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Updated: Oct 3, 2026

Understanding the Development of Compensatory Pathways in a Mutant Malaria Parasite Harbouring Hypomorphic Allele of Plant-Like Kinases
Published on: November 22, 2024
Plasmodium falciparum phospholipase C hydrolyzing sphingomyelin and lysocholinephospholipids is a possible target for
Kentaro Hanada1, Nirianne Marie Q Palacpac, Pamela A Magistrado
1Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Japan Science and Technology Corporation, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, 1-23-1, Toyama, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8640, Japan. hanak@nih.go.jp
Abstract:
Sphingomyelinase (SMase) is one of the principal enzymes in sphingomyelin (SM) metabolism. Here, we identified a Plasmodium falciparum gene (PfNSM) encoding a 46-kD protein, the amino acid sequence of which is approximately 25% identical to that of bacteria SMases. Biochemical analyses of the recombinant protein GST-PfNSM, a fusion protein of the PfNSM product with glutathione-S-transferase, reveal that this enzyme retained similar characteristics in various aspects to SMase detected in P. falciparum-infected erythrocytes and isolated parasites. In addition, the recombinant protein retains hydrolyzing activity not only of SM but also of lysocholinephospholipids (LCPL) including lysophosphatidylcholine and lysoplatelet-activating factor, indicating that PfNSM encodes SM/LCPL-phospholipase C (PLC). Scyphostatin inhibited SM/LCPL-PLC activities of the PfNSM product as well as the intraerythrocytic proliferation of P. falciparum in a dose-dependent manner with ID(50) values for SM/LCPL-PLC activities and the parasite growth at 3-5 microM and approximately 7 microM, respectively. Morphological analysis demonstrated most severe impairment in the intraerythrocytic development with the addition of scyphostatin at trophozoite stage than at ring or schizont stages, suggesting its effect specifically on the stage progression from trophozoite to schizont, coinciding with the active transcription of PfNSM gene.
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