PROTEIN TRAFFICKING IN MALARIA-INFECTED ERYTHROCYTES

The malaria parasite invades the human erythrocyte and converts this s imple ''sack of haemoglobin'' back into a functional eukaryotic cell. Parasite-encoded proteins are trafficked to the red blood cell membran e where they modify its properties to meet the needs of the intracellu lar parasite. Trafficking of proteins within the parasite probably occ urs via a ''classical'' vesicle-mediated secretory pathway; however, t he transit of proteins from the parasite plasma membrane to the erythr ocyte membrane appears to involve both a novel vesicle-mediated pathwa y and a direct protein-translocation system. The polypeptide signals t hat direct parasite proteins into these novel export pathways may incl ude an unusual ''internal'' hydrophobic sequence, as well as a series of basic motifs. (C) 1998 Australian Society for Parasitology. Publish ed by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.