospholipase acts only on the outer layer of the membrane, while the inner layer remains intact. The phospholipase treatment resulted in 80%...
01:29Malaria
Malaria pathogenesis in humans reflects a delicate interplay between parasite biology and host response. Clinical illness reflects a host’s immune response to the parasite’s asexual replication cycle, which is often asymptomatic in individuals with partial immunity. From the parasite's perspective, transmission between mosquito and human with minimal host pathology is evolutionarily advantageous. Among the six Plasmodium species infecting humans, P. falciparum and P. vivax dominate in global...
01:21Antiprotozoal Agents
Leishmaniasis is a widespread parasitic disease caused by several Leishmania species. It affects millions of people each year and remains a major public health problem in endemic regions. First-line treatment relies on pentavalent antimonials, including meglumine antimoniate and sodium stibogluconate. Even so, how these drugs work has not been fully clear, especially their interaction with parasite-specific biochemical pathways. One key target is trypanothione reductase (TR), an enzyme that...