Hexose transport in asexual stages of Plasmodium falciparum and kinetoplastidae

The hexose sugar, glucose, is a vital energy source for most organisms and an essential nutrient for asexual stages of Plasmodium falciparum. Kinetopl astid organisms (eg. Trypanosoma and Leishmania spp) also require glucose a t certain critical stages of their life cycles. Although phylogenetically u nrelated, these organisms share many common challenges during the mammalian stages of a parasitic life cycle, and possess hexose uptake mechanisms tha t are amenable to study using similar methods. Defining hexose permeation p athways into parasites might expose an Achilles' heel at which both antidis ease and antiparasite measures can be aimed. Understanding the mode of entr y of glucose also presents a good general model for substrate acquisition i n multicompartment systems. In this review, Sanjeev Krishna and colleagues summarize current understanding of hexose transport processes in P. falcipa rum and provide a comparison with data obtained from kinetoplastids.