Vital and dispensable roles of Plasmodium multidrug resistance transporters during blood‐ and mosquito‐stage development |
| |
| Authors: | Sanna R Rijpma Maarten van der Velden Takeshi Annoura Joachim M Matz Sanketha Kenthirapalan Taco W A Kooij Kai Matuschewski Geert‐Jan van Gemert Marga van de Vegte‐Bolmer Rianne Siebelink‐Stoter Wouter Graumans Jai Ramesar Onny Klop Frans G M Russel Robert W Sauerwein Chris J Janse Blandine M Franke‐Fayard Jan B Koenderink |
| |
| Institution: | 1. Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Radboud University Medical Center, GA, Nijmegen, The Netherlands;2. Department of Tropical Medicine, The Jikei University School of Medicine, Minato‐ku, Tokyo, Japan;3. Department of Medical Microbiology, Radboud University Medical Center, GA, Nijmegen, The Netherlands;4. Parasitology Unit, Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Berlin, Germany;5. Centre for Molecular and Biomolecular Informatics, Radboud University Medical Center, GA, Nijmegen, The Netherlands;6. Institute of Biology, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany;7. Leiden Malaria Research Group, Parasitology, Center of Infectious Diseases, Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), ZA, Leiden, The Netherlands |
| |
| Abstract: | Multidrug resistance (MDR) proteins belong to the B subfamily of the ATP Binding Cassette (ABC) transporters, which export a wide range of compounds including pharmaceuticals. In this study, we used reverse genetics to study the role of all seven Plasmodium MDR proteins during the life cycle of malaria parasites. Four P. berghei genes (encoding MDR1, 4, 6 and 7) were refractory to deletion, indicating a vital role during blood stage multiplication and validating them as potential targets for antimalarial drugs. Mutants lacking expression of MDR2, MDR3 and MDR5 were generated in both P. berghei and P. falciparum, indicating a dispensable role for blood stage development. Whereas P. berghei mutants lacking MDR3 and MDR5 had a reduced blood stage multiplication in vivo, blood stage growth of P. falciparum mutants in vitro was not significantly different. Oocyst maturation and sporozoite formation in Plasmodium mutants lacking MDR2 or MDR5 was reduced. Sporozoites of these P. berghei mutants were capable of infecting mice and life cycle completion, indicating the absence of vital roles during liver stage development. Our results demonstrate vital and dispensable roles of MDR proteins during blood stages and an important function in sporogony for MDR2 and MDR5 in both Plasmodium species. |
| |
| Keywords: | |
|
|
