Inhibition of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase blocks morphological differentiation of plasmodium gallinaceum zygotes to ookinetes

Once ingested by mosquitoes, malaria parasites undergo complex cellular changes. These include zygote formation, transformation of zygote to ookinete, and differentiation from ookinete to oocyst. Within the oocyst, the parasite multiplies into numerous sporozoites. Modulators of intracellular calcium homeostasis, MAPTAM, and TMB-8 blocked ookinete development as did the calmodulin (CaM) antagonists W-7 and calmidazolium. Ca(2+)/CaM-dependent protein kinase inhibitor KN-93 also blocked zygote elongation, while its ineffective analog KN-92 did not have such effect. In vitro both zygote and ookinete extracts efficiently phosphorylated autocamtide-2, a classic CaM kinase substrate, which could be blocked by calmodulin antagonists W-7 and calmidazolium and CaM kinase inhibitor KN-93. These results demonstrated the presence of calmodulin-dependent CaM kinase activity in the parasite. KN-93-treated parasites, however, expressed the ookinete-specific enzyme chitinase and the ookinete surface antigen Pgs28 normally, suggesting that the morphologically untransformed parasites are biochemically mature ookinetes. In mosquitoes, KN-93-treated parasites did not develop as oocysts, while KN-92-treated parasites produced similar numbers of oocysts as controls. These data suggested that in Plasmodium gallinaceum morphological development of zygote to ookinete, but not its biochemical maturation, relies on Ca(2+)/CaM-dependent protein kinase activity and demonstrated that the morphological differentiation is essential for the further development of the parasite in infected blood-fed mosquitoes.